BENEATH THE ICE OF THE VISTULA
Play By Roman Freud
Directed By Eduard Tolokonnikov
World Premiere
Starring Cady McClain, a three-time Emmy Award© winner
Directed By Eduard Tolokonnikov
World Premiere
Starring Cady McClain, a three-time Emmy Award© winner
Begins February 12 2026
Schedule
Schedule
A Masterpiece Composed in the Eye of the Storm. This February, a Forbidden Love Defies a World Coming Apart.
A reclusive Jewish composer and his Polish cook form a volatile bond in the weeks leading up to the Nazi invasion, forcing them to confront art, love, and survival in a world on the brink of collapse.
A reclusive Jewish composer and his Polish cook form a volatile bond in the weeks leading up to the Nazi invasion, forcing them to confront art, love, and survival in a world on the brink of collapse.
In the sweltering summer of 1939, as war looms over Warsaw, a reclusive Jewish composer, Adam Kobylanski, makes a desperate bargain. He locks himself in his Mokotów apartment, vowing to compose a revolutionary cello suite before the world ends. His only link to the outside is Lydia Mazurik, a pragmatic and brilliantly intuitive Polish cook.
What begins as a simple arrangement of meals and laundry soon cracks open into a profound and volatile connection. Lydia, with her earthy wisdom and unshakeable spirit, becomes Adam's unlikely muse, his fiercest critic, and the mirror to his own tormented soul. As their relationship escalates from simmering tension to raw passion and explosive conflict, they clash over art, faith, identity, and the very meaning of life in the face of impending annihilation.
Beneath the Ice of the Vistula is a haunting, deeply human, and darkly funny story of two people from opposite worlds, trapped together by choice and circumstance. It’s a sweeping tale of artistic obsession, the unexpected places we find salvation, and the fragile, defiant beauty that can be created on the brink of oblivion.
A Five Evenings Theatre production in association with New Wave Arts Theatre Collective & EventMuze production company
What begins as a simple arrangement of meals and laundry soon cracks open into a profound and volatile connection. Lydia, with her earthy wisdom and unshakeable spirit, becomes Adam's unlikely muse, his fiercest critic, and the mirror to his own tormented soul. As their relationship escalates from simmering tension to raw passion and explosive conflict, they clash over art, faith, identity, and the very meaning of life in the face of impending annihilation.
Beneath the Ice of the Vistula is a haunting, deeply human, and darkly funny story of two people from opposite worlds, trapped together by choice and circumstance. It’s a sweeping tale of artistic obsession, the unexpected places we find salvation, and the fragile, defiant beauty that can be created on the brink of oblivion.
A Five Evenings Theatre production in association with New Wave Arts Theatre Collective & EventMuze production company
Eduard Tolokonnikov is a New York–based theater director known for emotionally immersive, psychologically rich productions that blend intimate performance with bold visual storytelling. A graduate of one of Europe’s leading drama academies, he later pursued doctoral research in theatre arts and founded New York’s Acting and Directing Laboratory in 2020. His recent credits include the Off-Broadway premiere of Baudelaire’s Passion (2023, 2025 revival) and Five Evenings, an Off-Off-Broadway hit extended after a sold-out debut and In the Wilderness of Demons (off-broadway premiere of Don Nigel’s new play). Tolokonnikov’s work focuses on atmosphere, rhythm, and emotion—creating theatrical worlds that resonate deeply with audiences.
Eduard Tolokonnikov (Director)
Cast
Cady McClain is a three-time Emmy® Award-winning actress — the first woman to win for three different roles on three different series (All My Children, As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives). She currently stars as Pamela Curtis in Beyond the Gates (CBS/BET/Paramount+). Stage credits include Orson’s Shadow (Theatre for the New City), Shirley Valentine (Cape May Stage), and What the Constitution Means to Me (Axial Theatre), where she is Artistic Director. McClain also directed the award-winning documentary Seeing is Believing: Women Direct and is the author of the memoir Murdering My Youth.
Cady McClain (Lydia Mazurik)
Roman Freud is a Moscow-born actor, playwright, and Artistic Director of Five Evenings Theater. A graduate of The Schukin Theater School, he has appeared in over thirty New York productions, including Three Sisters (Vershinin), The Master and Margarita (Voland), and his own Singing Windmills. His plays — Ask Joseph, Singing Windmills, Aleksey Aleksandrovich, and Asteroid B-612 — have been staged at leading Off-Broadway venues, exploring art, exile, and resilience. His newest works include Beneath the Ice of the Vistula and Toybele.
