The Genesis of Lebanon Theater Art in the Context of the Cultural Landscape in the Arab East

The purpose of the study is to reveal the processes of the origin and formation of the Lebanese theater movement in the cultural and historical context of the Arab East. Research methods. The following methods were used in the work: historical and cultural are to study historical processes and cultural phenomena that had a decisive influence on the origin and development of the Lebanese theater movement of the 19th century; analytical is to analyze a wide range of the cultural landscape of the Arab world, which shaped the theatrical culture of the Arab East as a whole and Lebanese theater in particular. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time the historical experience of the origin and theatrical art development of a region such as the Arab East as a whole and Lebanese theater in particular, in the era of the Arab national identity rise that followed the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the cultural Western influence strengthening on the countries of the Arab East. Also, for the first time, specific features and characteristics of the theater of the Arab East are systematized. Conclusions. The formation and development of the art of theater in Lebanon was part of the overall process of developing Arab theater in the post-Ottoman era, during the period of the rise of Arab national identity, and the strengthening of the cultural influence of the West on the countries of the Arab East. Against this background, the formation of the art of the theater both in Lebanon and throughout the Arab world could no longer be original, independent. It blended transnational and national elements. Hence there is the excessive enthusiasm for European models and neglect of the folk stage art genres. The most fruitful attempts were to synthesize elements of folk art, folk humor, folk and classical Arabic singing with elements of a European theater, the achievements of European music and modernist trends in Arabic literature