Review: Anastasia

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Anastasia.
Anastasia was a must-see for me during my time in New York, with a long list of things pulling me towards this production. There has been an extremely large amount of buzz surrounding Anastasia as of late and I had heard many great things about it. In addition, the storyline sounded wonderful and the production looked stunning from the clips I had seen online. When I visited the box office, I found out that Anastasia was largely sold out, however luckily there were two seats left, which my Mum and I quickly bought before they were gone. I am extremely pleased to report that Anastasia is a beautiful tale and is, in my opinion, one of the best shows on Broadway right now. From the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, the new musical, Anastasia, is the romantic, adventure-filled story of a brave young woman attempting to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing young con man and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love and family. I adored this storyline; I found it to be both extremely inventive and clever. It's very intriguing and even left me questioning history, so after the show I did further research into the real Grand Duchess Anastasia. I was highly impressed by the book, written by Terrence McNally, due to the fact that the show is well structured and the spoken dialogue is great. The accompanying score is also beautiful, with many wonderful songs (the show has 25 songs in total). The highlight song of the show, which stands out above everything else, was 'Journey to the Past'. This is a delightful song and has remained in my head weeks after seeing the show. Cast members who stood out were Christy Altomare as Anya, Derek Klena as Dmitry, John Bolton as Vlad, Ramin Karimloo as Gleb, Caroline O'Connor as Countess Lily and Mary Beth Peil as Dowager Empress. Every single cast member in Anastasia brings something very special to the show and all these performances were very memorable. It is a very talented cast! On the production side of things, everything is fantastic. The Tony Award nominated costumes were brilliant and the best I have seen in quite a while. They are extremely detailed and help to transport you to the 1900's. A good friend of mine who had seen Anastasia a few months ago criticised the sets due to the heavy use of screens. It is true that Anastasia relies heavily on the use of screens, however I really liked them They helped me to transport to Anastasia's world and they were extremely effective. I wouldn't want screens to be used in every show, but I think they work well in this instance. The lighting and choreography are also superb and I have no bad words to say about either of them. All in all, Anastasia is a brilliant and phenomenal show. The show will be visiting many different countries over the next few years and it is one I recommend to everyone who lives in a country that Anastasia visits. It is not one to be missed!

The featured star of Anastasia is, drum roll please... CHRISTY ALTOMARE!

This decision was easy for me. All cast members are stunning, but Christy gives a performance like no other. Many say she was born to play this role, and I would have to agree with that. She suits this role so perfectly, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Anya. I am absolutely gobsmacked that she did not receive a Tony nomination. If this performance was not Tony nomination worthy, then I don't have a clue what is!

Now for my final verdict on Anastasia. I give Anastasia...

This was tough, as Anastasia is borderline 5 stars. If I did half stars, Anastasia would receive 4 and a half stars. After a lot of thought, I chose to give Anastasia a 4 star, but I would certainly understand any arguments that would give Anastasia 5 stars.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer