"Memorial Prayer" by Grigory Gorin, summary Automatic translate

This play is a theatrical adaptation of Sholem Aleichem’s stories about Tevye the Milkman, created by the playwright in 1989. Grigory Gorin wrote it at the personal request of director Mark Zakharov specifically for the Moscow Lenkom Theatre. The author carefully preserved the original’s national flavor, reworking the dialogue and adding his characteristic bitter humor. The events unfold against the backdrop of daunting historical changes. The text describes in detail the destruction of the familiar way of life of a humble man, forced to face the blows of fate alone.

A television version of the Lenkom production was filmed in 1993 and achieved enormous acclaim. Starring Yevgeny Leonov, the production quickly achieved legendary status. Gorin’s text has since been performed with unfailing success at many drama theaters. Audiences highly appreciate the piercing sincerity of the tone.

The action begins in the village of Anatovka. Here, Russians, Ukrainians, and Jews live side by side. The neighbors work peacefully together, each preserving their own customs and faith. The protagonist, a poor Jewish milkman named Tevye, pulls a heavily laden cart. His old horse refuses to go up the hill. Along the way, he constantly converses with God. Tevye sincerely laments: "If You made man to be man, and the horse to be a horse, is it then fair that man should pull the shafts?"

Tevye and his wife, Golda, have five daughters. They need to find suitable marriages for the girls. On the road, the milkman meets a student from Kyiv, Perchik. Tevye offers to teach the daughters French in exchange for food and lodging. Perchik readily agrees. A local police officer notices the stranger and warns Tevye of the consequences of harboring him. Mass unrest is raging in Kyiv, and the authorities are terrified of the rebels. The police officer accepts a bribe of a wheel of cheese and calmly leaves.

Tevye’s courtship and cunning

At home, Golda and her younger daughters are preparing for Shabbat dinner. Suddenly, Menachem-Mendel arrives. This unsuccessful businessman has decided to try his luck at matchmaking. He proposes that Golda marry her eldest daughter, Tzeitel, to the elderly butcher Leiser-Wolf. The butcher has considerable capital. Golda persistently persuades her husband to meet the wealthy suitor. Meanwhile, the poor village tailor, Motl, tries to please his future father-in-law. He has long been in love with Tzeitel and is sewing a new jacket for Tevye from various scraps. The jacket bursts at the seams during the fitting. The timid Motl still can’t bring himself to ask for the girl’s hand in marriage.

Later, Tevye meets Leiser at a local tavern. Due to a confusing introduction, the milkman mistakenly assumes Tevye wants to buy his brown cow. Tevye resists the dubious deal for a long time. After discovering the true purpose of the conversation, he gives in to Leiser’s persuasion. The milkman agrees to the marriage, considering the undoubted benefits of wealth for the future family. On the way out of the tavern, the policeman tells Tevye bad news. The provincial authorities have issued a direct order to carry out a demonstrative pogrom against the Jews. The policeman asks his fellow villagers not to resist the pogromists, for their own sake.

At home, Tzeitel falls into despair. She begs her father not to marry her to the hated old man. Motl finally musters up the courage. He boldly declares to his beloved’s father: "A man’s word is law! You said so yourself…" The young people have already sworn an oath of fidelity to each other. Tevye is deeply outraged by this flagrant violation of tradition. However, his daughter’s bitter tears soften his resolve. The milkman consents to the marriage with the penniless tailor.

All that remains is to convince the stern Golda. Tevye stages a mystical spectacle for his wife. He vividly describes a recently invented dream. In it, the deceased grandmother allegedly came back from the other world, threatening terrible curses for marrying a butcher, and categorically demanding that her great-granddaughter be married to Motl. The terrified Golda believes her husband implicitly and gives her blessing to the newlyweds.

Wedding and pogrom

The entire village celebrates Tzeitel and Motl’s wedding with a riotous fervor. During the lavish feast, Perchik delivers a fiery speech about class solidarity. The student’s dangerous words frighten the guests. Menachem attempts to reconcile Tevye and the insulted Leizer. The butcher, who has cooled down, displays his generosity and gives the newlyweds an expensive sewing machine. The joyful celebration is suddenly interrupted by the sharp sound of breaking glass.

