Following the 1997 animated film of the same name, “Anastasia: The Musical,” currently playing at Moonlight Stage Productions, brings the mysterious disappearance of the Grand Duchess to life with brilliant sets, costumes and performances.
Nine years after the Russian Revolution, word has spread around Leningrad that the young Anastasia may have escaped her family’s fate. Con men Demitry (Sittichai Chaiyahat) and Vlad (Michael Paternostro) devise a plan to dress up a young woman and present her to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (Valerie Perri) in exchange for a reward. Young amnesiac Anya (Lena Ceja) joins Demitry and Vlad to complete their con in Paris, only to find that as their act unfolds, her memories slowly return.
The production is helmed by director Larry Raben, who, along with the talented cast, kept the heart and humor of the original animated film throughout the show. Lena Ceja is a powerhouse of voice and performance as Anya; the character was sincere, likable and charming. Her performance of “Once Upon a December” was absolutely stunning.
Set Designer Andrew Hammer, along with original projection designs by Aaron Rhyne, brought the time period and magic of the story to life using Moonlight’s new LED wall and elegantly movable set pieces. The digital backdrops and scenes created a gorgeous landscape.
While the talent, visuals, and direction are all beautifully done, “Anastasia: The Musical,” as adapted for the stage, is not a particularly strong musical. In an effort to pad out the runtime from an animated movie to a Broadway show, 45 minutes have been added to the story that do not need to be there. Multiple songs have nothing to do with the plot, and everything original to the stage adaptation just rings of generic “musical theatre” sound with no real toe-tappers in sight. The songs from the original animated film all stand out as the most interesting pieces of the story, with everything else serving as filler. The Broadway run only lasted two years, and the production received mixed reviews.
While there is nostalgia in the stage show for 90s kids who grew up with the animated movie, the expanded songs and story don’t add anything substantial to make it a worthwhile musical. Moonlight’s production is beautifully presented, but at its heart, the musical as a whole doesn’t hold up.
(Photo credit: Karli Cadel)
To See or Not To See 
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