Anastasia: The Musical, at the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center – David Stringer, Publisher

Anastasia: The Musical, which opened Friday at the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center,   is the perfect run up to Prescott’s  holiday season. The 2017 stage adaptation of the 1997 fantasy film has become a popular road show that continues to tour internationally.  Under Dr. Craig John Ralston’s direction, with technical and scenic design by Nathanial Patterson and David Evans,  YCPAC’s  production is a stunning spectacle of lavish costumes and richly decorated sets.  A live orchestra under the direction of Chris Tenney,  fills the Performance Hall with the award winning music of composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime and Seusical the Musical).

The story—a complicated and romantic tale set in pre-Revolutionary St Petersburg and Paris of the 1920’s–is based on the once widely circulated  “rumor” that the youngest daughter of the Imperial Family,  Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, had escaped the fate of her family and was still alive.  The persistence of the rumor inspired the Dowager Empress, Maria Fyodorovna Romanov, living safely in Paris with the Romanov fortune, to offer a reward for proof that the  lost Anastasia was still alive and safe in Paris.

Photo: Callie Voorhies, Andre Sylvester, Ellie Schaible, and ensemble

This rumor of Anastasia’s survival  gained currency, especially among White Russian emigree circles and brought forth a number of celebrated pretenders.  Among them was Anna Anderson, the wife of a University of Virginia history professor. Thanks to a young Estonian friend with a distant connection to the Estonian Royal Family, I met and spoke with Anna Anderson  at several functions in Washington, DC in the 1960’s.  She claimed to suffer from amnesia about the details of her early Imperial life, including how to speak Russian.  Nevertheless, her regal bearing attracted followers and she held court at her home in Charlottesville for many years.  In the 1990’s the discovery of the remains of the Imperial Family and DNA testing debunked any possibility of a survivor.

Photo: Daniel Shephard as Gleb

Nonetheless,  the movie based on Anastasia was a major hit in 1997.  In March 2017,  a musical adaptation opened on Broadway and ran for two years and over 800 performances, garnering half a dozen Tony nominations. The production proved to be more popular with audiences than with critics, who commented on its length and convoluted plot. But it has proven to be a hit with audiences all over the world and continues to tour.

Photo: April Manchester-Miller, Andre Sylvester, and lead ensemble

YCPAC’s production is massive with over 40 performers, 26 scenes and a running time over two hours. The lavish costumes were all custom made locally by the production team.  They really are quite spectacular.  Shout out to Erin Bailey Smith for costumes, hair and makeup.  It’s no exaggeration to say the  “star” of the show is the production itself.

The performers clearly put in a lot of hard work. I would be remiss not to mention the lovely voice of Callie Voorhies as Anastasia.  And the very fine acting skills of Ellie Schaible as Dmitri,  Daniel Shephard as Gleb, and Andre Sylvester as Count Vladimir Popov.   They all held the stage with  confidence and a command of their roles that only comes from hard work and a love for performing.

 Photos: (Left) David Stringer, reviewer, with Callie Voorhies and Ellie Schaible;
(Right) David with Daniel Shepard

Anastasia: The Musical  continues at the Yavapai Performing Arts Center with weekend shows and matinees thru November 17^th.   Tickets are available online at YCPAC.com or through the box office at 928.776.2000.