Review: 'Anastasia' at Hartford Stage

Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak is the Tony Award winner for Best Direction of a Musical for ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.’ He likens this piece to Shakespeare’s late romances that tell the tales of “families torn asunder, of long and perilous voyages, and of improbable yet heartbreaking reunions...and at or near the center of each on is a mysterious and determined young woman.” He directs the musical with a keen eye, walking the fine line between competing with a film version and his vision. I suspect that his vision will please fans of the movie as well as those of us that simply come to enjoy the musical version as I did.

This sweeping musical begins in the twilight of the Russian Empire and moves to 1920’s Paris. In a nutshell, it follows a brave young woman called Anya (played to perfection by Christy Altomare) as she attempts to discover the mystery of her past while trying to find where she belongs in the rapidly changing world of the new century; that she also finds love is an added bonus. The first act had some parts that actually reminded me of ‘Ragtime.’ The line that announces the arrival of our heroine at a Russian official’s office “She’s here” echoed the line referring to ‘Ragtime’s’ Younger Brother’s arrival, “He’s here.” Russian refugees lined up at a train station for “Stay, I Pray You” made me think of “Till We Reach That Day.” It made this show even more endearing somehow, as did the song “Once Upon a December” woven into both acts.

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I loved every minute of this production and would gladly see it again. Tickets are hard to come by but would be well-worth the effort. What an honor to experience this magical show here in CT before it hopefully heads to Broadway.

Photo by Joan Marcus