ANASTASIA Previews- Page 13

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 4/24/17 at 5:51pm

Does anyone know what time curtain is tonight? I'd like to catch the In A Crowd of Thousands livestream but won't be home till later.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 4/24/17 at 6:08pm

I'm confused why it's not Journey in the Past. Not only is it the show's signature number, but it's Christy's star-making moment

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 4/24/17 at 7:50pm

Is this show best taken in from the mezzanine? Looking for the consensus before I book a ticket. Any insight appreciated!

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 4/24/17 at 8:01pm

 I dunno, I think that the romance is better done in the movie than in the stage show.  They just had really good chemistry in the movie, so them going from arguing to head over heels was a believable transition to me.  In the stage show, they're nicer to each other but I don't get why they fall for each other.  Although I did like the change about how they met as kids because I'm a sucker for that sort of thing.

[suzieprush]

Posted: 4/24/17 at 8:03pm

I saw it from the mez and the seat was great. I can't speak for any other seat but I think the mez is a safe bet for getting a full view of everything. The theater is rather small so you're not set super far back in the mez which is really nice!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 12:05am

I know I'm way behind on this, but saw Anastasia tonight and man was this a chore to sit through. So boring. So bland. Mary Beth Pill, though, I was very impressed by. She's however old and she's still giving 8x a week and slaying it. 

I don't get why people are taken with the set. It's literally the same 2 turntables used over and over again. And then a giant ugly train set piece. The projections are interesting, but most of the time, I was in the Mezz, the floor didn't line up with the projection so it felt artificial and I wasn't really "transported" anywhere. 

There were just SO many songs and just way too many and none of them were good or memorable. And I actually LOVE a lot of "Rocky," but just nothing here rivaled "Raining" - one of my favorite musical theater songs of all time. 

[taylortrensch]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 1:09am

RippedMan said: "I know I'm way behind on this, but saw Anastasia tonight and man was this a chore to sit through. So boring. So bland. Mary Beth Pill, though, I was very impressed by. She's however old and she's still giving 8x a week and slaying it.

I don't get why people are taken with the set. It's literally the same 2 turntables used over and over again. And then a giant ugly train set piece. The projections are interesting, but most of the time, I was in the Mezz, the floor didn't line up with the projection so it felt artificial and I wasn't really "transported" anywhere.

There were just SO many songs and just way too many and none of them were good or memorable. And I actually LOVE a lot of "Rocky," but just nothing here rivaled "Raining" - one of my favorite musical theater songs of all time."

I saw the show back in July and I thought the same exact thing! The show was a disappointment to me which came as a surprise as I grew up on the movie and expected to love it, despite the few changes. I found myself constantly checking my Playbill to see how many songs were left.

Mary Beth is truly a gem, and although Christy Altomare is great - she needs to take a break or have an alternate. Her voice is not the same as it used to be. It's nice to know that she's so in love with the role of Anya, though.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 1:25am

I do agree. As a performer, I get that's live, but her and Dimitri both had a crack moment. It was fine and they both sounded great. But I don't know. The show didn't click. House was full, but can see why it's not going to be a huge, 10 year plus show. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 7:45am

My biggest problem with this show besides the plodding book was the physical design. Someone said in another thread that the projections have the brightness and vividness of the Times Square screens, and I could not agree more. The projections were completely out of place with the ugly rotating walls. Also, the deck of marble tile made no sense considering many scenes took place outside in the slums of Russia... It made it look like they were constantly in the corner of a ballroom.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 12:46pm

Agreed! There was only one moment - they had a projection that had the same tiled floors and then the ghosts were all dancing, and the projections came out over the audience and that was a truly interesting, cool moment. But then there's 2 1/2 hours of the show... I was just waiting for the walls to fly out and open up the space once they fled Russia. I thought that would have been a really interesting transformative moment. But alas. But people were eating it up so who cares what we think, ha.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 6:11pm

Just got out of the matinee, and Ripped man, you saved me a lot of typing!

