Anastasia is the
beautiful name of a beautiful Russian princess who was murdered in 1918. Some
people would like to believe or pretend that she was not killed and that way we
can get a good play, a movie or two and a musical about her. The story of the
youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra has been around
for a while (historians be damned – see below) and playwright Terrence McNally,
composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens have put together a musical that
is now playing at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto.
The story goes that the Grand Duchess Anastasia survived the massacre of
her family, suffered from amnesia and went missing somewhere in Soviet Russia.
Her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, offered a large reward for anyone who
could find her. Con artists entered the picture searching for a suitable candidate
and two hucksters, Dmitry and Vlad found a suitable candidate, groomed her and
presented her to the Dowager Empress who eventually accepted her as the Grand
Duchess Anastasia.
It’s a good albeit familiar plot. Flaherty’s music ranges from the
recitative to the melodic but it rarely hits any heights in the latter
category. He prefers fast paced numbers that sometimes sound like toe-tapping
march music that is easy on the ear. There are some soaring moments but here
the problem was clearly with the singers, especially Taylor Quick who replaced
Lila Coogan as Anya, the Anastasia of the title. She simply could not generate
any vocal excitement.
Photo by Evan
Zimmerman, MurphyMade
The rest of the actors ranged from the adequate to the decent. Exceptional
performances were given by Edward Staudebmayer as Vlad and Tari Kelly as
Countess Lily. They sang well and did an entertaining comic duet.
Vlad’s cohort in grooming the street sweeper Anya into Anastasia is Dmitry
played with enthusiasm and agility by Jake Levy. The heavy but humane Bolshevik
Gleb is played by Jason Michael Evans.
With many of the other cast members, one did not care what they said
because they looked so great. Check out Brad Greer as Tsar Nicholas II and Lucy
Horton as Tsarina Alexandra and their family. It’s just amazing how well you
can dress if you have an empire to supply your needs.
The scenic design by Alexander Dodge was simply gorgeous. We have scenes
in the palace in St. Petersburg, the Paris Opera, Leningrad and Paris that were
a visual delight. The costumes by Linda Cho are stunningly elegant and Aaron
Rhyne’s projections are striking and effective. They all add up to a theatrical
feat.
Peggy Hickey’s choreography was fine especially the ballet sequence from
Swan Lake which gave us a bit of Tchaikovsky’s music which simply pointed out
the difference between the lush classical and Flaherty’s workmanlike
composition.
Director Darko Tresnjak handles the large cast, numerous scenes and
great deal of activity very well.
For the factually obsessed and historically minded, take note. In July
1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children were
executed in in the basement of Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia. It was
the end of the Romanov dynasty’s 300-year rule over Russia and the beginning of
Bolshevik totalitarianism.
That was the end of that chapter of Russian history for those who rely
on facts. Soviet denial of the murders led to speculation which led to the
belief that the family may have survived in whole or in part. Enter French
playwright Marcelle Maurette who wrote the play Anastasia in 1952
imagining that the Romanov’s younger daughter survived (maybe) and was taken to
her grandmother who accepted her as such (perhaps).
It was delicious story and the play was widely produced. In 1956
Twentieth Century Fox made a movie with Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner and in
1997 it morphed into an animated film and the myth has been kept alive.
In March 2017, Anastasia opened as a new musical on
Broadway and it has now been bought to Toronto. If you want more, go see the
musical.
___________
Anastasia by Terrence McNally (book), Stephen Flaherty
(music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) continues until January 12, 2020 at The Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St. Toronto,
Ontario. www.mirvish.com
James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press
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