A&M-Commerce graduate students Chris and Cathy Alleman will remember the University Playhouse production of “big – the musical” for several reasons. This husband-and-wife acting team starred in this play which is based on the movie, ”BIG,” starring Tom Hanks. And at the July 13 performance, a group of Russian guests, two interpreters, and their hosts were in the audience.

One of the four Russian citizens was Vadim Romanov, an actor who owns a theatre and produces videos. “He videotaped the show. He really was exuberant about the show. The interpreter laughed at him and told him to slow down so she could translate and tell us what he was saying,” Chris Alleman said. “We talked to him quite a while. It was an interesting experience for Cathy and me,” Chris commented. Phyllis Stanley, a Sulphur Springs resident and former A&M-Commerce student who helped to host the international visitors, agreed that the guests enjoyed the musical and it was one of the highlights of the group’s 10-day visit to the Dallas metroplex and the northeast Texas region.

“The Russians really enjoyed the musical and just being in the theatre was a thrill for Vadim,” noted Stanley, who with Bonnie Gilmer, another Sulphur Springs resident and an A&M-Commerce alumna, extended hands of friendship and gave insights on American life to the guests. Hosts to a Russian group to the region for a second consecutive summer, Stanley and Gilmer and Commerce resident Charlie Epperson commended the City of Commerce and A&M-Commerce personnel and students for their willingness to meet with the guests. This was also the second summer for a group from Russia to visit in Commerce, Sulphur Springs, and Paris as well as Dallas.

In addition to Romanov, other guests in the 2000 group were Yelena Vyatkina, an editor; Tatyana Averkina, a leader of an organization for Russian women; Svetlana Malova, a youth; and interpreters Tonya Fardishel and Olga Domovets. They were participating in the Russian Leadership Program sponsored by the Library of Congress. The goal of the Russian Leadership Program is to give new leaders in Russia the opportunity to learn about democracy by spending 10 days hosted by American families.

At A&M-Commerce, President Keith D. McFarland met with the group and showed them a University flag that had been aboard an Endeavor Space Shuttle flight in 1992. The Russians were impressed with getting to meet McFarland and seeing the flag and accompanying photos on display in the Founders Lounge. Finding out the guests were going to see “big – the musical,” the President said he could relate to the experience the Russians were about to have. “I attended a German opera performed in the Czech language. I would have been lost if the program had not also been printed in English,” said McFarland who had just returned from a trip to Eastern Europe and London.

Earlier that day in the Performing Arts Center, Romanov walked on the Main Stage and began performing a soliloquy from “Hamlet.” Another stop in the building of interest to the editor, Vyatkina, was KETR, the 100,000 watt public radio station on campus. The Russians also met with Vice President for Business and Administration John Harper who is fluent in Russian and spoke to them in their native language. Their tour also included the Heritage House and the Sam Rayburn Memorial Student Center.

During the visit, the group also toured the Commerce City Hall, sat in the seats for the City Council members, and got a closeup look at a fire truck. In Paris, their stops included the Paris News, Christus St. Joseph Hospital, and Campbell Soup Company. The group also spent time in Sulphur Springs, Winnsboro, and the Dallas metroplex including a tour of Channel 13 and attending the Mesquite Rodeo. “The hospitality of the people exceeded all we expected,” Fardishel said. The Michael Lewis family of Paris also helped host the visitors.