The comedy "Amerika pirtyje" (America in the Bathhouse), written by brothers Antanas and Juozas Vilkutaitis under the pseudonym Keturakis (the author with four eyes), is the first public Lithuanian-language play in Lithuania. It was staged and performed 115 years ago. During the years of the ban on the Lithuanian press, it was an important event in the fight for the Lithuanian word. Soon this comedy was performed in almost every Lithuanian village. It has not lost its popularity to this day. It can be said that it is a chrestomatical play from which the Lithuanian theatre has resisted. It is one of the longest surviving plays on the stage. It was first performed on 20 August 1899. It was first performed in Palanga, in the Count's barn. Directed by Povilas Višinskis and Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė. "America in the Bathhouse" aroused popular interest. It was a kind of self-awareness campaign of the Lithuanian nation, in which a group of people declared to the world that Lithuanians existed, had their own language and land. The plot of the play is still relevant today. The main character Vincas sews for a settled farmer Bekampis. At the inn, Vincas meets an old acquaintance from his home village, Antanas, who is looking for a virgin. He has his eye on Bekampis' daughter. By the way, Bekampi needs 200 roubles to redeem a bill. To make a profit, Vince takes on the role of intermediary. He persuades Antanas to lend money to Bekampi, because this "will be the best way to become a son-in-law". Agota is fascinated by Vince's stories about America, steals and gives Vince the 200 roubles lent by his father, with which they both promise to escape. In the end, Vincas imprisons Agota in a bathhouse and sneaks off alone to America. 


Director Jonas Buziliauskas Cast.