Kotyhoroshko and Cinderella are hard put to compete with Casper

There is an old joke about two businessmen. One says to the other that the Christmas tree decorations he received as a present turned out defective. You mean they were broken or something, asks the other. No, says the man, they just didn’t make me happy. Christmas and New Year festivities are very special in that they make children and adults behave the same, playing magic games. Psychologists say that adults invent these games for children and then develop such a fancy for them, they join playing them. True, it is easier for the children to win the game — i.e., experience something they truly believe is magic — because they are far more perceptive. This ability is encouraged in Ukraine by performances staged specially for children in cities and towns, at clubs and daycare centers. Olenka, aged 5, explains that she likes New Year performances because it is the only time she can not only watch but also communicate, even touch her favorite fairy tale characters. “I can ask Grandfather Frost a favor and he’ll surely do it,” she sounds quite confident. “Also, I can take pictures with him and then show them to my friends.”

Parents taking their children to such shows believe that they are different now. No, not worse. On the contrary, they are getting more attractive with each passing year; the stage directors are increasingly creative and inventive — but positive energy is getting less conspicuous against the scenic background. Those organizing such shows argue that children are different, they are more uninhibited. This is good, of course, but this also means a greater degree of pragmatism.

Too bad belief in magic-thing-come-true is not carried by genes and there are all those TV horror movies and blood-curdling computer games. The good old Bremen Town-Musicians and Little Red Riding Hood have to compete with ninjas and Casper the Ghost, more often than not playing a losing game, for the latter are very much “in.” Needless to say, the very ideology of such New Year shows has changed with time. Now every character has to speak Ukrainian, especially at the capital’s Ukraine Palace, and the cast must include heroes such as valiant Cossacks and Kotyhoroshko (polls show that they are not exactly popular with the junior audiences).

Be it as it may, this year’s Christmas trees [known here as “New Year fir trees,” courtesy of seven decades of Soviet indoctrination] and the attendant festivities showed a spectacular scope. Of course, there the traditional image is to be upheld, says Yaroslav Huskov, director general of the capital’s festival and concert program center, adding that the prime cost of such shows exceeds three million hryvnias. The organizers keep their fingers crossed, hoping to end the “tour” without sustaining heavy losses. This year, the Kyiv authorities gave no subsidies for the season’s festivities, so they had to look for sponsors. In the end, a “cow” was added to the cast of pirates, fairies, and wizards, the one starring in commercials lauding the world’s finest chocolate and Coca-Cola, the invariable attribute of every show. Also, they try to keep the prices reasonable, but the Ukraine Palace rent and pay due the 450-strong cast (three shows a day!) are heavy. They believed that the promotional campaign and ticket sales would cover the expenses even before the holidays. In a way, they were right. They sent leaflets to all regions of Ukraine and the shows were played to full houses (200,000 children from all over Ukraine), not counting millions in the TV audiences. Ukrzaliznytsia [Ukrainian Railroad Co.] was also helpful, allowing children under 16 free passage for the duration of the winter holidays. Regional travel agencies organized special holiday tours of the capital, including New Year shows — true, at somewhat higher rates: without such intermediaries a ticket cost an average of 5-20 hryvnias (along with a half-kilo New Year present), some agencies sold it at 30 hryvnias. At times enthusiastic travel agents created quite a few problems for the organizers. For example, there were a lot of complaints about a travel agency in Kherson which promised a tour of Kyiv with a New Year show but then forgot all about the show.

It is also true, however, that most such problems and losses remain “off screen” when it’s action time. Dmytro Mukharsky, People’s Artist of Ukraine, chief stage director of the show, had a cast starring quite a few popular performer, including actors from the Ivan Franko and Kyiv Youth drama companies, Veriovka Choir, Katia Buzhynska and Olha Kriukova pop singers. In the lobby, people were entertained by children’s performing groups and little soloists, among them Ukraine’s youngest singer 7-year-old Tania Ostapchuk from Chervonohrad, Lviv oblast, winner of numerous vocal contests. When asked if actors are willing to take part in such shows (which is rather strenuous work!), Mr. Mukharsky recited a joke about an actor being offered a contract with Hollywood worth millions of dollars. He says thanks but no, I’m starring in a New Year show for the kids.

There is a large grain of truth in the joke. Actors say they are happy to play for children. Volodymyr Abazopulo, Meritorious Artist of Ukraine, says that children are the best, most gratifying audience, especially at New Year shows. It is only on such occasions that one can see a kid climb to the stage, outraged by Foulfellow mistreating the Snow Maiden and determined to restore justice. Of course, it happens to the detriment of the scenario, but the audience is thrilled and enjoys every moment of it. Most importantly, children in such cases feel so very strong and confident. True, some of their questions and requests make Grandfather Frost melt in his fur coat. During a show at the start of the season a small boy approached him in the lobby and said he was missing his daddy and would Grandfather Frost please return him. Volodymyr Abazopulo says he will long remember the way he felt at hearing this. Regrettably, it was a miracle no Grandfather Frost could have worked...