''America in the Bathhouse'' ( lt, Amerika pirtyje) is a three-act comedy by Keturakis ( pen name of brothers and ). The play was first published in 1895. It became the first

Lithuanian-language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic languages, Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the Europ ...

play performed in public in present-day Lithuania when a group of Lithuanian activists staged it on 20 August 1899 in

Palanga Palanga (; bat-smg, Palonga; pl, Połąga; german: Polangen) is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long ...

(then part of the Courland Governorate,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

). The play depicts an episode from the everyday life of the Lithuanian village – a resourceful man swindles money from a naive woman and escapes to the United States. Due to its relevant plot, small cast, and simple decorations, the play was very popular with the Lithuanian amateur theater. It became one of the most popular and successful Lithuanian comedies of all time and continues to be performed by various troupes.

Plot synopsis

Vincas, a resourceful tailor, gets a job with a struggling peasant Bekampis who desperately needs 200

rubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

to repay his debts to Jew Faibčikas. In an inn, Vincas meets Antanas, an old acquaintance from their native village. Antanas is looking for a bride and has an eye on Agota, Bekampis' daughter. Vincas agrees to act as an intermediary – arrange a loan from Antanas to Bekampis and a marriage between Agota and Antanas. However, Vincas seduces naive Agota with stories about the easy life in America and convinces her to steal the money from her father. They plan to use the money to escape to America. Agota steals the money, but Vincas locks her in a bathhouse and runs away to America alone. The play is rather simple and was well suited for the illegal amateur theater of the time. It depicts a scene from the ordinary lives of Lithuanian villagers and provides relevant commentary on the Lithuanian emigration to United States instead of more abstract or artistic characters or plot. Similar fraud and deception was described in Lithuanian newspapers of the time. It was also easy to stage as it needed only simple decorations and a limited cast (seven men and two women).

History

Publication

During the

Lithuanian National Revival The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism ( lt, Lietuvių tautinis atgimimas), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuania ...

, resisting various Russification and

Polonization Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя� ...

efforts, Lithuanians increasingly become more culturally active – published and distributed Lithuanian-language publications that were outlawed by the Lithuanian press ban, organized secret Lithuanian-language schools for children, established secret societies (cultural and educational societies were officially allowed only after the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

), and hosted evenings with music, dances, games, and occasional

amateur theater Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

performances. Since there was a dearth of Lithuanian-language plays that could be performed during such evenings, Lithuanian monthly ''

Varpas ''Varpas'' (literally: ''The Bell'') was a monthly Lithuanian-language newspaper published during the Lithuanian press ban from January 1889 to December 1905. Because its publication was illegal in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, it wa ...

'' announced a contest for Lithuanian plays. Brothers Vilkutaitis using pen name Keturakis (it is not known which brother was the main author) submitted comedy ''America in the Bathhouse''. Vincas Kudirka, editor of ''Varpas'', liked the play and brought it to the christening of a daughter of

Jonas Jablonskis Jonas Jablonskis (; 30 December 1860, in Kubilėliai, Šakiai district – 23 February 1930, in Kaunas) was a distinguished Lithuanian linguist and one of the founders of the standard Lithuanian language. He used the pseudonym ''Rygiškių Jon ...

in 1894. The gathering included other intellectuals who read the play. Few months later, during užgavėnės in 1895, Jablonskis staged the play in a school dormitory of the Mitau Gymnasium. Future President of Lithuania

Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual and journalist and the first President of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1926 to 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was one of the ...

played the role of Faibčikas. Kudirka had the play published in 1895 in Tilsit, East Prussia (now

Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography Sov ...

). The first edition, 5,000 copies, sold for 10 kopeks. It was republished in 1905 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Eduards Volters Eduards Volters (1856–1941) was a linguist, ethnographer, archaeologist who studied the Baltic languages and culture. He was a long-time professor at the Saint Petersburg University (1886–1918) and Vytautas Magnus University (1922–1934). V ...

(1,000 copies). Ten percent of the proceeds were earmarked for the widows and orphans of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. It was further republished in 1921 and 1937 in independent Lithuania and in 1966 in Soviet Lithuania.

