Run away to a world of true love, cunning and daring rogues, long lost family, and the perilous danger of being hunted by the Russian Army, journey across the barren landscapes of Russia and arrive into the glorious, glitzy and headiness of Paris in the 20s. Anastasia! The musical with music and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and based on the much-loved 1997 Disney animated film. This is the adaptation of the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, who could have escaped the execution of her family. Get your tickets to Anastasia on tour at Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium now!
The mystery that fascinated the world is now the musical that captivated Broadway.
It is 1927 in the new Bolshevik Russia. Gleb Vaganov, a general, announces to the population that the now-poor Saint Petersburg has been renamed Leningrad, and he promises a bright and peaceful future. The Russians protest this change, but some are uplifted by a rumor that Princess Anastasia may have survived the uprising. Two con men, the handsome young Dmitry and an ex-member of the Imperial Court named Vlad Popov, hear the rumors and brainstorm “the biggest con in history”, grooming a naive orphan girl to become Anastasia to extract money from the Dowager Empress.
“An irresistible and sumptuous fairy tale!”
Dmitry and Vlad hold auditions for the scheme, and as they are about to give up hope, a street sweeper named Anya walks in to ask Dmitry about paperwork to get tickets. Dmitry and Vlad are fascinated as Anya explains that she doesn’t remember who she is due to her amnesia, making her the perfect impostor. Vlad and Dmitry teach a feisty Anya to become Anastasia through history, dining, and dancing lessons. In the Capital building, three bitter actresses report Anya, Dmitry, and Vlad’s plot to General Gleb, who orders Anya’s arrest. At his office she is interrogated and warned of the consequences of pretending to be Anastasia, revealing that Anastasia is dead, and that his father was one of the soldiers who shot the Romanovs. However, Gleb notices that Anya has the “Romanov eyes” and realizes that she could indeed be Anastasia, eventually letting her off with a warning.
Next, we follow the trio of Anya, Dmitry, and Count Ipolitov as they have a perilous train journey across Russia, perused by the General and his thugs, and forcing our plucky trio to abandon the train and make their way by foot to France. What will happen when they finally reach Paris? Will the Dowager empress even accept the possibility of her grandchild coming back? And what of the growing friendship between Anya and Dmitry? All this and more, including a fabulous performance of Swan Lake!
“A monster hit! I loved it even more the second time.” The New York Times
“A SERIOUS HIT! Broadway’s got a bright new star – its name is Anastasia.” – NBC
Based on the film of the same name, the musical adapts the legend of Anastasia Romanov, the daughter of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II. In 1906 the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna comforts her youngest granddaughter, five-year-old Grand Duchess Anastasia, who is saddened that her grandmother is moving to Paris. Before leaving, the Dowager Empress gives Anastasia a music box as a parting gift. Eleven years later, Anastasia is attending a ball with her family when the Bolsheviks invade the palace, and as the Romanovs attempt to escape, Anastasia tries to retrieve her music box, fueling speculation that her and her brother, Alexei Nikolaevich, could have escaped, and survived. In Paris the Dowager Empress receives word that the family has been executed, but now news ever arrives about Anastasia or Alexi. In 1991, forensic testing of a grave site positively identifies the family and servants, but Anastasia and Alexi are not in it. Finally, a 2007 DNA test of a second grave site identifies her and her brother’s bodies.
The original stage production of Anastasia premiered at the Hartford Stage in 2016. After completing a pre-Broadway run in Hartford, the show premiered on Broadway in April 2017, and since then it has spawned multiple productions worldwide. The first European staging opened on October 2018 at the Coliseum Theatre in Madrid, Spain ending on March 2020, when performances were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.