ANASTASIA Previews — Page 10

I was kind of bored with this show. But it was thrilling to see so many kids in the audience be so enraptured. I guess teens are their target audience. Ramin is wasted and the young leads are bland. And don't get me started on the use of projections. BTW; the leg space at the Broadhurst is non existent.

I told you it wasn't black.

Okay, I saw the show last Wednesday, and I was absolutely blown away. The show has such a rich, fabulous balance of comedy and pathos. I steadily cried from beginning to end. The whole beginning scene just takes your breath away… when they get to the Grand Duchess reading the letter about her family….



I truly think this will be a dark horse for the Tonys, and I feel that it has a fighting chance at Best Musical. The book scenes are STRONG as is the acting. The songs are memorable and never cease to entertain the eye and ear. The dances are SUPERB (especially Land of Yesterday and Quarter, WOW WOW to both).



I believe that I saw one to first performances since they made changes to whatever was showing earlier on Broadway. These are the changes I noticed from Connecticut:



Rumor in St. Petersburg: Intro is different. I believe Gleb’s parts changed as well. He’s now a little lighter with the people at the beginning. They definitely say TWO cans of beans (someone earlier said they said 4 but only showed 2).



The Neva Flows: The intro song about gossip/rumors is cut. This was actually a brilliant introduction to Gleb. They focus more on his character here, and it’s laid out that he does his job but not’s not a ‘bad’ guy. Ramin overall does a terrific job of balancing humor and danger with his character.



My Petersburg: The last 1/3rd of the song is different. There’s a new melody in the middle that breaks from the chorus melody, and then it returns to the ending originally written. So I’d estimate that an extra minute is added to the song and nothing was removed from the original.



Still: Honestly, this song was completely forgettable. I struggled to even make out a core melody/theme to the song. Ramin’s voice was great, though. This is the ONLY song that I disliked/doesn’t work in the musical.



Paris Holds the Key: HUGE, HUGE revision to this number. All of the famous Parisians have been cut (sad not to have the Gertrude Stein parts as those were fun). The song is probably half the time it used to be. It’s a fast, loud number. There’s no character asides or clutter, which I think worked out well. It starts off act II with energy, but it doesn’t clog up the story with trying to be too much.



Land of Yesterday: Overall it has the same structure, but now the parts that aren’t Lily are different.



Reunion Scene: They removed some lines and made this more concise. I remember there being a line about the Duchess having a “bitterness” that “drips slowly from her heart like a black poison,” which I found funny before. This isn’t there anymore. Amazing scene, though. Not a dry eye in the house.





Other observations:



1. Christy’s first scene (book scene before In My Dream) was slightly overacted. The only explanation I have for this is that she’s been working on this roll for a year now. It simply felt too rehearsed. By the end of In My Dreams, the audience was in the palm of her hand, but it took until then for her to believably be Anya.

2. Many on here have asked whether or not the Broadway Anya is more like the movie. I have to say, that she isn’t, and it’s actually FANTASTIC. There is no reason why this Anya should be the same as the movie if you consider their differences in living situations. The movie Anya lived in an orphanage until she was too old, presumably 16-18, and they kicked her out. Broadway Anya walked across Russia by herself, and they make it very clear that she had to learn how to defend herself from predators. That changes a character completely. This Anya visibly been affected by her lack of identity, harrowing nightmares about strangers (later learned to be her family) being killed, and fighting to survive in a new order. Consider this when comparing her to the film!

3. John/Caroline are OUTSTANDING. It’ll be tight competition for their respective Tony categories.

4. The dances are incredible, especially Land of Yesterday. There is so much for the eyes to take in, and everyone gives it their all.

5. Countess and the Common Man was on the brink of a standing ovation. I’m almost positive that Tony nominations/wins will push this over the edge for later shows.

6. I didn’t mind the projections. I actually found most of them impeccable (the rundown theatre, Gleb’s office, and the French apartment windows in particular). The rotating projection walls always surprised when they revealed the next scene. They added props to them to keep things from getting stale.

Updated On: 4/10/17 at 11:37 AM

Yeah, I have no new information to contribute. I just like the dress.

bwayrose7 said: "disneybroadwayfan22 said: "OH MY GOD, THE BLUE DRESS! IM SOBBING!

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So, remember all that hoopla about how disappointing Belle's dress was in the new Beauty and the Beast? I feel like this is the exact opposite. It's literally the animated dress come to life, but even more beautiful detail! I'm so glad they were able to get one of the iconic costumes in, since the Once Upon a December dress obviously wouldn't be practical in a stage version.



"

I had the same damn reaction! I first saw the show still yesterday, and my jaw dropped....which is the entire ****ing point, so obviously they did they their job on that front! They RAN with that blue dress design and then some. It's stupid gorgeous...Now I feel like they COULD do something clever with OUAD...it would take a lot of creativity but I honestly wasn't expecting it for the same reason you mentioned. I think it could be done, but my first (and seemingly most obvious) thought is an Anya double. Now that I think about it, that's probably the only way to do it. BUT....also considering she's already met Dimitri at that point...it would look a little silly to "costume change" if you will, since it's no longer a private memory moment.