First performances

The play was popular. It was staged by different communities of

Lithuanian Americans Lithuanian Americans refers to American citizens and residents who are Lithuanian and were born in Lithuania, or are of Lithuanian descent. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in the Unit ...

at least five times before the performance in present-day Lithuania in 1899. In the Russian Empire, the play was performed in

on 12 February 1898 and in Riga on 25 April 1898. In 1899, Liudas Vaineikis, a Lithuanian physician living in

and an active Lithuanian book smuggler, suggested to

Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Gabrielė Petkevičaitė (; 18 March 1861 – 14 June 1943) was a Lithuanian educator, writer, and activist. Her pen name Bitė (''Bee'') eventually became part of her last name. Encouraged by Povilas Višinskis, she joined public life and start ...

to stage a public Lithuanian theater performance. Since Palanga was part of the Courland Governorate, Lithuanian activities attracted far less attention than in the Kovno or

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate (1795–1915; also known as Lithuania-Vilnius Governorate from 1801 until 1840; russian: Виленская губерния, ''Vilenskaya guberniya'', lt, Vilniaus gubernija, pl, gubernia wileńska) or Government of V ...

s and it was much easier to obtain an official permit. Petkevičaitė started organizing the play. She selected ''America in the Bathouse'' as it was easy to stage and already approved by the state censors and recruited

Povilas Višinskis Povilas Višinskis (; 28 June 1875 – 23 April 1906) was a Lithuanian cultural and political activist during the Lithuanian National Revival. He is best remembered as a mentor of literary talent. He discovered Julija Žymantienė (Žemaitė) an ...

to help with finding actors. They managed to get access to a shed owned by the

Tyszkiewicz family Tyszkiewicz is the name of the Tyszkiewicz family, a Polish–Lithuanian magnate noble family of Ruthenian origin. The Lithuanian equivalent is Tiškevičius; it is frequently transliterated from Russian and Belarusian as Tyshkevich. Other peopl ...

that was built for performances by traveling troupes. There was only one performance on . Despite various difficulties and a last-minute police interruption, the performance was a success and even netted a profit of 100 rubles that was donated to Vincas Kudirka. Vaineikis obtained a permit to stage ''America in the Bathhouse'' in Libau (

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...

) during the winter break on 16 January 1900. The actors were mostly the same as in Palanga; Višinskis also recruited Jonas Biliūnas to play the role of the matchmaker. The same group managed to obtain permits to stage a different comedy, ''Devil Trapped'' (''Velnias spąstuose''), on 21 July in Libau and on 23 July in Mitau (

Jelgava Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Du ...

), but when Višinskis hung Lithuanian posters in Pašvitinys and

Joniškis Joniškis (; Samogitian: ''Juonėškis'') is a town in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania– Latvia border. Joniškis is the municipal an ...

, the permits were revoked and actors were arrested and questioned by the police.

Later performances

The play became very popular and was performed by various groups illegally. Various peasants hosted the play in their barns, particularly in Suvalkija. For example, future Prime Minister Juozas Tūbelis staged the play in his father's barn in 1901. The play was also staged outside of Lithuania. Birutė Society staged it on 25 February 1900 in Tilsit, East Prussia (now

). It was staged legally in Saint Petersburg in 1902 (three performances) and 1904.

Mykolas Sleževičius Mykolas Sleževičius (21 February 1882 – 11 November 1939) was a Lithuanian lawyer, political and cultural figure, and journalist. One of the most influential figures in inter-war Lithuania, he served as the prime minister of Lithuania on th ...

staged the play in Odessa in 1904, while two performances took place in present-day Latvia in Subate in February 1904 and in Grīva in December 1904. When the Lithuanian press ban was lifted in 1904 and cultural societies were allowed in 1905, there were a number of legal performances in Lithuania, including on 31 October 1904 in

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...

(

Kazimieras Venclauskis Kazimieras Venclauskis (27 February 1880 – 24 February 1940) was a Lithuanian attorney, politician, and philanthropist. After graduating from the University of Tartu and completing the mandatory five-year practice at a court and prosecutor's o ...

played Bekampis; Vincas Kapsukas turned the gathering into a political protest against the Tsar), on 6 February 1905 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, by the Daina Society on 5 March 1905 in Kaunas, by politician

Kazys Grinius Kazys Grinius (, 17 December 18664 June 1950) was the third President of Lithuania, and held that office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926. Previously, he had served as the fifth Prime Minister of Lithuania, from 19 June 1920 until his resignat ...

on 28 May 1905 in

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mar ...

, composer

Stasys Šimkus Stasys Šimkus (23 January 1887, Motiškiai, now in Jurbarkas district municipality, Russian Empire – 15 October 1943, Kaunas, Reichskommissariat Ostland) was a Lithuanian composer. Šimkus studied in Vilnius and Warsaw and later became the ...

on 2 November 1905 in

Jurbarkas Jurbarkas (; Samogitian: ''Jorbarks'', known also by several alternative names) is a city in Tauragė County, in Samogitia, Lithuania. Jurbarkas is located in the historic land of Karšuva. It is on the right-hand shore of the Nemunas at it ...

