Review: THE MASTER AND MARGARITA at Gdynia Musical Theater

Anyone who knows these artists is not surprised: they love big shows. And by that, I'm not just talking about the size of the stage. They will do a lot to make the buzz. Taking a world-class drama that's hard to classify into a genre and turning it into a musical is hugely ambitious, it should be fiery and thrilling and it works like a charm.

A complex plot with a mixture of 1930s Moscow and Pontius Pilat's trial in Jerusalem already raises high expectations. Let's start with the older part. Yeshua Ha-Nostri (Maciej Glaza) stands in front of Pilat (Krzysztof Kowalski), and yes, these are the same characters we know from the Bible. The second one is like a furious beast (he gives us goosebumps but we want more) that contrasts with the gentle and reconciled fate Yeshua, who claims that everyone is good. According to the well-known story, he will eventually end up on the cross. No surprise here.

On the other hand, we have the atmosphere of the Russian capital of a hundred years ago. Songs, impressive scenography (by Andrzej Woron), and costumes (by Klaudia Filipiak) take us on a journey through time and space. The Woland (great with his slowness Robert Gonera) squad is hilarious: the nice Koroviev (Marek Sadowski), the fat black cat Behemoth (Sebastian Wislocki), the man for dirty work Azazello (Aleksy Perski) and Hella, the red-haired vanity vampire (Karolina Trebacz). All of them make a cohesive picture of a freak show of evilness, I love it! And of course, there is Master (the brilliant Jakub Bruscheiser), a romantic/tragic figure, whose maturity is revealed in every little detail he does. He has mastered being a Master. His love, Margarita (Maja Gadzinska), goes from heartbroken woman through queen to witch - a transformation we all deserve to go through. Her voice is like a dark soft chocolate layer on a cake: dense, deep but still sweet.

Now, the lows. The show is advertised as interactive art but it was just too much of that interactivity. The second act is overcomplicated with all recordings and the translucent screen going up and down. It slows down the great rhythm of the piece with too many disruptors that take us away from the great voices and the plot. More may be too much. Another disappointment is Behemoth, the cat. This part has great potential, and the ideas are running out for some reason. It's a shame because it could be quirky and innovative but instead, we have a grown man dressed in a furry cat costume. Don't get me wrong, the show is five-star but when the bar is set this high, you definitely see the smallest flops.

These three and a half hours will pass very quickly because the piece is written with great vivacity (libretto by Jurij Riaszencew, translation by Andrzej Poniedzielski) and I really don't want to describe all great big and small details not only because there are too many but also because it would be a shame to spoil the surprising effect for you. Go check it out - totally worth it. After (or before) the show you can download a special application developed for this show with music and other features https://www.mistrzimalgorzata.org/aplikacja-z-muzyka/. Last but not least the group scenes and the choreography are incredible. You can feel the power of structure and the power of ideas. It's really impressive and yes, you will walk out of the theater with a huge "wow" effect.

Show with English subtitles.

Photo: Gdynia Musical Theater

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