Annotation: Anatoly Efros’s legendary 1975 production of "The Marriage" at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya is widely regarded as a masterpiece of twentieth-century Russian theater. This book offers a behind-the-scenes journey through the making of the production—from the initial idea and rehearsal process to the premiere—seeking to uncover not just how it was created, but more importantly, why. At its core, the book is about discovering new theatrical meaning in Gogol’s classic play and exploring the director’s interpretation that transformed the performance into a cultural landmark, deeply embedded in the social and aesthetic context of its time. The central section is a meticulous reconstruction of the production, based on a range of archival materials: the director’s annotated script, reviews, musical cues, photographs, rehearsal transcripts, Efros’s diary entries, and marginalia in his copy of the play. Through these sources and thoughtful theatrical analysis, the book reimagines the production piece by piece—ultimately allowing it to live again in the reader’s mind as a coherent artistic whole.