Granted I've been reading some of the story tweaks....some make me kinda sad. She knows he's conning her? (Ok, so in the film she probably has an inkling, but her priority is finding her family but also she knows the train tickets are frauds...she doesn't necessarily catch on to how they're using her as part of a bigger con). They realize who she is at the same time? What poignant character development is there to be had then? These two plot elements the film does so well, are the biggest character arc points for both of them but ESPECIALLY Dimitri because in many ways it becomes his story at that juncture. Plus, their argument when she realizes she herself in part of a con? Again, character development. I always envisioned that to be a really great angsty "duet" moment done "separately"...now it's not there :/ Now she knows she's the "Duchess", I wonder how the scene convincing the Dowager of it plays out. I liked the film idea where she still isn't sure but somehow feels like she IS, but is still wanting to be honest, rather than con her. Frankly, THAT'S the realization of "she's the one" that's the most important. To give that realization to both Anya and Dimitri earlier, I feel takes away from that.

Granted this is sounding to be a better animated musical to stage musical adaptation than some others, but it sound like it's another identity crisis...maybe? Once again, you can't take the original film and then suddenly go back to it's source material when the film you made wasn't the "source" to begin with. Especially with this. To go more historically accurate when it's been discovered since 1997 that, yeah she died along with everyone else, is silly. When people see a film like this adapted to the stage they're expecting to see movie on stage , more or less. It's sounding more and more like this is just a really cool and stylish production of a beloved 90's animated musical without any real depth to the story, writing, and characters. I have my hunches about how these roles are being performed....but I'll reserve that opinion for when I see it next month.

It's not a good sign when people are more impressed by Christy's new Dress and hair color than her performance. She deserves better.

I think if they wanted to keep the sequence where Anya magically changes into a ballgown during Once Upon A December, they would have to use an outfit made of E-textile material which can change color (and to the audience's eye, texture) in order to capture the "magic" from the movie scene. that would be way too expensive though
side note: does anyone find it odd that they removed the subplot line of the grandmother giving young Anastasia a locket that opens the music box?

Updated On: 4/12/17 at 09:12 PM

After seeing the show, my biggest question is why they chose McNally to write the book. He is an incredibly talented writer, but not much of a romantic one. As a result, the show comes off as this mishmash of political treatise/history lesson and romance. It feels unnecessarily disjoint d and I still never understood Glen's motivation at all. They try and turn that into a love triangle, I think, but it doesn't work -- if that's what they were going for. And if it isn't, I'm not sure what was happening. I was expecting something lush and romantic that would sweep me away I probably should've just seen GREAT COMET again then.

Otherwise, none of the new songs do anything for me. I couldn't even remember any of their names without looking at my Playbill. It didn't help that I was completely uninvested in Anya till "Journey to the Past" which is at the end of Act One. By that time, I'd already emotionally checked out. And the show did nothing worthy of causing me to reenagage in Act 2.

The teenage girl in front of me had fun, but acknowledged it was nowhere near as good as the movie. I would agree, though I wouldn't go so far as to say I had fun. I would say I didn't fall asleep and I kept waiting for Karimloo to get a song or scene worthy of his talent. I'm still waiting.

But the costumes were really lovely.

Having said all that, the audience was so primed for this, I think they could've put up a stick figure puppet show of the movie and people would still see it. This seems like it's going to be very successful. I don't think the reviews are going to matter a bit on this one. Or the lack of Tony nods.

One more week for me! :)

jmuep-Gotta agree with you about Terrence. I did remember in Hartford thinking, "Why this writer?" He does a great job with the politics it needed, but with the writing, it seems like he is hardly familiar with the movie. The movie's "sparkle" is the humor and dryness of Anya and her relationship with Dimitri, and he takes most of it away. The writer should have been someone who's familiar with the movie and really gets Anya while taking the real story seriously. I wonder if Don Bluth was involved with this in any way? Especially now he does theater.

And this will definitely got some noms with the costumes and lighting and if not Christy, then John, Caroline, and Mary Beth.

Updated On: 4/12/17 at 11:56 AM

Malka2 said: "Keeping that necklace key would've been a lot less silly than

That's definitely one of those cases where history is unbelievable enough to seem like fiction! Actually, that's one of the creepiest parts of the real Romanov story, to me - the tsarina and the daughters had smuggled out a huge amount of valuable jewels by stitching them into their clothing, so the gunfire actually didn't kill them like they were supposed to, because it was like having bulletproof vests on.

I suppose some people might make fun of me for this, but I was transported to another world when watching this show. I thought it was absolutely magnificent.

Also, side note: Christy Altomare is, quite possibly, the kindest Broadway performer I have ever met. She gave me a hug, and also advice & encouragement.

BroadwayRox3588 said: "I suppose some people might make fun of me for this, but I was transported to another world when watching this show. I thought it was absolutely magnificent.

Also, side note: Christy Altomare is, quite possibly, the kindest Broadway performer I have ever met. She gave me a hug, and also advice & encouragement.

"

Why would people make fun of you?

I would love to meet her one day! In every video I've seen, she seems like one of the nicest people ever.