The Straw Hat (KATMK)

A ruined metropolitan dandy and rogue, Fadinard, decides to improve his financial situation by marrying the daughter of a wealthy provincial farmer, Nonancourt. The young bride, Hélène, arrives in Paris for the wedding, accompanied, as tradition demands, by her countless provincial relatives. The groom, after giving his final instructions to his servant on preparing the house for the reception, leaps onto his horse to meet his newfound family and escort them to his home.

A long cavalcade of guests follows Fadinard to his house, but the host, eager to make sure everything is in order, rides ahead to check on the preparations.

As noted by the Karaganda Academic Theatre of Musical Comedy, copyright law made it impossible to use the poems and music from the famous film adaptation, so the original play had to be adapted into a libretto. The composer of this production is Vladimir Baskin, musical director of the Saint Petersburg Variety Theatre named after Arkady Raikin, while the libretto and lyrics were created by Susanna Tsiryuk.

The comedy features the theatre’s leading vocalists, along with the choir and ballet company.