By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.co
Lila Coogan (Anya) and the company of "Anastasia."
Never mind big Broadway musicals busting a gut to be trendy, hip and cutting edge. Broadway in Tucson has a good old-fashioned, against-all-odds, triumphant international romance of a production playing in Centennial Hall, based on a true story – “Anastasia.”
Yes, this show with music by the same tuneful song-writing team that brought us “Ragtime” (Lynn Ahrens and Stephan Flaherty), looks just as big as it was described on Broadway with video projections by Aaron Rhyne playing on stage sets that tower over the actors.
Using computer-assisted technology, stage design teams are mastering their craft for the travel demands of Broadway's road shows. This production truly does feel worthy of the Big Apple. A fully instrumentalized pit orchestra completes the illusion.
All in the service to tell of a daring European romance involving displaced Russian royalty, a defiant escape by train from communist Russia to the anything-goes Paris of 1927, and several show-stopping numbers...including one sparked by a romantic kiss confirming this love that would not be denied.
Add to that an A-list cast of strong solo voices as well as a comedy performance by Tari Kelly (Countess Lily) that nearly steals the show from Lila Coogan as Anya, the young woman who insists she is Anastasia.
It's no wonder the 2 1/2-hour show was greeted with such waves of enthusiastic response during the curtain calls.
Joining Coogan and Kelly are Edward Staudenmayer as Vlad and Jake Levy as the younger Dmitry, two Russian commoners who take it upon themselves to present Anya as Anastasia, the only member of Russia's ruling Romanov family rumored to have survived the communist revolution.
Jason Michael Evans as the uniformed revolutionary Gleb stays in Russia to remember Anya from afar.
While “Anastasia” doesn't pretend to represent history, it has a bit of history as the show (with book by Terrence McNally) that was inspired by the animated 1997 movie featuring the voice of Meg Ryan and the 1956 film starring Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner.
But all you really need to know is this “Anastaia” in Centennial Hall is a genuine fairy tale brought to life with songs eager to hug your ears, colorful costumes, sumptuous stage sets and show business magic that will inspire the dreams of every eight-year-old princesses.
"Anastasia" continues through Sunday, Nov. 24, with performances in Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd., at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, and Thursday, Nov.21; at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22; at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov.23; at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday Nov. 24. Tickets are $25-$140. For details and reservations, broadwayintucson.com
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