This phenomenal production, performed by the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater, was brought to Chicago from Kyiv. As part of the theater's North American tour, the first performance of this legendary production took place in a packed Copernicus Center hall. It became not only the most anticipated artistic event but also an act of cultural support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This was reported by FIRST Concert Agency.
Ivan Uryvsky, one of the most famous contemporary theater artists, directed the performance. He staged “The Witch of Konotop” based on the novel of the same name by Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, but with his own interpretation of the famous Ukrainian work.
Twenty-seven actors from the Ivano-Frankivsk theater took to the stage, including theater director Yevhen Nyshchuk. The troupe brought with them a performance that had already won over audiences in Ukraine and Europe: the mystical, folkloric, yet contemporary "The Witch of Konotop."
As in Ukraine, the play won the hearts of audiences in the United States.
"This is one of the most talked-about theater productions in recent years. It premiered in 2023, and tickets were hard to come by in Kyiv for a long time. Yesterday was the American premiere. It was a full house! A sold-out show! It was a brilliant production! I watched the actors and the staging, and I was genuinely impressed. I compared it in my mind with other powerful performances, and this one was definitely on par. After the show, the director came out and said that wounded Ukrainians are currently undergoing rehabilitation in Chicago hospitals. I didn't know that. I've met many refugees here, but I didn't know about those in hospitals. "There are so many Ukrainians here!" said audience member Olga Kamenchuk Nisbet.
"It was a strange performance about Konotop, where there was no rain. Of course, the witches were to blame. They appeared on stage at the beginning of the performance as white wall outlines. The witch hunt begins, but how can darkness be overcome if it is in the hearts of those who hunt?" The performance had good humor, interesting choreography, and a piercing song. By the way, Khristina Korchynska is a real witch!" shared Olga Loginova, another audience member, sharing her impressions of the performance.
In addition to the high level of the stage performance, the event had a charitable purpose. In one evening, the audience donated over $14,000 for drones for the “Dronopad” project of the “Come Back Alive” charitable foundation to protect the skies of the Kharkiv region.
The Frankivsk Theater's appearance in the US was part of a powerful artistic mission to remind Americans of the war in Ukraine and the need for unity and support. According to Nyshchuk, since April 2023, the theater has transferred over 58 million hryvnia to the front, setting an absolute record in Ukrainian cultural history.
After performing in Chicago, the theater traveled to New York, where one of their shows sold out, and then to Canada: Toronto and Montreal. Once just a required text in the curriculum of a typical Ukrainian school, the play now appears as an ultra-modern, deeply emotional theatrical expression — dense, plastic, sonorous, and unforgettable.
Author: Danylo Pievchev