Roman Freud performs the role of Adam:
February 12, 14, 18, 20, 22, 26, 28 (2 pm)
Roman Freud performs the role of Adam:
February 12, 14, 18, 20, 22, 26, 28 (2 pm)
Roman Freud (Adam Kobylanski/Playwright)
Lev (Leo) Grzhonko is a Russian-born actor, director, and producer based in the U.S. A Harvard-educated economist, he transitioned from finance to the arts, with short films screened at the New York Film Festival and L’Étrange Festival in Paris. Stage credits include My Cyrano (as Edmond Rostand), Baudelaire’s Passion (as Satan), Eisenstein, Sofa, and the solo piece Conductor. He is the founder of New Wave Arts, a theater collective dedicated to innovative, cross-cultural productions. Grzhonko recently appeared in Love Letters and now stars as Adam in Roman Freud’s Beneath the Ice of the Vistula at The West End Theatre.
Lev Grzhonko performs the role of Adam:
February 13, 15, 19, 21, 25, 27, 28 (7 pm)
Lev Grzhonko performs the role of Adam:
February 13, 15, 19, 21, 25, 27, 28 (7 pm)
Lev Grzhonko (Adam Kobylanski/Producer)
Brad Fryman recently appeared Off-Broadway as Orson Welles in Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton and David Schweizer. He starred in The Drawer Boy (dir. Alex Dinelaris), a New York Times Critic’s Pick, and has performed in American Rapture, Order, Pimm’s Mission, and Groundbreaking Achievement. Other favorite roles include The Creditors, Hedda Gabler, and The Father at Strindberg Rep. Screen credits include Blue Bloods, Snakes and Arrows, and the short films Behind Bars and Overdue. Fryman is the Artistic Director of Oberon Theatre Ensemble, celebrating its 27th season.
Brad Fryman (“The Composers”)
Creative Team
- Inessa Zaretsky
(Composer)Award-winning composer Inessa Zaretsky wrote the original solo cello score for Beneath the Ice of the Vistula, embodying both the play’s fractured emotional core and the creative struggle of Adam, its composer-protagonist. The cello becomes both narrator and witness, its resonant timbre evoking longing, despair, and resilience. Shifting between minimalism and dissonance, the music draws on echoes of prewar European melodies to conjure memory, loss, and endurance. - Marina Philidor
(Producer)Marina Philidor is a producer, entrepreneur, and writer. A graduate of Moscow State University, she moved to New York in 2002 and has since collaborated with numerous acclaimed musicians and artists. Recent credits include producing the Sholom Secunda Spectacular at Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center. Dedicated to fostering cross-cultural artistic exchange, she continues to develop projects that unite international talent with New York’s vibrant creative scene. - Jenya Shekhter
(Scenic Design)Boston-based designer Jenya Shekhter began her career in Odessa and continued her studies at Tel Aviv University. Her international design credits include Sailor’s Silence, Uncle Vanya, A View from the Bridge, The Dead Souls, and Elsinor. In New York, she created the set for PM Theater’s The Singing Windmills (two sold-out Off-Broadway runs), as well as A Star Without a Name, Aleksey Aleksandrovich, and Five Evenings by Volodin. Recent work includes Pinocchio in Boston, with Five Evenings now set for a U.S. tour. - Natalia Danilova
(Costume Design)Natalia Danilova is a costume designer, stylist, and scenic artist whose work blends classic Russian theatrical elegance with modern American flair. A graduate of the Moscow Theatrical Arts and Technology College with a degree in Fine Arts and Costume Design, she has designed for both Russian theaters and U.S. film and stage productions. She is a proud member of IATSE Local 829.
Get Tickets
$55-$70
7 PM
Adam - Roman Freud
Adam - Roman Freud
7 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
2 PM
7 PM
Adam - Roman Freud
7 PM
Adam - Roman Freud
2 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
7 PM
Adam - Roman Freud
Adam - Roman Freud
7 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
7 PM
Adam - Roman Freud
Adam - Roman Freud
2 PM
7 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
7 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
2 PM
Adam - Roman Freud
Adam - Roman Freud
7 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
7 PM
Adam - Roman Freud
Adam - Roman Freud
7 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
2 PM
Adam - Roman Freud
7 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
Adam - Roman Freud
7 PM
Adam - Lev Grzhonko
WEST END THEATRE
A hidden gem performance space on the Upper West Side, located on the second floor of the historic Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew.
Disclaimer: The Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew and Bedlam support all forms of creative expression, and are pleased to host the artistic community of the West End Theatre. The Curch has no responsibility for the content of this or any other production.
Disclaimer: The Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew and Bedlam support all forms of creative expression, and are pleased to host the artistic community of the West End Theatre. The Curch has no responsibility for the content of this or any other production.
Directions >
Address: The West End Theatre at St. Paul & St. Andrew UMC, 263 West 86th Street, 2nd floor, NYC.
Address: The West End Theatre at St. Paul & St. Andrew UMC, 263 West 86th Street, 2nd floor, NYC.
