The premiere of the new version of the Broadway musical in Moscow will take place at the Maska Theater.

On September 10, a new version of the romantic comedy musical "First Date" will be released on the stage of the Maska Theater in MDM.

The Russian adaptation of the Broadway hit is presented by Dmitry Bogachev's Broadway Moscow theater company ("The Phantom of the Opera", "Chess", "Beauty and the Beast", "The Little Mermaid", Mamma Mia!, Chicago, the original Russian musicals "Don't Be Afraid of Anything, I'm with You" and "The Last Tale") along with regular partners of MTS Live and Yandex Afisha, leading players in the Russian entertainment industry.

The original Russian-language production was first shown in Moscow in 2019. In six years, "First Date" has been watched by tens of thousands of viewers, recognizing themselves in the characters of the musical.

The updated "First Date" has become much more modern and spectacular. The new scenic solution uses colorful projections on a multimedia screen and decorations recreating the interior of a trendy bar, where the characters meet according to the plot. The dialogues have also undergone changes: humor is now more in line with the spirit of the times.

"In 2013, I saw the Broadway production of First Date for the first time. This light, witty, at the same time frank and very personal story immediately seemed close and understandable to me. I thought: Our viewers in Moscow will definitely like it. Because there's something truly universal about her. The characters open up to each other right in front of your eyes, and you suddenly recognize yourself in them. Or your friend. The neighbor in the stairwell. A colleague at work. I know many successful, accomplished people who hide their anxiety, doubts, and fear of being misunderstood behind their outward confidence. They are afraid to seem weak, but, like everyone else, they dream of a true friend, of love, of intimacy. In my Soviet childhood, we were taught to be strong, inflexible, "iron", purposeful. But weakness, insecurity, vulnerability — it's so human. And it's so important to allow yourself to be real," said Dmitry Bogachev, the musical's producer.

Before presenting the updated musical to Russian audiences, the producers tested the audience's reaction to the "First Date" tour in China this summer – the nightly ovation in huge halls turned hope of success into confidence.

The witty story, which conquered New York, Tokyo, London and Buenos Aires, was composed by playwright Austin Winsberg (TV series "Gossip Girl", "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist") and songwriters Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (TV series "Once upon a Time in a Fairy Tale", the musical "From 13 to 30"). Famous professionals of the Russian musical theater worked on the original Russian production: director Anna Shevchuk, choreographer Irina Kashuba, musical director Evgeny Zagot, set designer and lighting designer Alexander Sivaev, videographer Asya Mukhina.

The plot focuses on love in a big city. The paths of the heroes would hardly have crossed if it hadn't been for a blind date arranged by their loved ones. Awkward pauses, funny coincidences, unexpected confessions and voices in my head — friends, relatives and even "exes" — "First Date" comes to life in front of the audience performed by stars of Moscow musicals Yulia Dovganishina ("Don't be afraid, I'm with you", "The Last Tale"), Andrey Birin (Mamma Mia!, "Beauty and the Beast", "Don't be Afraid, I'm with you", "The Last Fairy Tale"), Elizaveta Pashchenko ("Dudes", "Circus Princess"), Evgeny Pilyugin ("The Show went Wrong"), Elvina Mukhutdinova ("Nord-Ost", Mamma Mia!), Ekaterina Lisochenko ("Beauty and the Beast", "Singing in the Rain"), Alexey Petrov ("Anna Karenina"), Pavel Stukalov ("The Little Mermaid"), Vladislav Goetze ("Romeo and Juliet") and a musical band led by Evgeny Zagot ("Chess", "Don't Be Afraid of Anything, I'm with you", "The Last Fairy Tale").