This weekend, Broadway returns to the Basin with this month’s presentation of “Anastasia.”
The musical, which is based on the 1997 animated film of the same name, adapts the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia escaping the execution of her family the Romanovs.
The touring production is a part of this season’s Broadway in the Basin and will take place at 7 p.m. April 2 at the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center.
Playing the lead role of Anastasia (Anya) is recent college graduate Veronica Stern.
Stern has been playing the role of Anastasia since August of 2022 and is looking forward to the opportunity to come to the Permian Basin.
“We’re so excited. We’re going through our Texas leg of the tour,” Stern said. “We’re happy to be in the warm weather which always makes for better performances for everybody because you get to spend more time outside and you get to enjoy the beautiful cities in Texas.”
The production has made stops in College Station and Orange this week.
After its stop in Midland, they will be performing in Amarillo and Dallas before continuing in Kentucky.
For Stern, who graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2021, playing the role of Anastasia has been a huge break for her as this is her first national tour.
“It truly is unbelievable,” Stern said. “I’m just getting started in my career so to be able to do something of this magnitude early, I feel very blessed and very lucky and grateful every single day.”
The show transports the audience from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s.
The plot of the show involves a young amnesiac orphan named Anya who, years later after escaping, doesn’t remember where she came from. She hopes to find some trace of her family by siding with two con men who wish to take advantage of her likeness to the Grand Duchess.
Together, they embark on an adventure to help her find home, love and family all while being pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer who is determined to silence Anya.
Most people might be familiar with the 1997 animated feature which was created by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman.
However, this new version has a few differences.
The Broadway version features a book by celebrated playwright Terrence McNally, a lush new score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens based on the original direction by Tony Award-winner Darko Tresnjak with choreography by Peggy Hickey and tour direction by Sarah Hartmann.
The show opened up on Broadway back in 2017.
“This is the production that’s from Broadway,” Stern said. “Not much has changed. It’s the same creative team that’s working with us. Audiences are really getting the Broadway experience when they come to see our show. If you’re a fan of the 1997 film, you’ll get even more because they’ve added more. There’s more songs in the Broadway show but it also contains all your favorites as well.”
Those favorites still include “Once Upon a December” as well as “Journey to the Past” and “Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart.”
One major difference between this version and the ’97 film is the change of villain as Rasputin has been omitted.
“For fans of the movie, there’s a new antagonist whose name is Gleb,” Stern said. “He sings some beautiful ballads in this show. Anya, she has a song called ‘In My Dreams’ which she sings right at the beginning of the show which is new. Then there’s some things sprinkled throughout that has some tunes and melodies that people might recognize but are different.”
Playing the role of Gleb is Christian McQueen.
The roles of the two con men, Dimitry and Vlad, are played by Willem Butler and Bryan Seastrom, respectively.
For Stern, her favorite part about this musical is how well-rounded it is.
“It’s not just one specific part but the piece as a whole just really flows well,” Stern said. “I think you get, as an audience member, the ballads and the songs and the beautiful duets and the funny duets. There’s also the big ensemble dance numbers and everything. It’s just a well-rounded musical. I don’t think anyone walks away saying ‘I wish they had done this.’”
One of the musical numbers that stands out the most to fans is “Once Upon a December.”
“I think ‘Once Upon a December’ is a beautifully, haunting song,” Stern said. “And I think when people come to see it, they’ll see that there are remnants of the animated feature where the ghosts come around but to be able to see it, personified on stage, that’s a very different experience. I know that when people come to see the stage musical, they say how much they enjoyed watching ‘Once Upon a December’.”
Another number Stern enjoys singing is “Journey to the Past” which was an Oscar-nominated song from the animated film.
“Getting to sing ‘Journey to the Past’ every single night is an honor, first of all, because it’s this Oscar-nominated song that I get to sing all across the stage,” Stern said. “It’s also a song that everybody’s waiting for, as well as ‘Once Upon a December’.”
However, in this version, “Journey to the Past” comes right before intermission rather than early on.
“Unlike the movie, it comes at the end of Act I,” Stern said. “In the movie, it’s at the start. In the musical, she sings it at the end of the first act. It’s her first, big moment. She’s about to get to Paris. She just spends 15 minutes looking at what she’s going to do and when she gets to the end of Act I, she has a choice to make and that’s her decision.”
Stern says the music has been fun to sing and it’s hard to choose which piece is her favorite.
With that said, though, she enjoys the duet with Dimitry called “In a Crowd of Thousands.”
“It’s just a quiet, simple and very intricate song,” Stern said. “It’s all about remembering who you are but also basking in the ‘what if’ of it as well. I love singing that.”
For more information about the show, go to tinyurl.com/2pmzct74.
If you go
- What: “Anastasia: The Broadway Musical.”
- When: 7 p.m. April 2.
- Where: Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center.
- Where to purchase tickets: tinyurl.com/3a3scufn