. The play was staged in Moscow in 1907. By World War I, it was performed over a hundred times. The play continues to be a part of the Lithuanian theater repertoire. The Kaunas State Drama Theatre staged the play in 1974 (director Valdas Lencevičius). In 2014, the theater staged the 700th performance in

Rumšiškės Rumšiškės is a Lithuanian town (population 1,700), situated east of Kaunas on the northern bank of Kaunas Reservoir. Southern part of the town (including the birthplace of Lithuanian poet Jonas Aistis) is now under the waters of the artifici ...

. In 2014, the play was performed in

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

at the

Rustaveli Theatre Rustaveli National Theatre ( ka, შოთა რუსთაველის სახელობის აკადემიური თეატრი ) is the largest and one of the oldest theaters of Georgia, located in its capital Tbilisi on ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

. In October 2016, Musical Assemble Ainiai premiered a new interpretation by Nerijus Petrokas, musical comedy ''Is America in the Bathhouse?!'' (''Ar Amerika pirtyje?!'').

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite journal , first=Laima , last=Apanavičienė , title=Nesenstanti „Amerika pirtyje” , url=http://www.draugas.org/legacy/03-05-13apanaviciene.zalt.html , journal= Draugas , date=March 5, 2013 , language=lt , access-date=16 August 2019 {{cite web , first1=Danutė , last1=Ardavičienė , first2=Roma , last2=Bužienė , title=Viena iš šimtmečio asmenybių J.Tūbelis , date=6 November 2017 , website=Respublika , url=http://www.respublika.lt/lt/naujienos/kultura/portretai/viena_is_simtmecio_asmenybiu_jtubelis/ , language=lt , access-date=11 August 2019 {{cite encyclopedia , first1=Anicetas , last1=Arminas , first2=Antanas , last2=Vengris , title=„Daina“ , encyclopedia=

Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija The ''Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija'' or VLE (translation ''Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia'') is a 25-volume universal Lithuanian-language encyclopedia published by the Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute from 2001 to 2014. V ...

, publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras , date=2003-08-06 , url=https://www.vle.lt/Straipsnis/Daina-62926 , language=lt {{cite book , first=Vacys , last=Bagdonavičius , title=Spindulys esmi begalinės šviesos: etiudai apie Vydūną , chapter=Ar verta atgimti Mažosios Lietuvos mėgėjiško teatro tradicijai? , year=2008 , publisher=Kultūros, filosofijos ir meno institutas , url=http://vydunodraugija.lt/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Spindulys-esmi-begalin%C4%97s-%C5%A1viesos.pdf , language=lt , isbn=978-9986-638-98-8 , page=148 {{cite web, url=http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=13012 , title=First Lithuanian play performed in Georgian , date=6 May 2014 , website=The Baltic Course , access-date=17 August 2019 {{cite journal , first=Petras , last=Bielskis , title=Vincas Kudirka: lietuviškasis pozityvizmas ir teatras , journal=Res humanitariae , year=2009 , volume=5 , url=https://etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/object/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2009~1367166555519/J.04~2009~1367166555519.pdf , language=lt , issn=1822-7708 , pages=91–92, 94–96 {{cite book, first=Alfonsas , last=Eidintas , year=2015 , title=Antanas Smetona and His Lithuania: From the National Liberation Movement to an Authoritarian Regime (1893-1940) , translator= Alfred Erich Senn , publisher=Brill Rodopi , series=On the Boundary of Two Worlds , isbn=9789004302037 , page=18 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaGXCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 {{cite journal , first=Dagnija , last=Ivbule , title=Ieskats Latvijas grāmatniecībā (1901-1905): izdevumi mazākumtautību valodās , journal=Bibliotēku Pasaule , volume=35 , year=2006 , url=https://dspace.lu.lv/dspace/bitstream/handle/7/2208/atp_Bibl_Pasaule_2006_nr35_Tautibu_gramatnieciba_Ivbule.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y , page=69 , language=lv , issn=1407-6799 {{cite book , first=Eugenija , last=Jovaišaitė , chapter-url=http://biblioteka.gindia.lt/kazimieras-venclauskis.html?showall=&start=4 , chapter=Kazimieras Venclauskis ir jo kultūrinė veikla , title=Kazimieras Venclauskis , editor-first=Irena , editor-last=Nekrašienė , year=2000 , publisher=Šiaulių "Aušros" muziejaus leidykla , language=lt , isbn=9986-766-14-1 {{cite web , url=https://libis.lt/ , title=Lietuvos integrali bibliotekų informacijos sistema , publisher=Lietuvos nacionalinė Martyno Mažvydo biblioteka , language=lt , access-date=16 August 2019 {{cite journal , first=Rūta , last=Mažeikienė , journal=Nordic Theatre Studies , issue=27 , volume=1 , year=2015 , title=From "rooted out" to "rootless": Images of Emigration in Lithuanian Drama , url=https://tidsskrift.dk/nts/article/view/24240/21243 , issn=2002-3898 , pages=69–70 {{cite book , first=Vytautas , last=Merkys , title=Knygnešių laikai 1864–1904 , publisher=Valstybinis leidybos centras , year=1994 , location=Vilnius , language=lt , page=147 , isbn=9986-09-018-0 {{cite web , first=Andromeda , last=Milinienė , url=https://www.ve.lt/naujienos/kultura/teatras/kas-parase-amerika-pirtyje/ , title=Kas parašė „Ameriką pirtyje“? , website=Vakarų ekspresas , date=20 August 2016 , language=lt , access-date=11 August 2019 {{cite journal , first=Danutė , last=Mukienė , url=http://samogitia.mch.mii.lt/ZZ_2014_4/ZZ_2014_4_p_23_33.pdf , title=Žemaičių indėlis kuriant Lietuvos profesionalųjį teatrą , language=lt , journal=Žemaičių žemės , year=2013 , volume=4 , issue=94 , issn=1392-2610 , pages=26, 30 {{cite web , first=Vereta , last=Rupeikaitė , date=5 May 2014 , url=https://m.kauno.diena.lt/naujienos/laisvalaikis-ir-kultura/kultura/r-varnaite-laiko-audroms-atspari-bekampiene-627659 , website=Kauno diena , title=R. Varnaitė – laiko audroms atspari Bekampienė , language=lt , access-date=11 August 2019 {{cite journal , first=Helmutas , last=Šabasevičius , url=https://etalpykla.lituanistikadb.lt/object/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2000~1368041841619/J.04~2000~1368041841619.pdf , title=Vilniaus kultūra 1904-1914. Faktai. Idėjos. Asmenybės , page=22 , language=lt , journal=Menotyra , volume=4 , issue=21 , year=2000 , issn=2424-4708 {{cite book , first=Adolfas , last=Sprindis , title=Povilas Višinskis , language=lt , year=1978 , publisher=Vaga , location=Vilnius , oclc=4874806 , pages=185–191, 200–201, 205–207 {{cite book , first=Balys , last=Sruoga , title=Lietuvių teatras Peterburge, 1892-1918: Lietuvių teatro istorijai medžiaga , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxODAAAAIAAJ&q=%22amerika+pirtyje%22+1898+vas%22 , year=1930 , language=lt , location=Kaunas , publisher=Humanitarinių mokslų fakulteto leidinys , page=111 , oclc=891235264 {{cite web , first=Tomas , last=Sušinskas , title=Vilkaviškiečio Keturakio “Amerika pirtyje” fenomenas , date=29 March 2019 , website=Sūduvos gidas , url=https://suduvosgidas.lt/vilkaviskiecio-keturakio-amerika-pirtyje-fenomenas/ , language=lt , access-date=11 August 2019 {{cite book , first=Šarūnė , last=Trinkūnaitė , chapter=Mėgėjų teatro sąjūdis XIX a. pabaigoje–XX a. pradžioje , editor-last=Vasinauskaitė , editor-first=Rasa , title=Lietuvos teatras. Trumpa istorija , location=Vilnius , publisher=Kultūros, filosofijos ir meno institutas , year=2009 , language=lt , isbn=9789955868217 , pages=35–36 {{cite web, url=https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/1013682086/ar-amerika-pirtyje-pagal-keturakio-komedija-amerika-pirtyje-ar-amerika-pirtyje-pagal-keturakio-komedija-amerika-pirtyje , title=Ar Amerika pirtyje?! Pagal Keturakio komediją "Amerika pirtyje" , date=31 December 2017 , language=lt , publisher=Lietuvos nacionalinis radijas ir televizija , access-date=11 August 2019 {{cite journal , first=Gitana , last=Vanagaitė , volume=2 , issue=23 , year=2018 , journal=Interlitteraria , title=Lithuanian Literature in 1918–1940: The Dynamics of Influences and Originality , doi=10.12697/IL.2018.23.2.10 , url=http://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/IL/article/view/IL.2018.23.2.10/9635 , page=346, doi-access=free {{cite journal , first=Tomas , last=Žemaitis , url=http://lkbkronika.lt/index.php/ausra-nr-35/3332-keturiasdesimt-metu-1904-1944.html , journal=Aušra , volume=35 , title=Keturiasdešimt metų (1904—1944) (Tęsinys) , language=lt , date=February 1983

External links

Full-text copy of the original publication of ''Amerika pirtyje'' (1895)
Comedy plays 1895 plays 1899 in the Russian Empire History of Lithuania (1795–1918) Theatre in Lithuania