This year the Golden Mask makes a pompous overture to the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg by taking place in the northern capital. But this doesn’t mean Moscow won’t be part of Russia’s most significant theatrical festival. The Moscow Mask almost duplicates St. Petersburg’s program, just a week later. The Golden Mask’s closing ceremony will take place April 14 at the Mariinsky Theater, so there’s still a whole week before the jury’s final verdict. Here are our suggestions.

1. "Bezumnaya iz Chaillot" (The Madwoman of Chaillot)

It’s equally useless to retell Jean Giraudoux’s plays and Pyotr Fomenko’s performances – they are unique in every minute detail. Audiences who come to watch Fomenko’s plays are also unique: They are intellectual, thoughtful and imaginative. Fomenko is nominated for a Best Director Golden Mask. Pyotr Fomenko Studio Theater, Moscow, April 10, 11

2. "Dama s sobachkoi" (The Lady With The Dog)

Kama Ginkas has taken a risk in staging Chekhov’s famous story. But, luckily, Ginkas, who is nominated for a Best Director Golden Mask, is a bold and gifted director. His performance is innovative, sophisticated and reflective. Theater of Young Spectators, Moscow, April 8, 9

3. "Mamasha Kurazh" (Mother Courage)

If you’re curious enough to see what you’ve never seen, Bertold Brecht’s play is just the thing. The exceptionally gifted Yury Kharikov is nominated for a Best Set-Design Golden Mask, while Adolph Shapiro is nominated for a Best Director Golden Mask and, finally, Rosa Khairullina is nominated for a Best Actress Golden Mask. Performed by Samara’s Teatr SamArt in Moscow’s Army Theater, April 6, 7

4. "Academia Smekha" (The Academy of Laughter)

Mitani’s "Academy" is one of the most hilarious plays in Moscow. It’s a wonderful duo of two talented and in-demand actors, Andrei Panin and Nikolai Fomenko, one of whom plays a comedy playwright, and the other his censor. Both actors are nominated for a Best Actor Golden Mask. The play is light, entertaining and relaxing. Performed by Moscow’s Pushkin Theater in the Baltic House Theater, St. Petersburg, April 12, 13

5. "Otkrovennye polaroidnye snimki" (Some Explicit Polaroids)

No wonder Kirill Serebrennikov is nominated for a Best Director Golden Mask for "Some Explicit Polaroids": He’s managed to turn a rather irksome text by the notorious Mark Ravenhill – the British author of "Shopping And Fucking" – into a brilliant, ironic theatrical show. Pushkin Theater, Moscow, April 19, 20

6. "Edip-Tsar" (Oedipus Rex)

Sophocles’ main trump card here is Ksenia Rappoport, nominated for a Best Actress Golden Mask: Tall, slim and charming, she rivets audiences’ attention to herself, while also turning her seemingly frivolous lines into tragic monologues. Andrei Prikotenko, a recent graduate of St. Petersburg’s Theatrical Academy, is nominated for a Best Director Golden Mask. Performed by St. Petersburg’s Liteiny Theater in Moscow’s Meyerhold Center, April 17, 18

7. "Kashtanka"

Not every performance staged in Yekaterinburg’s Theater of Young Spectators is humorous and light-hearted. Their touching and out-of-the-ordinary production of Chekhov’s "Kashtanka" has brought audiences to tears. Performed by Yekaterinburg’s TYZ in Moscow’s Mossovet Theater, April 8

8. "Dnevnik provintsiala v Peterburge" (The Diary of a Provincial)

Alexei Devotchenko is nominated for a Best Actor Golden Mask for his performance in Saltykov-Shchedrin’s "Diary." Most of us might like to read somebody else’s diary – but no one wants to run the risk of being caught red-handed. Watching this performance is fraught with no grave consequences, except for the intellectuals among us. Performed by St. Petersburg’s Bryantsev TYZ in Moscow’s Mossovet Theater, April 16

9. "OblomOFF"

Here’s a play – adapted from Ivan Goncharov’s famous "Oblomov" – about real and imaginary life, unwillingness to mature, injustice and friendship. The production involves four talented actors: Vladimir Pankov, Andrei Bely, Artyom Smola and Vladimir Skvortsov – the last is nominated for a Best Actor Golden Mask. Vladimir Vysotsky Center, Moscow, April 16

10. "Stranniki i gusary" (Wanderers and Hussars)

This play is an interesting mishmash of texts by two great Russian authors, melding Chekhov’s play "Tri Sestry" (Three Sisters) and Vampilov’s "Starshi Syn" (The Elder Son). Yury Pogrebnichko is nominated for a Best Director Golden Mask. Pogrebnichko’s work is full of "unimportant" details, which actually shed light on meaningful things in life. Near Stanislavsky’s House Theater, Moscow, April 18.

LOCATIONS:

Meyerhold Center

23 Novoslobodskaya Ul. Metro: Novoslobodskaya Tel: 363-1048

Vladimir Vysotsky Center

3 Nizhny Tagansky Tupik Metro: Taganskaya Tel: 915-4558

Mossovet Theater

16 Bol. Sadovaya Ul. Metro: Mayakovskaya Tel: 200-5943

Army Theater

2 Suvorovskaya Pl. Metro: Novoslobodskaya Tel: 281-2110

Theater of Young Spectators

10 Mamonovsky Per Metro: Pushkinskaya Tel: 299-5360

Near Stanislavsky’s House Theater

9a Voznesensky Per. Metro: Pushkinskaya Tel: 290-2557

Pyotr Fomenko Studio Theater

30/32 Kutuzovsky Prospekt Metro: Kutuzovskaya Tel: 249-1136

Pushkin Theater, annex stage

3/25 Sytinsky Per. Metro: Pushkinskaya Tel: 209-1896

Baltic House Theater, St Petersburg

4 Alexandrovsky Park Metro: Gorkovskaya Tel: (812) 232-6244