On stage again, the Kaidash family. With love. With pain. With quarrels and laughter...

In the very heart of Chicago, far from the Dnipro and the slopes of the Carpathians, from the Black Sea and the Tavrian steppe, a Ukrainian heart has been living and beating for over 18 years — with these very words, I decided to present the Ukrainian Drama Theater "Homin," which operates at the Church of St. Joseph the Betrothed. None of the words written above are an exaggeration. For all these years, the theater has been bringing the Ukrainian word, Ukrainian thought, Ukrainian soul, and Ukrainian identity to the audience. And if at its inception it primarily embodied the dream of director Vasyl Mytnychuk, who still leads the theater today, then in almost two decades, "Homin" has become the voice of the community, the breath of the Motherland, and its activities have become a prayer and memory of the native land that crosses the ocean.

Their productions are always something special. As is the latest one — the play "The Kaidash Family." However, its premiere took place almost a year ago when the amateur artists presented this relevant tragicomedy, which has long become a classic of Ukrainian literature, to the audience. The success was incredible. And now, on the threshold of a new spring, "Homin" decided to play with our emotions again (in the good sense of these words) and return to the stage with the story of the Kaidash family (the author of the story is Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky, adaptation by Serhiy Herzhyk, director Vasyl Mytnychuk). And it was the right decision!

So, on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, those who had a sincere desire to touch the pure and true theatrical art with their souls came to the auditorium of the Church of St. Joseph the Betrothed. Before the start of the performance, the anticipated meeting began with the words of the parish priest — Father Mykola Buryadnyk: words that were quiet, penetrating, and full of light. His prayer, together with the full hall of spectators, seemed to unite the two shores of the life's ocean — Ukraine and America. This prayer reminded everyone: wherever we are, our roots are where the lullaby first sounded in our native language.

"There, to those roots, to those origins, we are returned by the diverse art of the creative people of the Ukrainian community in Chicago," said Father Mykola. "Today, it was done by the theater 'Homin,' which invited us not just to a performance but wants to show us a piece of life, relationships between people in general and in one family in particular. It wants to show us what it means to be human. I think everyone will take something for themselves from this production, draw some conclusions, and maybe even change some of their views on life, on communication with relatives."

In fact, it is the emotionally interesting and colorful "The Kaidash Family" — a classic that hurts and amuses, that exposes human weaknesses and at the same time shows the indestructibility of the family — that helps achieve all this. It was felt that this was not just a performance — it was a return home. Through words, through songs, through tears, through laughter. The stage was alive: the actors laughed and quarreled, loved and suffered. And together with them, the audience experienced all these emotions.

Omelyko Kaidash, played by the talented actor Yaroslav Kupchak, managed to show not just a stubborn peasant, but a person in their strength and weakness at the same time — a person who sincerely conveyed all the experiences and all the calm, all the aspirations of a good host and a caring family man. The authoritative and emotional Marusya Kaidashykha (actress Halyna Holovko) appeared before the audience as a quarrelsome mother-in-law and a woman who held the family on her shoulders all her life. Motrya (Olha Oliynyk) — young, proud, with fire in her heart and pepper on her tongue — the actress played her so truthfully that each conflict situation (how many of them arose in the Kaidash family?!) was an explosion of emotions, and sometimes seemed like thunderclaps and lightning flashes.

Other characters in the play were no less impressive with their performances: Karpo (Roman Stefantsiv) — restrained, stubborn; Lavrin (Andriy Hrechanyuk) — bright, humorous; Melashka (Khrystyna Shcherbin) — deep, quiet, but also knows how to quarrel.

Each of the actors lived on stage. They did not just play their role, but lived it. This is largely due to the director Vasyl Mytnychuk and his wife Leonida Mytnychuk, who managed to unite people of different ages and temperaments into a single theatrical family. That is why the production breathed: it exploded with laughter, then tightened the heart with dramatic silence. Because it was about something very important — about relationships in the family, between the closest ones, about respect for elders, about attitudes towards work, towards the household, towards property and money, and finally — towards feelings. And about the loss of loved ones, which helps to understand something very intimate. Sometimes — too late...

So let's think: is it worth wasting life — so short and so fleeting — on quarrels and family disorder? Perhaps, it was to such reflections that all the participants of the production pushed the audience with their performance.

The finale of the play became especially poignant. Near the stage, children (incidentally, born here in the United States, but with Ukrainian blood, with a Ukrainian soul, because their parents are Ukrainians, and therefore their eyes shine with pride) handed out pears to the audience. And these pears were a very simple and symbolic gift, reminiscent of the Ukrainian garden, of the native land, of harmony in the family, of the unity of generations.

That gift replaced, in some sense, thousands of words. It became that thread — an invisible thread that connects the past with the future, that reconciles generations. Because in the story "The Kaidash Family," the family reconciled thanks to a pear. It... dried up. And so the reason for quarrels between the families of Lavrin and Karpo, who could not agree on whose tree it was and whose children had the right to climb for the fruits, disappeared...

At the end of the theatrical meeting, the actors, together with director Vasyl Mytnychuk, came closer to the audience, among whom were Ukrainian defenders, wishing peace to every heart, every family, and Ukraine. The hall applauded standing. Applauded for a long time.

At that moment, everyone probably understood and felt that theater is not just a form of art. It is a position, it is support, it is a struggle and inspiration for wisdom. And in our case, all this was also intertwined with charity: the theater "Homin" joined in providing financial assistance to the Heroes Protection Fund, which was created and operates at the Church of St. Joseph the Betrothed, — to help those who are fighting for Ukraine's freedom today.

And this once again testified: the artistic front also has power!

Finally, like the actors, Leonida Mytnychuk (for the well-chosen musical accompaniment and costumes), artist Khrystyna Shcherbin (for the decorations), Yaroslav Kupchak (for the important and appropriate props), Vitaliy Kharysh, and Oleh Lobukh (for the lighting) deserve words of gratitude.

"Homin"! You did it! We are waiting for new productions!

Photo by Marichka Bat