This was the first production of the season 1939/1940.

The performance was put on the stage by B. Zakhava with the participation of A. Remizova and decorated by P. Williams.

The role of the Mayor was rehearsed by Boris Schukin, but he died on October 7, before the final rehearsal. This loss was the hardest for the theater after Vakhtangov. Schukin was not only officially recognized and the most famous actor of the Vakhtangov Theater — he was one of the deepest and most significant talents of his time. Schukin’s interpretation of the Mayor’s role was absolutely new: this was a smart, talented, very energetic man, “flamandly” full-blooded. He, experienced in life messes and whirls of fortune, was eventually ruined by his own temper, active passion for action. With the death of Schukin the performance lost such a hero, but the cast on the whole was very strong.