Last night, finally made it inside the LENKOM(Lenin-Komsomol) theatre, to see Eduardo de Filippo's comedy "City of Millionaires" (not the Italian title), which might be called Philomena in the original . The program notes pointed out it was made into a movie twice--one version is well known in America: Marriage, Italian Style. de Filippo is apparently not the only Italian playwright popular in Moscow. Comedies by Carlo Gozzi are performed frequently as well. Gozzi, a contemporary of Goldoni, is not as well-known in the US. Certainly, there aren't any Gozzi shows running on Broadway or in the West End of London right now.
The LENKOM theatre, despite its rather Soviet name, is a lovely middle-class theatre company. The theatre is a converted merchant's club, a pre-revolutionary design from about 1905, that looks a bit like New York City's Grand Central Station. The acting style, as far my pidgin Russian could be relied upon, was naturalistic. Stanislavsky would approve of this production,certainly. The set was a beautiful reconstruction of a Neapolitan apartment, the costumes were lovely, the lighting excellent.
A beautiful show, in a gorgeous theatre. If you do happen to find yourself in Moscow a visit to the LENKOM is highly recommended.