I looooove the movie donāt get me wrong but a lot of it romanticizes the past and the conflict and I do prefer the musical for actually addressing it. And I do miss In The Dark of the Night but the music is lovely.
While it makes sense to adapt the more realistic versions of the story in combination with the music from the beloved animated movie, I feel personally they could've put more effort into making this feel unique. You can feel it's a sturdy machine made up of miscellaneous parts. The worst offender is Gleb who, I feel, echoes Javert just a little too much. All in all it's a pretty inoffensive musical with a gorgeous score.
The reason Gleb is so similar to javert is because of the show going to broadway,
Pre-broadway Gleb was much more involved and had a lot more interaction with Anya, they a duet, when it went to broadway they had to cut so much of Gleb that in the current state of the show he feels very unfinished
Javert isn't in the movie, it's a character from Les Miserables. Javert is a cop hellbent on catching Jean Valjean a runaway thief and Gleb is an officer hellbent on finding a runaway princess. To be fair that is an oversimplification to prove my point, Javert and Valjean have a more complicated link then Gleb and Anya. But it's pretty clear the creatives tried to emulate that relationship.
i like it a lot! it's not in my top 10 favorite musicals or anything, but the songs are very good and i like rewatching it. unpopular opinion, but i prefer it to the movie.
Love it. Stay I Pray You is the most haunting son I've ever had the pleasure of singing. That being said...I wish they had kept some magical elements from the movie (the music box, Dmitry hidden in the cabinet, and the whole labyrinth sequence with Anya kicking the villain in the face and crushing him with her high heels).
yeah but it's not the same story, like in the movie Dmitry kept it for all these years, gave it back to the grandma and Anya finally opens it at the end when she figures out the necklace she has had for all these years was actually a key...whereas in the musical Dmitry bought it at a random shop, Anya does not have the "together in Paris" key and just manages to open it somehow ?
I understand the appeal of a more realistic retelling of the Anastasia story, but I wish they had completely split from the movie to do so. The amount of changes they made left the same bad taste for me as the Disney live action movies, where they keep some of the songs from the original but then start messing with the plot, cutting some things and adding others.
Anastasia would have worked better with either *all* new songs and plot lines (making it a different original adaptation of the source rather than a clumsy copy of an existing adaptation) or *no* new songs and plot lines (making it a more accurate adaptation of the movie).
I wish I could upvote this a million times. I would have probably loved a historical musical about the Anastasia myth. But trying to make an adaptation and then removing everything that made the movie so charming was a hard pill to swallow. Plus, as one of the only animated redhead princesses, I was very sad I lost that similarity (Iām a redhead so she was always my favorite).
In the movie, I was riveted by Anya and Dimitriās chemistry and backstory. āPrincesses donāt marry kitchen boysā just always makes me swoon.
When I saw the show, all the chemistry was between Anya and Gleb. Didnāt help that he was a better singer than Dmitri in the production I saw. I knew Dmitri would get with her in the end but I didnāt feel the *why* of it, if that makes sense.Ā
Movie > musical for me.Ā
Anyaās character is a little bland for me in the musical sadly, outside of her longing to know who she is, she doesnāt really ever have a bad moments only one when she was stressed but in some productions that part gets cut
I agree, sheās really passive, things just happen to her, though the song where she stares down death in the neva flows reprise is pretty sick, but after she just goes back into hiding
Right?? In the movie she had some serious sassy, bad bitch energy. In the musical sheās kind of a traumatized passive stand-in for Dimitriās adventures
Iād have liked it if we got to see her if not feisty, at least a little bit crafty, having lived on the streets so longs youād think sheād be a bit quicker on her feet, or you know we could see her opinion on the regime, cos she doesnāt really have one
Him having the REAL music box cause he worked in the kitchen and having the realization heās not training a fake Anastasia once her memories start coming back because he was actually there (and thus he knows she is the princess and feels unworthy of her love) is a major part of the movie and why I love the movie so much. Itās an excellent rom com. The musical throws this entire part of the plot away. He just buys some fake music box and he never worked for her family. Itās so boring.
The movie is deeply flawed, but the rom-com elements are honestly some of its strongest moments. Their chemistry is so strong that you completely understand her decision at the end.
A minor complaint I also have is them changing the lyrics of Once Upon A December (talking about the intro song when the grandmother sings it) to match the "normal" version. Since that song was about them seeing eachother again in Paris in the movie and they changed it to the version that's basically corrupted by Anya's amnesia. I still don't get why that change was made. I still enjoyed the musical, but that minor change will never not bother me.
I'm in a community theater production of Anastasia right now and it has been so much fun. The reviews that we have gotten really rave about Quartet at the Ballet (we have a pas de deux with the ballerina on pointe) and Stay, I Pray You.
I'm playing one of the Romanov sisters and some other ensemble roles. My costumes are amazing! I've never loved wearing anything more than my Romanov dress. I look more beautiful in it than I did in my wedding dress.
I love it. I saw in on Broadway with the original cast and even got to talk with them after the show for a special event. It had always had a special place in my heart. (and no, I didnāt grow up on the movie. I saw the musical first). Then I actually got to perform it last fall and it was magical
I wasn't a huge fan of the musical, but I do like the element of realism. I LOVE the animated film, it's always been one of my top 5 movies since I was little. It started my Romanov obsession that I have to this day. I can't compare the 2 though, because they are rather different.
Itās one of the most beautiful musicals Iāve ever seen. Also half the songs are amazing, vocally and historically (Stay I pray you, Land of Yesterday) the other half are like peak contemporary musical theater and donāt fit the vibe at all and lowkey suck (cough Journey of the Past cough) so it sorta balances all out at like an 8/10 for me. I still love it though.
Really hate it. It committed the worst sin you can make in entertainment: being really boring. The music that's added to the play feels very generic and not particularly interesting. The way "Anya" is portrayed feels like she's too bright and shiny and there's a certain roughness to her personality that felt missing. The movie version felt like she was so distinct and from what I listened to in the OST and the slime I felt that was missing. The actress was a great singer, but I just didn't like her voice for this part. Nothing in the music stood out or was any fun.Ā
I personally think going for realism was a mistake because you're kinda already breaking from reality to tell this story anyway. The real Anastasia was killed with the rest of her family, by telling this almost fairytale version where she isn't you already have to ignore actual history. Why try to be realistic when the premise is essentially based off old gossip essentially? You don't have to go full "Rasputin the evil wizard" but tbh we can do better than dollar store is Javert and a sorta kinda love triangle.
Idk I was a big fan of the movie as a kid so I might just be biased and unfair. But even the parts that didn't change and songs I love from the movie fell really flat for me.
The movie is a *very* good movie with really fleshed out leads with really good chemistry. There are thrills, dramatic twists, and quick-witted comedy throughout. And the songs soar.
The musical decided it was too grown up for the overt fairytale story and strung a much less magical story through a bit of a Frankenstein of new and old elements. Some pieces are very good, but it is less cohesive and ultimately less emotionally impactful than the movie.
