Comedy in three acts by Ben Hecht and Charles McArthur
Translation: Andrei Baleanu
First in the country

Artistic director: Szombati Gille Otto
Assistant director: Ion Abrudan
Scenography: Tatiana Manolescu Uleu
Premiere date: January 15, 1976

Written by two playwrights originally from journalism, the play is set in the world of American journalists, driven by the ambition of revealing the unpublished, each of them dreaming of someday launching the great "bomb of the day", printed in lame letters on the front page of the newspaper. To ensure their success in the elections, the mayor of the city and his trusted men, among whom the most important pawn is Hartmann, the chief of police, try to force the voters' hand through a tragic judicial farce - the execution of a death row inmate, Williams. A group of journalists, headliners of the scandal and sensation columns in their newspapers, wait, in the police press office, for the moment of the execution, to describe it in great detail. But the mayor's plans are thwarted when Williams escapes, getting his hands on the police chief's gun. In this new situation, journalists are ready to do anything to stir up sensationalism: they buy guards, blackmail the police chief, lie.

In the midst of the events, Hildy Johnson, a talented young journalist, stops by their headquarters to say goodbye to his colleagues: newly engaged, he is about to leave for New York. But the sensation aroused by Williams' escape makes him forget about his fiancée, seeing in this series of events the source of a great professional success. The mad chase for the bombshell news, in which he is driven by weakness, but also by pride, resembles a game of life and death.

A piece full of rhythm and suspense, "Bomba zilei" is a meditation on the relationship between power and the individual, truthfully and critically capturing the lack of scruples and libertine morals of those who can make and unmake human destinies.

Distribution:

Endicott:  Marcel Popa
Wilson:  Mircea Constantinescu
McCue:  Eugen Harizomenov
Murphy:   Ion Abrudan
Kruger:  Radu Neag
Schwartz:  Radu Vaida
Bensinger:  Laurian Jivan
Bismarck:  Grig Schiţcu
Diamond Lovey:  Jean Sandulescu
Hildy Johnson:  Nicolae Barosan
Mollie Malloy:  Mariana Neagu
Hartmann:  Nicholas Thomas
Peggy Grant:  Ileana Iurciuc
Mrs. Grant:  Alla Tautu, Anca Miere Chirilă
The mayor:  Marcel Segărceanu
Pincus:  John Martin
Williams:  Eugen Tugulea
Walter Burns:  Ion Tomorrow

Technical director: Dalma Simionescu
Prompter: Florence Manea
Lighting: Vasile Blejan
Sound: Dorel Olea