Posted: 6/12/15 at 6:10pm
Apparently today was the reading for "Anastasia"
Does anyone have any information about it, songs, plot, etc.... Or anything about when it will debut on Broadway.
Basically I want any information!
Posted: 6/12/15 at 8:37pm
Really weird that the cast hasn't been announced. Weren't Aaron Tviet and Angela Lansbury supposed to be Dimitri and the Grand Duchess?
Posted: 6/13/15 at 3:30pm
Great cast.
18 new songs.
it was a workshop, not just a reading. It lasted several weeks.
The premiere production is scheduled and the aim for a Broadway run is set, though not cemented.
Posted: 6/13/15 at 6:26pm
"Great cast.
18 new songs.
it was a workshop, not just a reading. It lasted several weeks.
The premiere production is scheduled and the aim for a Broadway run is set, though not cemented."
Any details? Did they use any of the songs from the Animated movie?
Posted: 6/13/15 at 6:47pm
They use all the existing film songs, except "Dark of the Night."
Posted: 6/13/15 at 7:08pm
"They use all the existing film songs, except "Dark of the Night.""
Really why is that? Is Rusputtin still the villian?
Please a full report of anything you have seen or heard? When will this come to Broadway ?
Posted: 6/13/15 at 7:09pm
Who played Dowager Empress Maria?
I wonder if Dame Angela will join the Broadway production.
Posted: 6/13/15 at 7:13pm
I still think turning this story and its historical figures into an animated family musical is one of the most bizarre things ever. Turning Rasputin into a Disney-style stock villiian-magician with a talking sidekick albino bat ranks up there with with the animated KING AND I as one of the low points in Hollywood history.
Surely they will rethink some of this for the stage, yes?
Updated On: 6/13/15 at 07:13 PM
Posted: 6/13/15 at 7:17pm
One of the first things that was done was cut Rasputin and Bartok and their magic. The "antagonist" is a Bolshevik official now. It's my understanding his role is not nearly as prominent.
Posted: 6/13/15 at 7:21pm
Thank God. Animating a singing Rasputin (and animal friend) was in wretchedly poor taste.
Posted: 6/13/15 at 7:24pm
There are a lot of people who will be sad with that change, but it's a smart move that needed to happen. The Rasputin storyline was totally pointless, since the main conflicts were always between Dimitri and Anastasia, and Anastasia and herself.
Posted: 6/13/15 at 7:33pm
I should dare think a slightly more sophisticated take on the material should also better serve a more adult centric Broadway audience; though I suppose they don't want to turn this into the ill-fated ANYA.
At any rate, there was never anything childish about the gorgeous score (I even liked the pop song they credited for the credits), so I'm pleased to hear they working on a re-imagining of the story that goes with it.
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Posted: 6/13/15 at 8:24pm
They're using the 1956 film as source material as well as the 1997 film. I agree with Kad that the conflict of the story is whether Anya is really Anastastia.
Posted: 6/13/15 at 10:14pm
I always hated Rasputin (he always took me out of the softer, more romantic side of the film). However, I adore listening to the song "In the Dark of the Night" (hate watching that sequence, love listening), and hope it will remain in the stage version. I think it can work with any antagonist in the story, as long as the goal remains taking down Anastasia.
Posted: 6/13/15 at 10:27pm
The film is so realistic (graphically) that those villains were so ridiculous. My least favorite part of the movie. I hope the stage version is terrific (I love Flaherty & Ahrens).
Posted: 6/14/15 at 11:11am
Echoing what others have been saying. As a kid, I was terrified of Rasputin and his underworld, but as an adult, I kinda felt like it was wasting valuable story space. I agree with those saying the real conflict is internal to Anastasia herself, and of course the belligerent tension between her and Dmitri.
That said, I grew up loving this movie as much as my favorites from Disney, so I really hope the magic translates to the stage as beautifully as we could hope. I think there could really be a big audience for this, especially for the generation that grew up loving the film.
Posted: 6/14/15 at 11:22am
Shame they cut Dark of the night. That was such a catchy song.
Posted: 6/14/15 at 11:41am
"Shame they cut Dark of the night. That was such a catchy song. "
I KNOW RIGHT!!! thats one of the best songs in the movie!! I hope they put it in the musical somewhere!! I cannot wait for this!! I wanted Laura Osnes to play Anastasia though!! I bet they are so happy that Hunchback isn't coming in anytime soon!!
Can you share exactly when the out of town is? Are they planning on coming in this season? Theres really not that many theatres available unless a lot of shows close.
I was hoping Little Dancer would come this season 
Posted: 6/14/15 at 11:47am
Out of town is in Hartford, May 12 - June 12, 2016.
http://www.hartfordstage.org/anastasia?gclid=CIjQle7Dj8YCFZEBaQod414Auw
Posted: 6/14/15 at 11:53am
WOW thats almost a year away!! A lot can still change by then. They won't be coming in until next season the earliest. I hope Little Dancer comes in this season as they are about to have their 2nd out of town.
Posted: 6/14/15 at 12:40pm
But wouldn't it be great to have Bernadette play the Grand Dowager?
Posted: 6/14/15 at 1:25pm
"They're using the 1956 film as source material as well as the 1997 film. I agree with Kad that the conflict of the story is whether Anya is really Anastastia. "
Is this going to be hampered a bit by the fact that we now know for certain that she isn't, since the remains of all the royal children have been accounted for now? They identified the last two bodies in 2008.
Posted: 6/14/15 at 2:48pm
No, I don't think so. It's a fun alternate reality. I personally am fascinated with Russian history and I still love the film Anastasia. There are so many historical inaccuracies in the 1997 version that I wouldn't know where to start.
#1 Anastasia was 16 when the Russian Revolution started, not 8. Which would make her about 26 and not 18 when we first meet her in the film.
#2 Anastasia's grandmother moved to Copenhagen where she was originally from, not Paris.
#3 Rasputin did not have anything to do with the deaths of the Romanovs (although his relationship with them did provide for hostility with the people of Russia). In fact he was dead before they were.
#4 The story is based on the woman who called herself Anastasia, but even by 1997, DNA test results proved that she was not in fact the real Grand Duchess Anastasia. It was already known as fantasy.
#5 Many believe that Anastasia's body was recovered in the 90s while her sister Maria and brother Alexei were the two bodies found in 2008. But due to the amount of damage done to the bodies and skeletal remains, it is hard to pinpoint which body belongs to which grand duchess.
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