The Red Russian Girl Returns to Door County’s Third Avenue Playhouse, Mar 6-7

Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by in On Stage & Screen

Fans of Roger Kuhns’ dramatic monologues first met The Red Russian Girl at Third Avenue Playhouse (TAP) in 2006 and she holds a special place in the hearts of many of them.

As part of TAP’s 10th anniversary season, Roger Kuhns returns to TAP to reprise this much-loved cultural-political-geological adventure with two performances on Saturday, March 6 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, March 7 at 2 pm.

As the Soviet Union crumbles and a new independent Russia emerges, Kuhns and longtime friend and diamond expert, Hugo Dummett, venture into northern Siberia. They work in the mineral fields looking for business opportunities. Instead they encounter a battered post gulag culture in Norilsk, a secretive diamond industry on the winter coast and the Black Mafia of Leningrad.

Kuhns discovers that, too frequently, life in Russia mirrors its tragic ballets. Norilsk, for example, a Soviet penal colony turned multi-billion dollar metal mine, is just miles from the Arctic Circle. Every day, according to data that first emerged in the 90’s, it blurts 5,000 tons of sulfur dioxides into the sky. The soot turns the snow black from the copper and sulfur. The air tastes sour from the fumes and life expectancy for factory workers is 10 years below the Russian average. The impact, according to ecologists, is felt in Norway and Canada, and is killing off the forest tundra for hundreds of miles. Locals say the snow is yellow for 30 miles around the town.

Deftly weaving various storylines in a style reminiscent of the late monologist Spaulding Gray,  Kuhns reveals the true Russian heart of a forgotten people – schooled in the hardship of the Soviet regime and now suffering in the aftermath of destabilization and Perestroika – yet strong, emotional and resilient.

Roger Kuhns holds a Ph.D. in geology and has worked as a writer, geologist, ecologist, and singer-songwriter. In addition to writing theatrical monologues, he has worked as a news director for a radio station and newspaper and held public office. For several years he ran MusicToEars.com, a music performance company. His diverse resume has led to numerous adventures and experiences that form the basis for his monologues.

Tickets for The Red Russian Girl are  $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students and $8 for children under 12.  Tickets are available at the theater box office, 239 N. Third Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, 920.743.1760.  Box office hours are 10 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday and one hour prior to performances. Tickets are also available at the Dancing Bear, 13 N. Third Avenue, Java on Jefferson, 232 N. Fifth Avenue and on-line at www.ThirdAvenuePlayhouse.com .

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