“Drama with old songs”, as it is referred to in promotional materials – written by Kazimierz Braun and directed by Krzysztof Veneda Szwaja – the performance “Return of Ordonka”, turned out to be another great stage success of the Polish Theater Institute, as evidenced by the standing ovation from the audience after its New York premiere.
Wojtek Maślanka
A lot of emotions and positive impressions were provided to the audience by the play based on facts from the life of Hanka Ordonówna and filled with her hits. The premiere of the performance “Return of Ordonka” took place on Sunday, March 26, at the Kościuszko Foundation and enjoyed great interest, which surprised even the organizers of the performance.
There was humor and laughter, moments of nostalgia and melancholy, but also sadness and emotion. Because that was the life of the main character, starting from the times when she was still naive and full of dreams Marianna Pietruszyńska, through the star Ordonka, salon countess Tyszkiewiczowa, and ending with an emigrant experienced by the war and wandering fate.
All these stages of Hanka Ordonówna’s life were perfectly captured in the drama by its creators – author Kazimierz Braun and director Krzysztof Vened Szwaja. The actresses – Izabela Laskowska, who played the role of Zofia Bajkowska, Ordonka’s friend, and Krystyna Tyszkiewicz, who with her singing and acting made the audience feel that they were watching a real performance of Hanka Ordonówna, presented their roles sensationally. The complement was beautiful and stylish costumes prepared by Olga Szulc and the sensational piano accompaniment of Pablo Zinger.
The audience was delighted with the performance and reacted very spontaneously to each song presented by Krystyna Tyszkiewicz, rewarding her with thunderous applause many times, and expressed her admiration for the entire team creating the performance with a long standing ovation after its completion.
Both ordinary viewers and people who connected their professional lives with the theater and the stage spoke highly of the acting.
“For me, it was a sensational play, played fantastically by both actresses, both Izabela Laskowska and Krystyna Tyszkiewicz. They deserve great applause and respect for that, because they did a great job,” Stan Borys, who was present at the premiere, told “Nowy Dziennik”.
Katarzyna Drucker, soprano, conductor and co-founder of the Theater And Opera Society “Theos”, was also very impressed.
“I think we saw Ordonka as she was, full of emotions. Krystyna Tyszkiewicz perfectly reflected her personality both from the beginning of her career and the last years of her life. It was the final scene that was very touching, even to the point that I heard sobs in the audience and saw tears of emotion. I am impressed by the acting of both ladies and Pablo Zinger, who accompanies them,” stressed Katarzyna Drucker.
Full of appreciation for the creators of “The Return of Ordonka”, Fryderyk Dammont, who is just turning 100, was present among the audience. For him, the performance was also a return to his teenage years and to the moment when he had the opportunity to meet Hanka Ordonówna in person. Even though the circumstances in which they met were not very pleasant, because they took place right after the war in a refugee camp, he remembers this moment fondly.
“I met Ordonka during my stay in Beirut, during some very official Christmas dinner. It was towards the end of her life when she was very ill. She came to us in a Krakow costume and sang. We all wondered how such a beautiful and strong voice came out of her, because she looked very haggard… She died soon after. Most likely, this concert was her last public performance, said Fryderyk Dammond.
This period of wandering, emigrating, even exile life of Hanka Ordonówna was also included in the presented art. Each stage of Ordonka’s activity was perfectly captured and acted out by Krystyna Tyszkiewicz, who played the role of the main character perfectly.
“For me, it was a huge challenge, mainly because there are very few videos with Ordonka. True, there are songs and her voice, but my task was not only to sing her hits, but also to show her personality, and in a wide range, starting from the 16-year-old Haneczka until her death. Of course, I read her memoirs and a book about her life, and also relied on the available video materials recorded for the songs ‘Love will forgive you everything’ and ‘On the first sign’, explained the actress and singer. As she added, she approached this task with great humility, but also with joy, because Hanka Ordonówna’s songs were always very close to her.
“I remember them from my childhood, and later from drama school. So when there was an offer to take part in such a play, my heart jumped right away and I gladly agreed. I tried my best to reflect Ordonka’s character, highlight her personality and show her talent, perseverance, patriotism and uniqueness – assured Krystyna Tyszkiewicz, noting that it cost her a lot of work and preparation. “Initially, I read a lot about her life and performances and tried to delve into her songs. Listening to her voice, I felt her vulnerability and expression, so I was able to play her role better,” she explained.
Izabela Laskowska also coped well with her role, playing Bajkosia, a friend of Hanka Ordonówna. Also for her, working on this performance was a great pleasure and a sentimental journey through time.
“For me, Ordonka is a childhood memory because I grew up on her songs. My grandmother was in love with her, because those were her years and her youth,” said Izabela Laskowska, who is also the president of the Polish Theater Institute. It was she who came up with the idea to become interested in one of the dramas written by Kazimerz Braun.
“He is on our Board of Directors and has recently released a series of plays about prominent female expatriates. Among them was e.g. ‘Return of Ordonka’. I thought that after the pandemic period, when we were all trapped at home, this show would be something that would attract people. Hanka Ordonówna’s songs are beautiful, and besides, she was an emigrant, like many of us. Her story is amazing, her artistic career was interrupted by the war, during which she was sent to a labor camp for refusing to accept Russian citizenship. I learned about this, as well as about many other lesser-known facts about her life, only while working on this play. They showed that even a small and delicate woman can be a hero and a good example for all of us,” added Izabela Laskowska, explaining the genesis of the performance “The Return of Ordonka”.