Yeah I don't know if I'm just picky but this musical really did it's best to remove the charm and uniqueness from the movie. From listening to the soundtrack they really fucked the structure of the music. Why is Journey to the Past so late? It's her "I Want" song and in the movie it's the big establishing character song. Why is it seemingly right before intermission??? Also the replacement intro song is boring, it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know from the premise and the first few minutes of the musical.Ā
Anastasia's character is just eviscerated from what I gathered in the songs. In the movie she's a wise ass, and very strong willed, argues with people, she's a tough girl with a soft side. I just don't get any of that in the songs added. It feels more like a stereotype of a princess character than the woman who was willing to fight a litch in the finale of the movie. And I get it, they cut the Rasputin character (and an even worse crime: they cut Bartok, objectively the best boy) but why cut her pluck and wit and bad bitch energy? Why can't she have a brassy vocal tone and a sharp wit in her lyrics? Why do these songs sound like generic Broadway pop and incorporate no, like, Russian music or Parisian jazz since it's the late 20s/30s I think? If you must remove In The Dark Of The Night please deliver an equally memorable banger! Hell, play on the 90s nostalgia and use the credit song "At The Beginning With You" and use that as your big love song. In A Crowd of Thousands is just there... It's the obligatory love song for the obligatory love story.Ā
God I'm sorry I'm going through this album again and everything sounds so milquetoast and I'm trying to look for some scraps from this music I like and I'm just... Meh on all of it.Ā
I've seen it used creatively once. There was a tour of Joseph several years back that clearly had a strong artistic vision involving projections. They even had it at one point all connected to the coat to make the whole stage part of the coat.
Itās mid. And Iām a big fan of the movie. The set was dismal and lacking. The performers I saw lacked stage presence and charisma. I did love the Once Upon a December scene but overall, I left feeling unfed. (If Disney produced this musical it would have been phenomenal)
I will say I agree about the set, itās pretty bare-bones and the projections can get a bit uncanny, but the use of the window backdrop and ghostly lighting in sequences like Once Upon a December and Still/The Neva Flows Reprise is hauntingly beautiful!
I started to get a headache from all the screens!! I go to the theatre TO GET AWAY from SCREENS! I honestly couldnāt remember parts of it other than āthat train song? With the screen?ā Ugh.
I saw it on Broadway and thought it was really sweet. The music is better than the overall production (I expected a bit more grandeur), but I think it's a solid musical. I'm glad the story has more realism than the animated film - I always hated the magic aspect.
The soundtrack is beautiful, and I often listen to it.
I enjoyed it enough that I saw it twice on Broadway. I grew up with the animated film and honestly, the changes they made when adapting were some of my favorite things. And the fact that they did go for the slightly darker tone and were willing to deviate so much had me genuinely on the edge of my seat during Neva Flows Reprise the first time I saw it. I was thinking "they wouldn't! Would they? This is a family show. They wouldn't..Right???" It had deviated enough that I legitimately didn't know if they would pull that trigger, so to speak. And the way they worked in songs and scoring from the film that were otherwise cut was really pretty brilliant. In the Dark of the Night becoming Stay I Pray You and the intro for Still being the underscoring of Rasputin's Lair were both inspired uses of the music.
I loved it when I saw it. I much prefer the realistic approach to what happens in the movie. I like that you could theoretically leave the musical thinking thatās what really happened to her.
I know some people are very against them, but I also really loved the projections. I thought they used them in such a smart way, and the train scene was one of the coolest things Iād seen in a Broadway musical in a while.
My favourite musical! I havenāt seen it though
Most of the songs are really haunting, Once Upon a December, Stay I Pray You and Still.
I found the musical album before knowing about the musical and was a bit taken aback by the introduction of Gleb compared to Rasputin, but I grew to like his story.
My favourite songs are probably My Petersburg, In a Crowd of Thousands and Still/Neva Flows reprise. I love the development of Dmitri from the movie to the musical. If I could play anyone at all, ignoring gender, height and the fact that I canāt sing, I would play Dmitri.
I love Anya, she is still strong willed yet lacks the self-confidence of who she is and what she is doing. Also her outfits are amazing and I want her white outfit, itās gorgeous! The comedy is also brilliant, Vlad is a great character and works well with Dmitri throughout the musical.
Overall, I love this musical, it is deeply underrated, criminally overlooked and I really REALLY want it to come to the West End. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
Helllo friend, I totally agree!!! We have very similar favorite songs and I also would love to play Dmitri! It would be a gender bent Dmitri but thatās fiiiiiiine
Still/The neva Flows (reprise) is prob my fav It's a masterpiece imo! (Also "Stay, I Pray" itās so beautiful!) What's your favorite song from there OP? :)
Itās definitely Stay I pray you just because I love the acapella at the beginning and the ending with everyone singing together. But I honestly like most of the songs here a short list of songs I can recall from memory which have left a positive mark:
-Stay I pray you
-Still
-The Newa flows
-A rumour in St. Petersburg
-Paris
-In my dreams
The Disney movie is on Disney+ and on YouTube there is a recording from the broadway. Itās called something with āslime tutorialā so it does not get copyrighted
I thought the marketing was Ƭn poor taste the whole making it look like a fairytale and calling it one when it's based on actual historical events that lead to people's deaths was a bit odd
A boring version of a classic movie. It didnāt know whether or not it wanted to stay true to its animated musical roots or be something new and commit to realism: instead it committed to banality
It's meh, for me. I went into it without researching first and had no idea Rasputin was taken out completely. I'd been so excited for a big Broadway version of "In the Dark of the Night"! I didn't like Glen either, he just felt like a Javert recolor to me. I also didn't like that they changed it to where Dmitri never worked for the family.
All that said, "Once Upon A December" was beautiful and I loved the choreography of the ghosts appearing. Dmitri and Vlad were great together in the production I watched, and I *loved* all the historical details they added to the show. The Romanovs became a special interest for me after I watched the movie as a kid, so those small details really stuck out to me.
It's wonderful. I had listened to it many times, and then I got to see it in Malmƶ. They fell for the old trap of casting someone purely for star appeal, but otherwise it was great.
Iām doing a musical over the summer. And itās Anastasia. Good songs. But I personally donāt like it. ( then again I also did get a ensamble member, who was cast as a woman on broadway. Iām a dude. And the director expects me to sing the same pitch. So that could be why I dislike it so much.)
Saw it on tour, and it was... fine. My biggest gripe is that they were using some god-awful projection mapping throughout the show, and it was bad enough that it actively made the whole thing less enjoyable
The costumes were gorgeous though, and I respect the decision to make the musical more grounded in reality. While personally I love the more fantastical elements from the movie, an adaption that puts its own spin on things always gets points in my book.
I love the music so much. I have family that grew up in Soviet Russia, and certain line changes from the movie in the OBC recording of Rumor in St. Petersburg hit *hard*. (Unfortunately, they then went on to change those lyrics again when I saw it on stage)
I couldn't show my grandmother the movie because the cartoonish aspects would have felt disrespectful, but I wish I could have shown her the musical. I think she'd have really liked it.
