Vertigoes On A Journey To The Past! An Anastasia Review

After opening on Broadway in 2017, the stage show of Anastasia officially premiered in Sydney. Described as a modern fairytale, composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens asked author Terrence McNally to take on the journey of bringing the legend of Anastasia Romanov to the stage. The story of Anastasia Nikolevna Romanova, albeit a shifting legend, has continued to live on across history, spanning the globe and culminating in a reimagined Broadway musical of her life. 

Inspired by the 1997 animated film, the Anastasia show offers audiences an adaptation that more closely aligns with historical events and removes the supernatural elements featured in the film.

The musical numbers include six returning songs: Prologue: Once Upon A December; A Rumor in St. Petersburg; Learn to Do It; Once Upon A December; Journey to the Past; and Paris Holds the Key (To Your Heart), and a great deal of new compositions that are sure to become earworms. The orchestral arrangements and score offer early 1900s Russian and 1920s Parisian themes, which Flaherty and Lynn express are “all filtered through a contemporary lens.” 

If readers would like a general review (without spoilers) then read ahead:

The stage show is quite dissimilar to the film, with the changed elements inciting mixed reactions from us both. We predict that audiences will be taken aback by the spectacularly immersive set design, costuming, and lighting, which effectively transported us from our seats, straight from Russia to Paris. While we were concerned when Act 1 contained five out of six returning songs, Act 2 was still able to capture the audience through its elevated comedy, choreography and score (which was sprinkled with musical motifs from the film). 

We recommend having some foundational knowledge of the movie or historical context before diving straight into this production. There were some moments which were glossed over and left to be inferred, leaving us, and notably other audience members, in confusion. If a performance with classic showtunes and themes of “home, love, and family” entices you, then secure yourself a seat before the tour leaves Sydney on July 18th!

If you would like more insight into the show’s production, then read our other article found here.

Spoilers from here onwards!

The works of set designer Alexander Dodge, video designer Aaron Rhyne, and lighting designer Donald Holder became an organic uncovering of Anastasia’s past into its vivid, three-dimensional showcase. With the grand set and framing of the stage reminiscent of Palladian architecture, Anastasia moves the audience through the bitter streets of post-war St. Petersburg to the romantic beauty of Paris. 

“The curve of the Palladian wall in concert with the arched portal in front of it is suggestive of the shape of a Fabergé egg or even more, a music box.” - Alexander Dodge, set designer

With an ethereal start, the light shifts into a deep blue as the LCD projections carry the winter landscape of Saint Petersburg alongside the opulent palace of the Tsar. Notably, three turntables were used on the stage to allow for a fluid transition of the set pieces. 

The performance began in 1907 in Russia, with a little Anastasia/Anya and Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, connecting over a music box and plans to meet in Paris. The Dowager Empress then leaves Russia, and we suddenly jump ten years later, transporting viewers into the middle of a ball. In this sequence, the ensemble gracefully waltzes across the stage with perfectly timed lifts, dazzling us in costumes and jewellery that refracted in the blinding lights. However, the party is cut short as revolutionaries storm the palace, and Anastasia is separated from her family. The lights turn blood red, strobe, then cut to black, and the show sets the audience right where we want to be: on the edge of our seats (and post-revolution Russia).

There’s a rumor in St. Petersburg, and a plot convenience too. As Simran pointed out to Teagan, the stage adaptation has Dmitry obtain the famous music box after bartering with a street vendor, even though the film has a young Dmitry holding onto it for up to a decade. Aside from the faults of rewriting this as a lucky coincidence, this choice potentially undermines and contradicts the foundation of Dmitry and Anya’s love story as displayed in Act 2 (which will be discussed later in the song In a Crowd of Thousands). 

Other songs, like In My Dreams, tugged the heart in a way that only watching it live can do. Although it is mostly a traditional musical theatre performance, this song in particular resonated with us. Who couldn’t help but stay faithful to the truth of one’s dreams?

As perhaps the most sorrowful song in the whole show, Stay, I Pray You, showcases an equally heartbreaking and chilling choral arrangement of the characters saying their final goodbyes to Russia. The performance was captivating from the very first lyric and earned a few shed tears between us. 