Aggressive men from a neighboring town burst into the house. They are led by an exalted blonde woman. The attackers overturn tables, break furniture, and smash holiday dishes. The police officer stops them just in time, fulfilling a formal order from the authorities. The frightened guests silently disperse amid broken windows and mangled belongings. Menachem takes a commemorative photograph against the backdrop of the ruined feast.

Family breakdown

A cold winter sets in. A frozen Menachem-Mendel meets Tevye on a snowy road. He tells the milkman the latest news from Kyiv. Menachem recently saw Perchik with a red flag at the street barricades. Soon, the student himself appears in Anatovka. He has come to say goodbye to Tevye’s family forever. Perchik has voluntarily surrendered to the police for revolutionary activities. A long exile to Siberia awaits him.

Tevye’s second daughter, Hodl, is determined to follow her beloved. Her father tries unsuccessfully to dissuade her from this difficult fate. He understands his daughter’s determination and gives his blessing. The police officer takes the arrested Perchik and Hodl away on a sleigh toward Kyiv. Tevye is tormented by the separation from his child. The milkman finds little solace in reading prayers.

The family’s troubles are far from over. The third daughter, Chava, secretly devours books and becomes close to the Russian clerk Fyodor. Golda falls gravely ill with influenza. Tevye goes to fetch a doctor, but he flatly refuses to come in the snowstorm. The milkman goes to the local Orthodox church. The local priest delivers terrible news: Chava has converted to Christianity and married Fyodor.

According to Jewish religious law, apostasy is strictly equated with death. Tevye renounces his daughter. Chava runs out the side door of the temple. She falls to her knees and begs her father for forgiveness. Tevye turns away and walks away. He calls her a stranger and officially declares mourning for her.

A dying Golda lies in her cold bed. In her final moments, she mentally helps her eldest daughter, Tzeitel. At the same time, Tzeitel begins having difficult labor. The old woman takes her daughter’s excruciating pain upon herself. Golda quietly passes away. A healthy baby girl is born. The child is named Golda in honor of her deceased grandmother.

Exile

A warm spring arrives. Tevye shows his newborn granddaughter the world around him, the trees, and the high sky. A sullen, drunken police officer suddenly enters the yard. He reads out an official order from the authorities. Anatovka is now outside the Pale of Settlement. All Jews are required to leave the village within three days. This news devastates the locals. Neighbors struggle to comprehend this tragic event.

Tevye is overcome with blind rage. He takes an axe and tries to chop down the old oak tree in the yard. This mighty tree was planted by his father. The milkman doesn’t want to leave the family home to strangers. The axe handle breaks with a crash from the first blow. Tevye sinks to the ground and falls silent. He takes a vow of silence, having completely lost hope of earthly justice.

The local Jews hastily gather their meager belongings. Leiser-Wolf stops by to say goodbye to Tzeitel before leaving for distant America. The old butcher leaves the girl money to buy a new cow. Stepan, a carpenter next door, boards up the windows of Tevye’s deserted house. He vows to the family to always watch over Golda’s grave.

Chava and Fyodor quietly enter the courtyard. They refuse to remain in the village that cruelly betrayed their families. The young couple prepares to follow Tevye’s family. Stepan persuades them to enter the dark barn. There, the milkman silently bids farewell to his old horse. Far from prying eyes, the long-awaited reconciliation between father and daughter takes place to the sounds of a mournful violin.

The drama of the situation is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of Menachem-Mendel. He rides triumphantly into the courtyard with his elderly mother. Due to a ridiculous mix-up in the telegrams, the businessman assumed Tevye had invited them for a country retreat. The absurdity of this situation breaks through the silent grief. Tevye raises his arms to the sky and bursts into loud laughter. His hysterical laughter is joined by the rest of the family. Through tears, the exiles leave their home forever. The village musician continues to play a bright melody.