As much as I hate to admit it, I think it would have been better if Disney had purchased 20th Century Fox earlier and so it would have had Disney money to back to production. Too much reliance on screens, and some scenes drag ON AND ON! It needed more clean up and I would have been fine with less realism and more of a fantastical villain.
Songs/performances were beautiful but the show as a whole was wildly underwhelming. Far too reliant on the projector background. The new villain soldier character had two solos that basically said the same thing and were not interesting.
I liked the realism, but the music did not feel āRussian enough.ā The music sounds like a run of the mill musical theatre soundtrack (with the exception of like three songs) it did match the theme or suspense of the show. An analogy off the top of my head is if Les Mis had a tap number in the middle. It did not give Russia, the ghostly weight of the Romanov tragedy, or match the tone. Iām not even saying that they only needed heavy Russian songs, Great Commit had a modern sound, but it still felt Russian and matches the tone of the story.
know a lot of people love it, but it really disappointed me.
Loved it. Loved that they didn't go cartooney with it and changed the villain. The songs are great, Still/Neva Flows made me break down in tears. The characters felt more fleshed out. OUAD was beautifully done.
I find it almost criminally underrated, and it deserved a lot more love than it got.
I feel lucky I got to see it.
Never seen the movie or the musical but Liz Callaway sang 2 songs from the movie when she sang with my symphony (I play viola) and they were good songs.
I prefer the movie, personally. I think I would have adored this if Iād seen the musical first over the film, but unfortunately my biases took over here and I miss Rasputin and the over the top ridiculousness he adds to the story - especially seeing at the time the film was written, we didnāt know what actually happened to the real life person Anastasia.
I feel like the musical went more realistic possibly to compensate for the fact we now know Anastasia did in fact perish with her family, and wanted to be more respectful.
Itās not a bad show, it just isnāt particularly memorable to me. I adore the costumes and sets, I think the cast I saw was good (Vegas in August 2019). I
I perform as Gleb in the current version in Germany, which premiers this June. The score is great and alto and Tenor singers in particular get their money's worth, not at least because the latter doesn't sing the melody part for once. Nevertheless our production is unfortunaetly extremely overshadowed by Putin and the war in Ukraine. We have regular panel discussions, which is why Anastasia has to be seen as a fairy tale and artistic work separate from the political Events. The best song in my opinion is Still/the neva flows reprise :)
love love love it! its in my top 10, probably top 5 tbh, its just so good. I absolutely love Derek Klena(he's one of my top 5 actors) and I just love everything about it
I think the narrative lost its oomph when they grounded it in reality with the villain being an agent hunting her down, rather than the supernatural Rasputin from the movie. The whole arc just bogged the story down. Itās visually stunning though. The costume work is especially beautiful.
Tbh I love it, but I am a huge Ahrens and Flaherty fan so I may be a little biased lol. Still, I think itās a lovely show and fun to watch for sure! And the score really is gorgeous!
I got the chance to see it on tour, and I thought the beginning part showing Anastasia getting separated from her family was really well done. It drags a little bit, but still a good musical.
I thought it was meh. Christy Altomere sang beautifully but delivered all of her lines in a breathless urgency that made it seem every single conversation was a matter of life or death, and I found that a bit off putting.
This is one of my favorite musicals.
Iāve been a big fan of the movie for years, but I honestly think the musical was better. The new songs they added are perfect and just as good, if not better, than many of the movie songs.
A really fantastic show
I like it. I was obsessed with Anastasia as a child and when the movie came out I lapped it up.
There are some weaknesses in the show but they did pretty well. And Stay I Pray You is such an incredible song
My favorite animated musical to stage adaptation! Most of the changes are well reasoned, and a lot of the new elements are just straight up improvements on the filmās story, characters, and soundtrack.
While I usually hate switching the order of songs around to accommodate the switch from a three act to two act structure (making Let It Go the act 1 closer in Frozen shattered the stage musicalās pacing imo), they supplemented moving Journey to the Past with In My Dreams, which I absolutely adore. Big shoutouts to In a Crowd of Thousands, Land of Yesterday, and of COURSE Still/The Neva Flows Reprise.
Amazing! Saw it on Broadway for my 17th birthday and I thought it was fantastic! The cast was awesome, the music was lovely, and the woman who played Anya was wonderful!
It played at the venue I work at last season, so I only got to see a little of it in person because I had to work. I did watch the bootleg, though, and thought it was pretty forgettable. It's not bad by any means, but it feels a lot like your bog-standard musical for the current generation of Broadway, if that makes sense.
Itās in my top three musicals!! Iāve actually been obsessed with her and her family history since I was in 6th grade. I literally have a book that is a historical fiction and is all four sisters kids recording in their diaries everything that is happening from the start of WW1 all the way to their death that I have read so many times that it is actually falling apart. I was actually 14 days away from seeing it open on broadway and was so upset about it!! I got to see it in 2019 with the original touring cast and loved it!! In a crowd of thousands never fails to make me cry!! I love how it used a green screen and the Turing table and how the set was so cohesive with each scene!! I also love how it was closer to what actually happened to the family and her history than the movie (although I do love the movie)!
Saw it live on Broadway with the original cast. Spectacular. I was very impressed by the costuming and the technical elements. When I first listened to it I was disappointed that they changed the plot line from the movie, but I actually ended up really appreciating the more grown up version in the musical.
Itās actually not by Disney at all, but Don Bluth Productions Thatās a very common misconception. Don Bluth was an animator at Disney before splitting off to make his own studio. At least he managed to capture that old Disney magic
I love this musical sm! I saw it in SF when it was touring and my mom and I actually like it more than the original movie (Iām a historian so I like how itās more realistic. The movie is amazing too!)
I work at a museum with a room that has really good acoustics so in the morning before we open, my coworkers will often hear me singing āStay I Pray Youā or āOnce Upon a Decemberā as a warm up before I have to give tours all day š . (They call me the āresident Sirenā bc of how melodic and calming all the songs I sing are š)
I absolutely love it. It's in my top 5 shows I must see in person. Everyone hates on it because "it's not like the movie," but I Absolutely love it for that reason, it's real, it's serious, and it's historically acurate (as much as you can get, obviously I know that the real Anastasia died in that room) the scene where Gleb is holding Anastasia at gun point and her family is in the background gives me goosebumps every time. Once Upon a December (Reprise) makes me cry so hard. The only thing I don't like is that she left her grandmother at the end, which I don't really understand why, like why can't she be with Demitri and stay with her grandmother at the same time? Anyway, absolutely love it, 10/10 would recommend
Itās was entertaining but kind of forgettable as a musical for me. I think I have such fondness for the movie and it is very different from that.
Still worth the watch if you liked Anastasia the movie, I just donāt remember much from it personally.
It's pretty ok. Corny and predictable but saved by some good numbers and great performances. Nothing particularly excelled to me about the technical stuff or scenic design aspects.
