BRIBES OR GRATITUDE

A musical based on A. Ostrovskiy's play "Profitable position"

This is a Comedia del arte in the Russian manner. A topical question of today's Russia is reviewed in the musical: handing of money or a present to an official -what is it - bribe or gratitude? The problem under discussion is turned into a mockery of human weak points and vices. 19th Century Russia, a period of stagnation and dreariness. The hero, a young idealist, resists the system and strives to maintain his principles. But he encounters pressure from a beautiful young wife, attracted to the material fineries of life. The corrupt system, too, wields its great pressure and soon our hero, Zhadov, succumbs and becomes as corrupt as his surrounding.