Rasputin, Lenin, Gorby:
Their Story In 90 Minutes
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
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)1,tinal
I
t's the lazy student's
dream: the history of an
entire nation in less than
two hours.
Rasputin. The czars.
Lenin. And yes, even Gorby.
All in less time than it takes
to just name the leaders of
Russia.
The Definitive and
Unabridged History of
Russia in Ninety
Minutes will make its world
premiere April 3 at the Bir-
mingham Temple. Written
by temple member Milton
Landau and directed by Ar-
thur Rose, the play will be
performed by the Temples-
ingers.
"It came to me all at once,"
Mr. Landau said of the
drama's unforgettable title.
"I wasn't really serious
about it, but I told my wife
and she said, 'It's
marvelous.' "
An attorney, Mr. Landau
joined the Templesingers 12
years ago, though it took
some convincing.
"My wife told me, 'You've
always wanted to sing.
You're joining the Temples-
ingers,' " he recalled.
"I said, `They'll throw me
out.' I've always loved
music, but I never thought I
had the least talent for it.
But my wife insisted, 'I've
heard you sing in the
shower. You'll do just fine.' "
A few days and a 30-second
audition later, Milton Lan-
dau had officially joined the
Templesingers.
It was several years after
singing with the group that
he volunteered to write a
show. A history buff, he
decided his first work would
be the history of America.
"Before that, all I'd
written was legal briefs and
term papers in college," Mr.
Landau admitted. But he
proved to be a natural.
When the play was pre-
sented at the Birmingham
Temple, "To my utter
amazement, the place was
filled," he said. "And nobody
threw any tomatoes,
vegetables or rocks at us."
His next project was a his-
tory of the Jews. Then it was
the French Revolution. But
his most formidable
challenge was handling
Russian history from
Vladimir I to Boris Yeltsin.
A nation always under
siege from the outside,
"Russia developed, I feel, an
in:-,Izin: :Tlentality," he said.
20
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1992
Milton Landau
Its primary concern was pro-
tection, not democracy. Rus-
sian leaders subsequently
became father figures who,
until Peter the Great,
dominated the people.
The Communist Revo-
lution was the ultimate
reflection of the horrors of
Russia, Mr. Landau said.
After .years of repression
under the czars, the people
felt a desperate need for
freedom.
"But it didn't work. Stalin
was just a replacement of the
czar," Mr. Landau said.
"Now, though, there is hope
for the Russian people. They
must look to the future."
Mr. Landau's Definitive
History reflects his perspec-
tive on the development of
Russia and is told with both
seriousness and humor. The
playwright himself will por-
tray Rasputin, the notorious
advisor to the last czarina,
while temple Rabbi Sherwin
Wine will star as Ivan the
Terrible.
The play, which features
music by Sergei Prokofiev
and other Russian com-
posers, comprises 18 scenes
and took several months to
write. The - Templesingers
rehearsed for five weeks
before the performance.
"Our purpose is really just
to have an enjoyable eve-
ning," Mr. Landau said.
"We do the show for temple
members and our families,
who put up with all our limi-
tations."
Though he has tackled the
history of Russia, the United
States and the Jewish peo-
ple, Mr. Landau said he isn't
ready just yet to try for the
big stage.
"Maybe when I retire I'll
think about it," he said. ❑