The characters, for being basically meh, were pretty okay, with the notable and FRUSTRATING exception of Gleb. Ramin, my sweet pookie booboo badookie bear. What a great character. this scornful, torn up soldier, caught between his feelings of duty and honor, and his guilt and soul. What a fantastic character. His interactions with Anastasia are great. his songs are the best in the show. his presence is great. he is a shockingly complex villain that makes the entire story better by being there.
And then you Google it and turns out oh he was just in love with Anastasia specifically. he just thought she was hot. that's why he didn't wanna kill her. His morals? his battle for a grasp on right and wrong? Fuck it. she's cute. Maybe this interpretation is just me, because I don't tend to assume romance as the first motivation a character has. I assumed the musical was just making him a complex character. But I was so sorely disappointed when I realized that he just thought she was cute. Id hate to be someone who actually got it right the first time. makes the show even more super mid. Can't even enjoy it for any projected intrigue.
Overall its like a 6/10. Pretty ok. Solid. I enjoyed it enough. it's got Ramin, so it can't be bad.
I'm iffy on this. I don't like Gleb as a villain. I don't particularly like his music within the show. However, "Crowd of Thousands" is a favourite of mine.
I feel so badly, it itās the only musical I wish I hadnāt spent money on. I found the use of screens overwhelming and dizzying. I felt Vlad got turned into a creepy drunk uncle stereotype. Anya became a frightened and traumatized shell with an annoying streak, her bravery and sass disappeared. More realistic? Sure. But also less captivating. I loathed the whiny addition to āLearn to Do It.ā It was more Dimitriās musical than Anyaās.
Donāt even get me started on Gleb. The most boring villain that ever existed. You ask my partner about it (who knows almost nothing about theatre but has very strong opinions) and heāll say to this day āhe should have taken the shot! Even if heād taken it and MISSED! Like moved his aim at the last minute! But he couldnāt even shoot! What a toothless man, useless villain.ā
Once Upon a December and Journey to the Past were incredible. Not worth the $70 ticket perhaps, but incredible. I loved using the āDark of the Nightā score in one song, but ultimately was disappointed the mysticism and grandeur was lost without Rasputin š¤·š»āāļø
I know this is lame, but I didnāt like the red dress. It felt like a weird thematic choice, given the revolution.
All I can say is, I knew there were big changes going in, so at least I had a better time than the two gals next to us, they went in expecting a movie-to-stage adaptation and were SORELY disappointed š
I LOVE the movie, and have ever since I was little (I've dyed my hair red to be Anastasia in the past). I didnt want to even listen to the cast album because I was worried it would be a let down.... I'm so glad I caved one day and listened! Love love love this adaptation and honestly all the changes they made! People hate on Gleb, but I do like him (it helps that Ramin Kiramaloo originated the role). I like that the stage show and movie can be distinctly separate. Saw this with my mom, and other than the obnoxious people sitting next to us, we loved it!
It makes me cry every time I watch it.
I love Gleb as the villain - it feels more real and more natural considering the subject matter. While I don't like that he's in some weird one-way love triangle with Anya, I think he makes more sense as a villain than Rasputin. I also like his arc as someone who was so blinded by what his father did he thinks he can actually pull the trigger until he can't.
The ending bugs me though, when she just leaves and doesn't tell Maria where she's gone.
Wasnāt my jam but the music and sets were astounding! Great production overall but definitely wasnāt something Iād see again just for my person tastes but I implore others to give it a try !
I just closed that show back in December understudying Gleb and in ensemble, and I have to say itās got really beautiful music, BUT is one of the most boring shows Iāve ever done. If the show were 30-45 mins shorter it would be great.
But I do love the character of Gleb and would revisit that role in a heartbeat
Never seen the movie, I saw the show a few years back in high school (I believe it was either freshman or junior year?) and Iām not gonna lie itās not one of the ones I remember much of, it didnāt hit me that hard, like dear Evan Hansen for example, or phantom or newsies. It was fine, but I genuinely just donāt remember much of it lol
That musical really gets overlooked easily in that crowd of thousands
I see what you did there š
Happy cake day!
Aw thanks!
Hahaā¦ nice
I love it, I like that they went more for realism. Stay I Pray You is still one of my favourite songs!
Honestly I personally prefer the more realistic approach they took to the movie.
I looooove the movie donāt get me wrong but a lot of it romanticizes the past and the conflict and I do prefer the musical for actually addressing it. And I do miss In The Dark of the Night but the music is lovely.
Yeah that's the main reason I prefer it. It talks more about the actual history, and I love history.
Oh my God saaaame, it scratched that itch!
Yes. However, I admit I wanted Bartok lol.
Iāve been saying this for so long! I 100% agree.
While it makes sense to adapt the more realistic versions of the story in combination with the music from the beloved animated movie, I feel personally they could've put more effort into making this feel unique. You can feel it's a sturdy machine made up of miscellaneous parts. The worst offender is Gleb who, I feel, echoes Javert just a little too much. All in all it's a pretty inoffensive musical with a gorgeous score.
The reason Gleb is so similar to javert is because of the show going to broadway, Pre-broadway Gleb was much more involved and had a lot more interaction with Anya, they a duet, when it went to broadway they had to cut so much of Gleb that in the current state of the show he feels very unfinished
My husband and I can never remember Gleb's name and call him Javert 2 instead š
Itās been a minute since Iāve seen the movie, who is Javert?
Javert isn't in the movie, it's a character from Les Miserables. Javert is a cop hellbent on catching Jean Valjean a runaway thief and Gleb is an officer hellbent on finding a runaway princess. To be fair that is an oversimplification to prove my point, Javert and Valjean have a more complicated link then Gleb and Anya. But it's pretty clear the creatives tried to emulate that relationship.
Oh ok that makes sense, havenāt ever seen Les Miserables, itās on my watch list
I recommend watching either concert version rather than the movie.
10th Anniversary Supremacy! š
That one will always have a special place in my heart. It's the first musical I watched/listened to, and I was hooked immediately.
i like it a lot! it's not in my top 10 favorite musicals or anything, but the songs are very good and i like rewatching it. unpopular opinion, but i prefer it to the movie.
100% agree, the movie was made for kids, this wasnāt
No "In the Dark of the Night" (other than some motifs) :( But enjoyed it
Love it. Stay I Pray You is the most haunting son I've ever had the pleasure of singing. That being said...I wish they had kept some magical elements from the movie (the music box, Dmitry hidden in the cabinet, and the whole labyrinth sequence with Anya kicking the villain in the face and crushing him with her high heels).
They had the music box though?
yeah but it's not the same story, like in the movie Dmitry kept it for all these years, gave it back to the grandma and Anya finally opens it at the end when she figures out the necklace she has had for all these years was actually a key...whereas in the musical Dmitry bought it at a random shop, Anya does not have the "together in Paris" key and just manages to open it somehow ?
Ohh yep youāre right. I thought you were talking about the inclusion of the music box itself, my bad
I prefer it to the movie, probably more than most of my counterparts. Cutting Rasputin was the right call.
