Cry, girl: Sergey Zhukov brought the hit TV series to the stage of the Musical Theater

Sergey Zhukov presented a new project — "Crybaby", a play based on the popular series CTC and Wink. The musician acted as the author of the idea, composer and producer of the production. The premiere took place at the Mikhail Shvydkoi Musical Theater. Not only show business stars came to support the team, but also cultural buffs: Vladimir Medinsky, assistant to the President of Russia, Zelfira Tregulova, former director of the Tretyakov Gallery, director Alexey Frandetti, and Vladimir Urin, ex-director of the Bolshoi Theater. Izvestia attended the premiere screening.

From pop hits to symphonic music

Until recently, Sergei Zhukov was associated exclusively with the band "Hands up!", and in the theater he looked more like a guest. But last season, he made his debut as the composer of the musical about the Great Patriotic War "You are my Only One" on the stage of the Provincial Theater (now the provincial stage of the Moscow Art Theater. Gorky) and even appeared on stage himself in a cameo role along with his son Angel, who played the main character.

In "Crybaby" Zhukov is the author of the idea, music and producer. His daughter Nika is now starring. Valery Markin is responsible for directing, Konstantin Rubinsky wrote the libretto, and Sergei Mandrik choreographed.

For the Musical Theater, this is also a noticeable turn towards current culture. In an interview with Izvestia, Mikhail Shvydkoi, the theater's artistic director, noted that they had never ventured into the popular music segment for such a young audience, and even in collaboration with major media players. So "Crybaby" becomes a risky experiment for all participants.

— I hope that today's premiere will be very important for the public. Despite the fact that this is a musical, and a musical, in general, is a fun art, the performance touches on very important issues. Issues of human loneliness, growing up, and mutual understanding in the family. It is very important to be able to forgive today," Mikhail Shvydkoi shared with Izvestia.

On the day of the premiere, Sergei Zhukov admitted to reporters that he had been preparing for this event for all 50 years. And he absolutely could not imagine that one day he would stage a full-fledged musical in the walls of the theater, where he himself went with his family dozens of times.

— I am the happiest person today, a father, a composer, a producer. Theater is a completely new world for me. Enticing, charming, alluring. It's a challenge for me. These are not easy songs to write on three chords, as we did for "Hands up!", but full—fledged symphonic music," Zhukov told Izvestia.

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School passions on the big stage

The creators warned in advance: the musical does not copy the screen version. Although familiar characters and basic meanings are preserved here. In the center of the story is the girl Masha. Her parents moved her from Moscow to Novomorsk. Now she has a new school and new problems. Classmates despise her, teachers reproach her, and parents say that she complicates everything. Not a girl, but a crybaby.

She writes songs, dreams of forming her own band, and quickly realizes that school life is set up in much the same way as the stage: someone has already taken center stage, someone is desperate to get there, and someone needs to figure themselves out first.

On the stage is a conventional gray city, assembled into several tiers. In the center there are long bridges stretching into the future, and beyond them the sea. Tall structures allow the characters to move through all levels — and due to this, the school story gets the necessary theatrical scale.

Music is, of course, the main engine here. Zhukov remains Zhukov, even when he is not writing the usual pop hit, but music for a theatrical production. The performance features a lot of songs, dance and acrobatic performances, live sound and orchestral work. The most attentive will even hear the familiar hits "Hands up!" in a new treatment.

Formally, the play tells about school, competition, friendship and first love, but it is based on a story about growing up and finding your own voice. Masha just wants to be heard at first. Gradually, it turns out that music is not a way for her to become popular, but an opportunity to understand herself.

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Nika Zhukova's Baptism of Fire

The main role is played by 17-year-old Nika Zhukova. If a close-up helps an actress in a movie, then the theater does not promise anything like that: here you need to hold a large stage, sing live, move through multi-level scenery and at the same time maintain the attention of the audience. As Sergey rightly noted before the premiere, Nika is the only non—professional actress in the entire team. The girl is just graduating from high school and dreams of going to the theater. For her, "Crybaby" became a real baptism of fire.

The play clearly seeks to appeal to several generations at once. Teenagers nod approvingly when they hear familiar slang phrases. And adults discover that there are quite mundane problems hiding behind a foreign vibe: the desire to be accepted, the fear of being superfluous, and an attempt to understand who you want to become.

Sergey Zhukov knows perfectly well how to work with a huge audience, how to warm up the hall and make thousands of people chant "My baby". In the theater, he enters new territory, but he does it with his usual sincerity.