Journey to the past as the Triton Voice reviews the hit Broadway musical, Anastasia.

We walked into the Majestic Theatre with the magical set of Anastasia greeting us with a projection of St. Petersburg and a bridge leading to Paris and the Eiffel Tower. The musical started with young Anastasia talking to her grandmother about going to Paris with her when she gets older. Her grandmother gives her a music box that has a special song just for the two of them. The scene then jumps to a ball that the royal family holds and they are invaded by the Bolsheviks. During this scene of the invasion, the background behind the set turns a dark red and projects soldiers infiltrating the palace and ending the Romanov rule. From there, the play introduces present day Anya and her adventure to find her past. 

If you enjoy musicals and a little bit of history combined, then this musical is for you.

Anastasia takes place in 1927 during the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Bolshevik regime. Anya (Christy Altomare), an amnesiac orphan stranded in the capital city of St. Petersbourg, goes on an adventure with a conman Dimitry (Cody Simpson) and ex-aristocrat Vlad Popov (John Bolton), to uncover her past as the daughter of Czar Nicholas Romanov, Anastasia Romanov. Along the way she is followed by a Bolshevik officer (Constantine Germanacos) as she escapes to Paris to reunite with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna (Penny Fuller). Anastasia explores one determined girl’s journey to find home, love, and family as she discovers who she was and embraces who she is meant to be according to StageAgent.com. This play was adapted from the 1997 motion picture and 1956 play by Marcelle Maurette, Anastasia.

The overall production of this musical was very good. Ranging from the beautiful costumes of the royal family and the music that was included. In the first scene of the show, Anastasia’s mother walks out with this beautiful ball gown that had several shimmering jewels interlaced throughout the whole dress. It really added the effect of elegance and poise the royal family would have during this period in time.

The musical featured several of the hit songs from the motion picture movie, “Once Upon a  December”, “Journey to the Past”, and several others. Christy Altomare, although small in size, could belt out every song in a smooth melodic way that just captivated the audience with her astounding ability. John Bolton’s character added comic relief during scenes that might have had a more serious tone to it, and made it more light and happy. During one of the scenes, he had the whole audience laughing hysterically, so much so that there was whooping and hollering at the end of the scene. In one of the scenes, Anya, Dimitry, and Vlad are on a train heading to Paris, and projecting on the back of the stage was a scene that made it look like they were actually traveling on a train. When the video would show the train turning, the prop train would turn along with it.

Overall, this musical was one of my favorite musicals I’ve seen. The music and the acting made you feel as if you were there in 1927 Russia. Follow Anya, as she takes a journey to uncover her past.