Back in the USSR

I worked in a media company in Russia and shared the room with the public relations and marketing department. I was fortunate that the PR ladies, Ina and Marina were one of the most sought-after teams in the city and they invited me to join some of their PR activities.

One event that I won’t forget was a musical that we attended for free because the girls were friends with one of the actors. I was excited to watch my first Russian musical even though I already saw a small college production 2 weeks after I arrived in the city. This was a major deal and it was a big budget production.
The musical was very popular and it was difficult to score tickets, and since we were attending the finale for the year, the audience attendance was up to the rafters. My colleague, a slim, brown-haired, doe-eyed girl named Katya was kind enough to act as my translator, or to at least try to translate the script and the lyrics for me.

We left the office at 17.00 and trooped inside Ina’s brand new left hand drive Toyota. Ina was just getting used to driving left hand so most of the 10 minute drive to the theater was hairy. We arrived at the theater a few minutes before curtain call. Once inside, it took us several minutes to find our seats because there were just too many people, and even with the crisp weather of late spring, we actually needed airconditioning because the theater was stuffy.

Presently, I could not recall the details of the musical, but the theme was unsurprisingly about the peasant revolt during the time of communism. It was surreal listening to an all Russian musical, and watching the colorful costumes, and the amazing set display that portrayed Russia before the fall of communism. I could distinctly remember the tanks, the ax and sickle, the peasant costumes, the soldier uniforms, the loud marching beats, the grand chorus, and the blazing red flag of the former Soviet Union. It was a pity that I could not understand the words because I felt dislocated whenever the audience laughed from the dialogues, or when I saw my colleague discreetly wiping away a tear during one of the songs, or when every one stood up to a rousing applause after the finale. The production was grand and they did not spare on the sound system and the orchestra, so every beat and me