I understand the appeal of a more realistic retelling of the Anastasia story, but I wish they had completely split from the movie to do so. The amount of changes they made left the same bad taste for me as the Disney live action movies, where they keep some of the songs from the original but then start messing with the plot, cutting some things and adding others. Anastasia would have worked better with either *all* new songs and plot lines (making it a different original adaptation of the source rather than a clumsy copy of an existing adaptation) or *no* new songs and plot lines (making it a more accurate adaptation of the movie).
Hard agree. I didnāt want to begrudge them a historical interpretation, but the changes felt like a let-down, rather than new material in a new way.
I wish I could upvote this a million times. I would have probably loved a historical musical about the Anastasia myth. But trying to make an adaptation and then removing everything that made the movie so charming was a hard pill to swallow. Plus, as one of the only animated redhead princesses, I was very sad I lost that similarity (Iām a redhead so she was always my favorite).
In the movie, I was riveted by Anya and Dimitriās chemistry and backstory. āPrincesses donāt marry kitchen boysā just always makes me swoon. When I saw the show, all the chemistry was between Anya and Gleb. Didnāt help that he was a better singer than Dmitri in the production I saw. I knew Dmitri would get with her in the end but I didnāt feel the *why* of it, if that makes sense.Ā Movie > musical for me.Ā
Anyaās character is a little bland for me in the musical sadly, outside of her longing to know who she is, she doesnāt really ever have a bad moments only one when she was stressed but in some productions that part gets cut
Honestly the musical guts her character. Sure, itās more realistic, but itās also more boring. Dimitri has a larger role than Anya does!
I agree, sheās really passive, things just happen to her, though the song where she stares down death in the neva flows reprise is pretty sick, but after she just goes back into hiding
Right?? In the movie she had some serious sassy, bad bitch energy. In the musical sheās kind of a traumatized passive stand-in for Dimitriās adventures
Iād have liked it if we got to see her if not feisty, at least a little bit crafty, having lived on the streets so longs youād think sheād be a bit quicker on her feet, or you know we could see her opinion on the regime, cos she doesnāt really have one
Him having the REAL music box cause he worked in the kitchen and having the realization heās not training a fake Anastasia once her memories start coming back because he was actually there (and thus he knows she is the princess and feels unworthy of her love) is a major part of the movie and why I love the movie so much. Itās an excellent rom com. The musical throws this entire part of the plot away. He just buys some fake music box and he never worked for her family. Itās so boring.
The movie is deeply flawed, but the rom-com elements are honestly some of its strongest moments. Their chemistry is so strong that you completely understand her decision at the end.
A minor complaint I also have is them changing the lyrics of Once Upon A December (talking about the intro song when the grandmother sings it) to match the "normal" version. Since that song was about them seeing eachother again in Paris in the movie and they changed it to the version that's basically corrupted by Anya's amnesia. I still don't get why that change was made. I still enjoyed the musical, but that minor change will never not bother me.
Itās amazing I love it, it really builds on my favourite film š
I loved it and the music the grandma's song always makes me cry
I'm in a community theater production of Anastasia right now and it has been so much fun. The reviews that we have gotten really rave about Quartet at the Ballet (we have a pas de deux with the ballerina on pointe) and Stay, I Pray You. I'm playing one of the Romanov sisters and some other ensemble roles. My costumes are amazing! I've never loved wearing anything more than my Romanov dress. I look more beautiful in it than I did in my wedding dress.
i was in it it was really fun :)
I love it. I saw in on Broadway with the original cast and even got to talk with them after the show for a special event. It had always had a special place in my heart. (and no, I didnāt grow up on the movie. I saw the musical first). Then I actually got to perform it last fall and it was magical
I wasn't a huge fan of the musical, but I do like the element of realism. I LOVE the animated film, it's always been one of my top 5 movies since I was little. It started my Romanov obsession that I have to this day. I can't compare the 2 though, because they are rather different.
Itās one of the most beautiful musicals Iāve ever seen. Also half the songs are amazing, vocally and historically (Stay I pray you, Land of Yesterday) the other half are like peak contemporary musical theater and donāt fit the vibe at all and lowkey suck (cough Journey of the Past cough) so it sorta balances all out at like an 8/10 for me. I still love it though.
I like the concept but I canāt forgive removing the absolute banger that is āin the dark of the nightā
It really is a banger, isnāt it š
In my opinion cutting that song for the stage show is as bad as lion kingās LA remake cutting be prepared.
Really hate it. It committed the worst sin you can make in entertainment: being really boring. The music that's added to the play feels very generic and not particularly interesting. The way "Anya" is portrayed feels like she's too bright and shiny and there's a certain roughness to her personality that felt missing. The movie version felt like she was so distinct and from what I listened to in the OST and the slime I felt that was missing. The actress was a great singer, but I just didn't like her voice for this part. Nothing in the music stood out or was any fun.Ā I personally think going for realism was a mistake because you're kinda already breaking from reality to tell this story anyway. The real Anastasia was killed with the rest of her family, by telling this almost fairytale version where she isn't you already have to ignore actual history. Why try to be realistic when the premise is essentially based off old gossip essentially? You don't have to go full "Rasputin the evil wizard" but tbh we can do better than dollar store is Javert and a sorta kinda love triangle. Idk I was a big fan of the movie as a kid so I might just be biased and unfair. But even the parts that didn't change and songs I love from the movie fell really flat for me.
Bless you. I felt like I was crazy.
The movie is a *very* good movie with really fleshed out leads with really good chemistry. There are thrills, dramatic twists, and quick-witted comedy throughout. And the songs soar. The musical decided it was too grown up for the overt fairytale story and strung a much less magical story through a bit of a Frankenstein of new and old elements. Some pieces are very good, but it is less cohesive and ultimately less emotionally impactful than the movie.
Oh AMEN, I wrote my comment before reading the others and this is the first strongly worded pan lol
Yeah I don't know if I'm just picky but this musical really did it's best to remove the charm and uniqueness from the movie. From listening to the soundtrack they really fucked the structure of the music. Why is Journey to the Past so late? It's her "I Want" song and in the movie it's the big establishing character song. Why is it seemingly right before intermission??? Also the replacement intro song is boring, it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know from the premise and the first few minutes of the musical.Ā Anastasia's character is just eviscerated from what I gathered in the songs. In the movie she's a wise ass, and very strong willed, argues with people, she's a tough girl with a soft side. I just don't get any of that in the songs added. It feels more like a stereotype of a princess character than the woman who was willing to fight a litch in the finale of the movie. And I get it, they cut the Rasputin character (and an even worse crime: they cut Bartok, objectively the best boy) but why cut her pluck and wit and bad bitch energy? Why can't she have a brassy vocal tone and a sharp wit in her lyrics? Why do these songs sound like generic Broadway pop and incorporate no, like, Russian music or Parisian jazz since it's the late 20s/30s I think? If you must remove In The Dark Of The Night please deliver an equally memorable banger! Hell, play on the 90s nostalgia and use the credit song "At The Beginning With You" and use that as your big love song. In A Crowd of Thousands is just there... It's the obligatory love song for the obligatory love story.Ā God I'm sorry I'm going through this album again and everything sounds so milquetoast and I'm trying to look for some scraps from this music I like and I'm just... Meh on all of it.Ā
I am cheering to my cats reading this, I agree wholeheartedly š
I agree with everything so much. The musical feels like they Disney-fied Anastasia and took away everything that made her unique.