Following this song was the train sequence in We’ll Go From There, as lush green scenery flies by in a breathtaking rush of movement and light. The most impressive set piece in the show by far was the turning, interactive train, which cleverly only showed the framework, allowing audiences to peer in. However, we were a bit distracted by the projections displayed on either side of the stage: roadmap ‘snapshots’ which did not follow the character’s journeys and instead broke some of the immersion in the sequence. 

The most anticipated song from Act 1 was Anya’s solo of Once Upon A December, performed by the multi-talented Georgina Hopson. As soon as the Banks of the Neva faded into a greyscale, snow fell down the backdrop, a direct callback to the prologue of the show, re-inviting the ghosts of Anya’s past. 

Journey to the Past remained iconic. As the song was playing, cherry blossoms were shifting to the side, revealing an aerial view of the Eiffel Tower, signalling the end of Act 1.

As we got back to our seats eagerly, Act 2 began. Flashes of fireworks accompanied the cast and ensemble’s enthusiastic Charleston. Finally, we were in Paris! Not only did the musical numbers become dramatically brighter in tone, but through costuming and lighting as well. 

Rhonda Burchmore’s Countess Lily was a perfect diva filled with passion and sultriness, invigorating the “le jazz hot” atmosphere of 1920s Paris in the Neva Club. Her charisma in Land of Yesterday is reason enough to purchase a ticket, but her comedic timing, commitment and chemistry with Robert Dobson’s Vlad are certainly reasons to come back again, and again, AND AGAIN. 

Whenever Dobson and Burchmore performed together on stage, the audience was ecstatic, us included. As a duo, they complement each other’s presence with their hopeless romantic lines and leaning into physical moments of intimacy, lighting up the theatre with a longing reunion.

As touched on beforehand, the love story between Dmitry and Anya struggled to meet the same standards as set up in the film. Their duet, In a Crowd of Thousands, reflects the criteria for a classic love confession song, but heavily insists that the audience believe in a rekindling between the characters without building up to this revelation. In the film, Dmitry saved Anya during the revolt and held onto the music box, symbolising his hope that the Duchess was still alive. By omitting a young Dmitry in the prologue, the history between the central couple is told but not shown, making their kiss in the finale not as satisfying as we had hoped it would be. 

It must be said that the complete absence of Rasputin, whether that be as a central antagonist or any references to the historical figure, weighed down much of the excitement from film fans. For an adaptation aimed at being more historically accurate, it was a bold choice to remove all mentions of Rasputin, considering how he was a keystone figure in the events leading up to the Russian Revolution. His influence over the royal family undermined their legitimacy as rulers, fueling the Russians to overthrow the corrupted Imperial government. 

Yet, this ambitious alteration was delivered into a gripping performance from start to end by award-winner Joshua Robson as Gleb Vaganov. A Deputy Commissioner torn between following in the footsteps of his father to “finish the job”, and conceding to his connection to Anya and showing her mercy. For being the biggest change in the story, Robson dominated his performance. His acting, especially in the climax, was one of the most emotion-laden moments in the show. The way he carries his voice and projects the raw, conflicting feelings of a morally grey villain in The Neva Flows (Reprise) and his part in Quartet at the Ballet brought us goosebumps throughout.

Quartet at the Ballet is a melodic amalgamation of the other tracks (Once Upon A December, In My Dreams, and snippets of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake), blending classical music into the score. This Parisian ballet sequence was the collective cry of help from the character’s individual battles, amongst a graceful ballet performance.

A line of dialogue which stuck was “If you really are Anastasia, do you think history wants you to have lived?”, spoken by Gleb as he held Anya at gunpoint. This addition completely reframes the story’s ending, where Anastasia renounces her title and elopes with Dmitry after acknowledging the legacy of the Romanov family as corrupt and incompetent. This line forces audiences to meaningfully reconsider what the Romanovs represented, beyond the rumours regarding the Grand Duchess’s fate. However, the film shows Anastasia abandoning her lifelong journey of uncovering her past and reconnecting with her family after finding romantic love. 

Anastasia is a reminder that the legacies you emerge from should not continue to define you. The musical calls upon the audience to never stop discovering themselves and to hold space for potential. 

If they can learn to do it, you can learn to do it.

An enormous thank you to Ian Phipps Publicity for allowing Vertigo to attend the media call and opening night of Anastasia: The Musical. 

The production leaves Sydney on July 18th, so get tickets here while you still can!