I hated the motion screens, had to actually look away. And the rest were just pretty pix. And the turntables! Oy.

I'll mention two additional things: it felt very American to me, in language, in gesture, in tone. I also felt much of the comedy just stuck out like a sore thumb!

[Sarah329]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 6:54pm

Personally I’ve seen the show 3 times and love it, but I could see why people dislike it. I’m sad they don’t have colored playbills anymore, they were so gorgeous.

[Up In One]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 8:35pm

The dumbing down of Broadway - enuf with the movie adaptations - I went in curious and hopeful because of the composer lyricist team and book writer and could not get engaged. Considering the pedigree of the writers it was most disappointing.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 10:02pm

Sarah329, I also have seen the show multiple times (twice for me) and genuinely love it. The projections seem to be very love-them-or-hate them for sure. I don't quite get the lamentations about how dumb or unsophisticated the show is, though - it's no Ragtime, to be sure, but I personally found it a step above most of the adaptations that have recently hit Broadway, at least in terms of craft. But that's just me, I can definitely see how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 12:29am

Craft meaning what? The book is incredibly slow going and plodding - the Gleeb charcater has no payoff. It's never even hinted at his motives, so we just think he's a creepy stalker - I also didn't understand why they wouldn't let him in the restaurant? The score is generic at best. "My Petersburg" sounds exactly like "Defying Gravity" in the underscoring. The direction was fine, but I felt the design was very lackluster. For a big movie adaption I wanted something more surprising or interesting. It's like Frozen. It's fine, but it's nothing new or exciting. 

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 9/6/18 at 2:02pm

I finally caught this yesterday at the matinee and thought it was lovely.  Not the best thing I've ever seen or the most creative but it was enjoyable. I hadn't seen the movie but knew the story.

I did think there were a lot of songs and only the ones from the movie stick out.  I also liked the set.  it was simple which would be easy to tour with and  I didn't mind the projections. They did remind me of a Disney show though and the "Swan Lake" scene reminded me of Phantom and Pretty women combined. Still, I enjoyed it. Getting a discounted ticket via TDF helped.

[James Kerrigan2]

Posted: 9/9/18 at 10:02pm

RippedMan said: "Craft meaning what? The book is incredibly slow going and plodding - the Gleeb charcater has no payoff. It's never even hinted at his motives, so we just think he's a creepy stalker - I also didn't understand why they wouldn't let him in the restaurant?The score is generic at best. "My Petersburg" sounds exactly like "Defying Gravity" in the underscoring. The direction was fine, but I felt the design was very lackluster. For a big movie adaption I wanted something more surprising or interesting. It's like Frozen. It's fine, but it's nothing new or exciting."

I thought My Petersburg sounded more like Powerful Magic from the Once Upon A Time Musical Episode.

[BroadwayPrincess3]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 8:55pm

I thought it was a pretty good musical. Nothing overly special, like others have said above, but enjoyable overall.

I agree on the sets, though. I still don't understand why they had a huge, elaborate balcony setup for the ballet, which isn't (at least in terms of plot) all that important as a set itself. It appears once and then it's gone. An odd choice to me, when they could have elaborated on the ballroom (a staircase setpiece that goes from gilded and golden to dilapidated from the invasion would've been great. They could've had young Anastasia come down the steps and then have Anya mirror that later on.) or even just some broken mirrors that have shattered (they could even go Phantom tour and have fake pieces of glass scatter). Juxtaposition is important. But they decided to forgo that and instead use...a single cherry blossom tree?

And yeah, the video screens aren't that great. When they work, it's nice. (I liked the moment of Vlad "pulling" the curtains and revealing the snow outside). But otherwise they're a bit lacklustre.

And don't even get me started on the confusion of whether Anya was Anastasia or not. Dmitri mentions bowing early in the show, so Anya recalling it in act II isn't that telling. The music box, sure, but things are fuzzy.

Updated On: 9/10/18 at 08:55 PM