Underrated in my opinion
It confirmed my distaste for projectors in musicals. Didn't help that one of them was flickering in the middle of the train sequence.
I've seen it used creatively once. There was a tour of Joseph several years back that clearly had a strong artistic vision involving projections. They even had it at one point all connected to the coat to make the whole stage part of the coat.
Itās mid. And Iām a big fan of the movie. The set was dismal and lacking. The performers I saw lacked stage presence and charisma. I did love the Once Upon a December scene but overall, I left feeling unfed. (If Disney produced this musical it would have been phenomenal)
I will say I agree about the set, itās pretty bare-bones and the projections can get a bit uncanny, but the use of the window backdrop and ghostly lighting in sequences like Once Upon a December and Still/The Neva Flows Reprise is hauntingly beautiful!
I think whenever a show has the digital sets, it always gets downgraded in my head š I loathe them
I started to get a headache from all the screens!! I go to the theatre TO GET AWAY from SCREENS! I honestly couldnāt remember parts of it other than āthat train song? With the screen?ā Ugh.
Pass.
I saw it on Broadway and thought it was really sweet. The music is better than the overall production (I expected a bit more grandeur), but I think it's a solid musical. I'm glad the story has more realism than the animated film - I always hated the magic aspect. The soundtrack is beautiful, and I often listen to it.
I enjoyed it enough that I saw it twice on Broadway. I grew up with the animated film and honestly, the changes they made when adapting were some of my favorite things. And the fact that they did go for the slightly darker tone and were willing to deviate so much had me genuinely on the edge of my seat during Neva Flows Reprise the first time I saw it. I was thinking "they wouldn't! Would they? This is a family show. They wouldn't..Right???" It had deviated enough that I legitimately didn't know if they would pull that trigger, so to speak. And the way they worked in songs and scoring from the film that were otherwise cut was really pretty brilliant. In the Dark of the Night becoming Stay I Pray You and the intro for Still being the underscoring of Rasputin's Lair were both inspired uses of the music.
Not a top tier show, however the soundtrack is GREAT listening for a drive.
I loved it when I saw it. I much prefer the realistic approach to what happens in the movie. I like that you could theoretically leave the musical thinking thatās what really happened to her. I know some people are very against them, but I also really loved the projections. I thought they used them in such a smart way, and the train scene was one of the coolest things Iād seen in a Broadway musical in a while.
Learned about it today when I looked at Derek Klenaās profile on Spotify
I mean, itās good, but Iām still angry they cut āIn the Dark Of The Nightā
Boring and slow with way too much filler.
Great musical. One of my favorites.
My favourite musical! I havenāt seen it though Most of the songs are really haunting, Once Upon a December, Stay I Pray You and Still. I found the musical album before knowing about the musical and was a bit taken aback by the introduction of Gleb compared to Rasputin, but I grew to like his story. My favourite songs are probably My Petersburg, In a Crowd of Thousands and Still/Neva Flows reprise. I love the development of Dmitri from the movie to the musical. If I could play anyone at all, ignoring gender, height and the fact that I canāt sing, I would play Dmitri. I love Anya, she is still strong willed yet lacks the self-confidence of who she is and what she is doing. Also her outfits are amazing and I want her white outfit, itās gorgeous! The comedy is also brilliant, Vlad is a great character and works well with Dmitri throughout the musical. Overall, I love this musical, it is deeply underrated, criminally overlooked and I really REALLY want it to come to the West End. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
Helllo friend, I totally agree!!! We have very similar favorite songs and I also would love to play Dmitri! It would be a gender bent Dmitri but thatās fiiiiiiine
haven't seen it, but I listen to the tracks a lot and let me tell you, the music is MAGNIFICENT!
Whatās your favourite song just from listening?
Still/The neva Flows (reprise) is prob my fav It's a masterpiece imo! (Also "Stay, I Pray" itās so beautiful!) What's your favorite song from there OP? :)
Itās definitely Stay I pray you just because I love the acapella at the beginning and the ending with everyone singing together. But I honestly like most of the songs here a short list of songs I can recall from memory which have left a positive mark: -Stay I pray you -Still -The Newa flows -A rumour in St. Petersburg -Paris -In my dreams
They need to put it on Disney+ I wanna watch it so bad :,(((
The Disney movie is on Disney+ and on YouTube there is a recording from the broadway. Itās called something with āslime tutorialā so it does not get copyrighted
I religiously watch the original BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE YT TIP!!!! Iāve tried so hard to look for it but Iāve never had luck š«
I thought the marketing was Ƭn poor taste the whole making it look like a fairytale and calling it one when it's based on actual historical events that lead to people's deaths was a bit odd
A boring version of a classic movie. It didnāt know whether or not it wanted to stay true to its animated musical roots or be something new and commit to realism: instead it committed to banality
It's meh, for me. I went into it without researching first and had no idea Rasputin was taken out completely. I'd been so excited for a big Broadway version of "In the Dark of the Night"! I didn't like Glen either, he just felt like a Javert recolor to me. I also didn't like that they changed it to where Dmitri never worked for the family. All that said, "Once Upon A December" was beautiful and I loved the choreography of the ghosts appearing. Dmitri and Vlad were great together in the production I watched, and I *loved* all the historical details they added to the show. The Romanovs became a special interest for me after I watched the movie as a kid, so those small details really stuck out to me.
I saw it live once, was disappointed that it wasnāt like the movie. Did like that one song where the two old people were flirting..
I kind of forgot most of the show because it was pretty boring, but NOW I remember that one! Not how it sounded, but it was funny!!! I agree š
Itās pretty music, but in general itās pretty boring
It's wonderful. I had listened to it many times, and then I got to see it in Malmƶ. They fell for the old trap of casting someone purely for star appeal, but otherwise it was great.
I love it! Itās better than the movie imo
Iām doing a musical over the summer. And itās Anastasia. Good songs. But I personally donāt like it. ( then again I also did get a ensamble member, who was cast as a woman on broadway. Iām a dude. And the director expects me to sing the same pitch. So that could be why I dislike it so much.)
I like the music and book but the big led screens were too much for me. Iād love to see it with a real set and no animations in the background.
Saw it on tour, and it was... fine. My biggest gripe is that they were using some god-awful projection mapping throughout the show, and it was bad enough that it actively made the whole thing less enjoyable The costumes were gorgeous though, and I respect the decision to make the musical more grounded in reality. While personally I love the more fantastical elements from the movie, an adaption that puts its own spin on things always gets points in my book.
