The new musical Anastasia, tells
the legend of the Russian princess who was rumored to have survived the
revolution. We follow a strong and resilient Anya who finds love during
her search for her true identity and family. This show with ornate
costumes and video mapping traveled through pre and post revolutionary Russia
to Paris in the 1920’s. Anastasia is a visual and musical extravaganza taking
us on a twenty year scenic journey.
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| "Once Upon December" ** |
Reflection
The show opens in 1907 where the Dowager Empress (Joy Franz) sings "Once Upon December" to her granddaughter, a young Anastasia (Victoria Bingham) before leaving for Paris. Then it forwards 10 years in "The Last Dance of the Romanov's" as Anastasia dances in the white palace ballroom just before it is consumed with
fire and the Romanov's are executed as the revolution begins. It was a powerful opening.
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| Anya believes she might be Anastasia * |
Fast forwarding again to post war Russia in 1927, we meet Anya who has amnesia and takes odd jobs to survive the
poor post war living conditions. The Russians find comfort in the rumor that Anastasia survived execution in “A Rumor in St. Petersburg”. A handsome
young Dmitry (Stephan Brower) and Vlad (Edward Staudenmayer), an ex member of the royal court, search for someone to pose as the royal princess to collect the fortune and Anya fits the bill. She eventually
believes that this might be the past that she could not remember.
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| "In My Dreams" ** |
We never really know if Anya is really Anastasia but we enjoy her
journey with over twenty scene changes that take us on a magical excursion through time. During “In My Dreams” we get
our first taste of the explosive strong vocals needed for Anya, played by the understudy Beth Stafford Laid on the night of my
viewing. Laid's beautifully sung song took place in a spectacular palace with what resembled dancing spirits of the Romanov’s. This is how this play
continued- powerful female lead ballads, akin to an opera, and breathtaking
visuals. (See the video of the set design by Aaron Rhyne Designs here ).
We go on a sightseeing tour in “My Perterburg” as Dmitry takes Anya though the city's landmarks in 1927! There was an amazing train ride in “Traveling
Sequence” through
the country as Anya, Dimity and Val travel to Paris to meet Anastasia's grandmother, the Dowager Empress. Act I ends with Anya bellowing a “Journey to the Past" surrounded
by fields of pink blossoms. My mother and I were “wide eyed” with the visual journey of
this show.
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| Act II takes you to Paris in 1927** |
We move Act II to Paris. In the lively “Paris Holds the Key(to Your Heart), the
cast in the 1927 style, dance through the city ending up at the top of the Eiffel
tower! "Quartet at the Ballet" was a breathtaking scene as the Dowager Empress contemplatives whether Anya is Anastasia during the ballet Swan Lake and the dancer performs the famous ballet whipping turns (watch).
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| Anya gives up her fortune for love ** |
In the "happily ever after ending", Anya gives up the Romanov fortune finding a place to belong-in commoner Dmitry’s arms. There was
so much to absorb visually as we listened to the beautiful ballad filled score of Anastasia. It was nothing
less than a musical and visual extravaganza!
(Anastasia runs through October 21, 2018. For tickets to Anastasia or for more on
the upcoming shows in PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series go to trustarts.org. For the touring Anastasia schedule go to https://anastasiathemusical.com/)
*Photo by Matthew Murphy
**Photo by Evan Zimmerman
All Music linked in blog to the Broadway Soundtrack
All Music linked in blog to the Broadway Soundtrack
Spiritual Source
She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future (Proverbs 31:25)
Other sources
https://trustarts.org/
Broadway tour https://anastasiathemusical.com/
Aaron Rhyne Designs http://www.aaronrhyne.com/reel
Broadway tour https://anastasiathemusical.com/
Aaron Rhyne Designs http://www.aaronrhyne.com/reel