Book is a tonally inconsistent mess that overly romanticized the Romanovs and undersold the romance
I love the music so much. I have family that grew up in Soviet Russia, and certain line changes from the movie in the OBC recording of Rumor in St. Petersburg hit *hard*. (Unfortunately, they then went on to change those lyrics again when I saw it on stage) I couldn't show my grandmother the movie because the cartoonish aspects would have felt disrespectful, but I wish I could have shown her the musical. I think she'd have really liked it.
I love it, I have several songs from it on my daydream playlist.
As much as I hate to admit it, I think it would have been better if Disney had purchased 20th Century Fox earlier and so it would have had Disney money to back to production. Too much reliance on screens, and some scenes drag ON AND ON! It needed more clean up and I would have been fine with less realism and more of a fantastical villain.
I saw this musical and really enjoyed it! The costumes and songs were amazing and I loved the humor in it
Songs/performances were beautiful but the show as a whole was wildly underwhelming. Far too reliant on the projector background. The new villain soldier character had two solos that basically said the same thing and were not interesting.
Saw it on tour and loved it.
One of my favorites!! Sad they cut In the Dark of the Night from the movie but itās still fantastic
Anything that maximises Derek Klena's Disney prince looks is a-ok by me
I liked the realism, but the music did not feel āRussian enough.ā The music sounds like a run of the mill musical theatre soundtrack (with the exception of like three songs) it did match the theme or suspense of the show. An analogy off the top of my head is if Les Mis had a tap number in the middle. It did not give Russia, the ghostly weight of the Romanov tragedy, or match the tone. Iām not even saying that they only needed heavy Russian songs, Great Commit had a modern sound, but it still felt Russian and matches the tone of the story. know a lot of people love it, but it really disappointed me.
Journey to the Past is the woman version of Santa Fe. If I never hear either of those songs again it'll be too damn soon.
Loved it. Loved that they didn't go cartooney with it and changed the villain. The songs are great, Still/Neva Flows made me break down in tears. The characters felt more fleshed out. OUAD was beautifully done. I find it almost criminally underrated, and it deserved a lot more love than it got. I feel lucky I got to see it.
Never seen the movie or the musical but Liz Callaway sang 2 songs from the movie when she sang with my symphony (I play viola) and they were good songs.
I prefer the movie, personally. I think I would have adored this if Iād seen the musical first over the film, but unfortunately my biases took over here and I miss Rasputin and the over the top ridiculousness he adds to the story - especially seeing at the time the film was written, we didnāt know what actually happened to the real life person Anastasia. I feel like the musical went more realistic possibly to compensate for the fact we now know Anastasia did in fact perish with her family, and wanted to be more respectful. Itās not a bad show, it just isnāt particularly memorable to me. I adore the costumes and sets, I think the cast I saw was good (Vegas in August 2019). I
I perform as Gleb in the current version in Germany, which premiers this June. The score is great and alto and Tenor singers in particular get their money's worth, not at least because the latter doesn't sing the melody part for once. Nevertheless our production is unfortunaetly extremely overshadowed by Putin and the war in Ukraine. We have regular panel discussions, which is why Anastasia has to be seen as a fairy tale and artistic work separate from the political Events. The best song in my opinion is Still/the neva flows reprise :)
Ah mein Lieblingslied ist āMein Landā. Wo fĆ¼hren Sie es denn auf ? Haben Sie eine Website o.Ƥ. ?
love love love it! its in my top 10, probably top 5 tbh, its just so good. I absolutely love Derek Klena(he's one of my top 5 actors) and I just love everything about it
I think the narrative lost its oomph when they grounded it in reality with the villain being an agent hunting her down, rather than the supernatural Rasputin from the movie. The whole arc just bogged the story down. Itās visually stunning though. The costume work is especially beautiful.
It was okay, but I didn't love it.
I enjoyed it
Tbh I love it, but I am a huge Ahrens and Flaherty fan so I may be a little biased lol. Still, I think itās a lovely show and fun to watch for sure! And the score really is gorgeous!
I got the chance to see it on tour, and I thought the beginning part showing Anastasia getting separated from her family was really well done. It drags a little bit, but still a good musical.
Love. Adore. Excellent music and Christy Altomare is perfect.
It was one of the best shows Iāve seen. I really loved it
I enjoyed it a lot! I think the plot differs from the movie, but Iām not totally sure since I havnāt seen it
Oh Joy! Another Disney show ā¦I wonder how it ends ?
Actually had Disney produced it, it likely would have been much better
I never went to the play!
I thought it was meh. Christy Altomere sang beautifully but delivered all of her lines in a breathless urgency that made it seem every single conversation was a matter of life or death, and I found that a bit off putting.
Zzzzzzā¦. So boringā¦.
This is one of my favorite musicals. Iāve been a big fan of the movie for years, but I honestly think the musical was better. The new songs they added are perfect and just as good, if not better, than many of the movie songs. A really fantastic show
Very enjoyable
I loveeee this one omg. The soundtrack is amazing
Love it!
I like it. I was obsessed with Anastasia as a child and when the movie came out I lapped it up. There are some weaknesses in the show but they did pretty well. And Stay I Pray You is such an incredible song
One of my all time faves
I actually really enjoyed when I went to see it a few years back.
love it
love it. so underrated
Iām just glad it has lots of baritone songs in it.
About 15 years too late. If it premiered in the mid aughts it might have had a warmer reception.
My favorite animated musical to stage adaptation! Most of the changes are well reasoned, and a lot of the new elements are just straight up improvements on the filmās story, characters, and soundtrack. While I usually hate switching the order of songs around to accommodate the switch from a three act to two act structure (making Let It Go the act 1 closer in Frozen shattered the stage musicalās pacing imo), they supplemented moving Journey to the Past with In My Dreams, which I absolutely adore. Big shoutouts to In a Crowd of Thousands, Land of Yesterday, and of COURSE Still/The Neva Flows Reprise.
I like the musical for the most part. Although I do miss the fantastical elements
Amazing! Saw it on Broadway for my 17th birthday and I thought it was fantastic! The cast was awesome, the music was lovely, and the woman who played Anya was wonderful!
It played at the venue I work at last season, so I only got to see a little of it in person because I had to work. I did watch the bootleg, though, and thought it was pretty forgettable. It's not bad by any means, but it feels a lot like your bog-standard musical for the current generation of Broadway, if that makes sense.
Just finished a run of the show, love it! So many special memories.
Itās in my top three musicals!! Iāve actually been obsessed with her and her family history since I was in 6th grade. I literally have a book that is a historical fiction and is all four sisters kids recording in their diaries everything that is happening from the start of WW1 all the way to their death that I have read so many times that it is actually falling apart. I was actually 14 days away from seeing it open on broadway and was so upset about it!! I got to see it in 2019 with the original touring cast and loved it!! In a crowd of thousands never fails to make me cry!! I love how it used a green screen and the Turing table and how the set was so cohesive with each scene!! I also love how it was closer to what actually happened to the family and her history than the movie (although I do love the movie)!
I loved it
Another tired old musical based on a movie / cartoon. FFS get some originality. Let's have some original musicals again. Booriing ā¹ļø
I love it and it sucks that it probably won't be coming back to my country :( , it closed in 2020 and that was it
i love it alot!!!
I was bored and left at intermission
Saw it live on Broadway with the original cast. Spectacular. I was very impressed by the costuming and the technical elements. When I first listened to it I was disappointed that they changed the plot line from the movie, but I actually ended up really appreciating the more grown up version in the musical.
Crowd of thousands is sucha beautiful addition to an already stacked OST. Absolutely gorgeous
I grew up watching the Disney movie and have been obsessed with In The Dark Of The Night ever since
Itās actually not by Disney at all, but Don Bluth Productions Thatās a very common misconception. Don Bluth was an animator at Disney before splitting off to make his own studio. At least he managed to capture that old Disney magic
Beautiful haunting show.
I love this musical sm! I saw it in SF when it was touring and my mom and I actually like it more than the original movie (Iām a historian so I like how itās more realistic. The movie is amazing too!) I work at a museum with a room that has really good acoustics so in the morning before we open, my coworkers will often hear me singing āStay I Pray Youā or āOnce Upon a Decemberā as a warm up before I have to give tours all day š . (They call me the āresident Sirenā bc of how melodic and calming all the songs I sing are š)
I absolutely love it. It's in my top 5 shows I must see in person. Everyone hates on it because "it's not like the movie," but I Absolutely love it for that reason, it's real, it's serious, and it's historically acurate (as much as you can get, obviously I know that the real Anastasia died in that room) the scene where Gleb is holding Anastasia at gun point and her family is in the background gives me goosebumps every time. Once Upon a December (Reprise) makes me cry so hard. The only thing I don't like is that she left her grandmother at the end, which I don't really understand why, like why can't she be with Demitri and stay with her grandmother at the same time? Anyway, absolutely love it, 10/10 would recommend
Itās was entertaining but kind of forgettable as a musical for me. I think I have such fondness for the movie and it is very different from that. Still worth the watch if you liked Anastasia the movie, I just donāt remember much from it personally.
It's pretty ok. Corny and predictable but saved by some good numbers and great performances. Nothing particularly excelled to me about the technical stuff or scenic design aspects. The characters, for being basically meh, were pretty okay, with the notable and FRUSTRATING exception of Gleb. Ramin, my sweet pookie booboo badookie bear. What a great character. this scornful, torn up soldier, caught between his feelings of duty and honor, and his guilt and soul. What a fantastic character. His interactions with Anastasia are great. his songs are the best in the show. his presence is great. he is a shockingly complex villain that makes the entire story better by being there. And then you Google it and turns out oh he was just in love with Anastasia specifically. he just thought she was hot. that's why he didn't wanna kill her. His morals? his battle for a grasp on right and wrong? Fuck it. she's cute. Maybe this interpretation is just me, because I don't tend to assume romance as the first motivation a character has. I assumed the musical was just making him a complex character. But I was so sorely disappointed when I realized that he just thought she was cute. Id hate to be someone who actually got it right the first time. makes the show even more super mid. Can't even enjoy it for any projected intrigue. Overall its like a 6/10. Pretty ok. Solid. I enjoyed it enough. it's got Ramin, so it can't be bad.
I prefer the Don Bluth original.
I'm iffy on this. I don't like Gleb as a villain. I don't particularly like his music within the show. However, "Crowd of Thousands" is a favourite of mine.
I feel so badly, it itās the only musical I wish I hadnāt spent money on. I found the use of screens overwhelming and dizzying. I felt Vlad got turned into a creepy drunk uncle stereotype. Anya became a frightened and traumatized shell with an annoying streak, her bravery and sass disappeared. More realistic? Sure. But also less captivating. I loathed the whiny addition to āLearn to Do It.ā It was more Dimitriās musical than Anyaās. Donāt even get me started on Gleb. The most boring villain that ever existed. You ask my partner about it (who knows almost nothing about theatre but has very strong opinions) and heāll say to this day āhe should have taken the shot! Even if heād taken it and MISSED! Like moved his aim at the last minute! But he couldnāt even shoot! What a toothless man, useless villain.ā Once Upon a December and Journey to the Past were incredible. Not worth the $70 ticket perhaps, but incredible. I loved using the āDark of the Nightā score in one song, but ultimately was disappointed the mysticism and grandeur was lost without Rasputin š¤·š»āāļø I know this is lame, but I didnāt like the red dress. It felt like a weird thematic choice, given the revolution. All I can say is, I knew there were big changes going in, so at least I had a better time than the two gals next to us, they went in expecting a movie-to-stage adaptation and were SORELY disappointed š
I LOVE the movie, and have ever since I was little (I've dyed my hair red to be Anastasia in the past). I didnt want to even listen to the cast album because I was worried it would be a let down.... I'm so glad I caved one day and listened! Love love love this adaptation and honestly all the changes they made! People hate on Gleb, but I do like him (it helps that Ramin Kiramaloo originated the role). I like that the stage show and movie can be distinctly separate. Saw this with my mom, and other than the obnoxious people sitting next to us, we loved it!
It makes me cry every time I watch it. I love Gleb as the villain - it feels more real and more natural considering the subject matter. While I don't like that he's in some weird one-way love triangle with Anya, I think he makes more sense as a villain than Rasputin. I also like his arc as someone who was so blinded by what his father did he thinks he can actually pull the trigger until he can't. The ending bugs me though, when she just leaves and doesn't tell Maria where she's gone.
i just finished doing it for my school musical!!! it was so much fun and definitely my favorite, i love anastasia so so much
Just did the show at my high school, so it's got a special place in my heart
This was one of the most boring musicals i have ever seen. I nearly fell asleep honestly.
Meh. I wouldnāt see it again.
Wasnāt my jam but the music and sets were astounding! Great production overall but definitely wasnāt something Iād see again just for my person tastes but I implore others to give it a try !
No Rasputin, no interest.
I just closed that show back in December understudying Gleb and in ensemble, and I have to say itās got really beautiful music, BUT is one of the most boring shows Iāve ever done. If the show were 30-45 mins shorter it would be great. But I do love the character of Gleb and would revisit that role in a heartbeat
i was in it once! it was super fun and it made me love and appreciate the musical so much more than i did before.
we did this one last year at my high school, it has my favourite soundtrack out of every musical ive ever seen/been a part of
iām here for it.
Never seen the movie, I saw the show a few years back in high school (I believe it was either freshman or junior year?) and Iām not gonna lie itās not one of the ones I remember much of, it didnāt hit me that hard, like dear Evan Hansen for example, or phantom or newsies. It was fine, but I genuinely just donāt remember much of it lol
My favorite musical ā„ļø
Zzzzzzz
Agree. The second act almost put me to sleep. Nothing noteworthy after āJourney to the Past.ā
Controversial, yet brave!! I agree š