Everything You Need To Know (So Far) About The 'Anastasia' Broadway Adaptation

In the '90s Disney had the monopoly on princesses, with the Disney Renaissance happening during that time and dominating the animation genre. However, in 1997 Fox came up with their own answer to it with Anastasia, based on the real-life story of the Russian princess who went missing during the overthrow of her father, Tsar Nicholas II.

For many years fans of the movie have wanted a live-action version of the movie to come to pass, with many even going so far as to fancast it. While there is still no news on Fox following in the footsteps of Disney in recreating their famous cartoon in a 3-D way, there is a stage adaptation coming to Broadway next April.

The poster is quite the throwback to the original movie poster, where all you could see was the silhouette of Anastasia and not much else, just in reverse from the poster above. The kid in me let out a small squeal of delight in seeing this. See what I mean?

The musical stage adaptation has already performed to sold-out crowds on the Hartford stage, with an incredible main cast that will be reprising their roles for the Broadway version.

Cast:

• Anastasia - Christy Altomare
• Dimitri - Derek Klena
• Vlad - John Bolton
• Countess Malevsky-Malevitch - Caroline O'Connor

Leading the cast is Christy Altomare as the titular character, Anastasia, or Anya as she is called. Altomare seems to have quite the passion in the above picture here, and though she doesn't have the flaming auburn hair that we are used to seeing, I think that it will be interesting to see her take, and I am so looking forward to her singing the highlight song from the movie:

Joining Altomare is Derek Klena as the con man and love interest Dimitri (or Dmitry, depending on how you spell it), who looks as though he jumped right off the artist's page and onto the stage. He definitely has those dashing good looks that so many girls, including Anya, fell for.

Along with the two leads, John Bolton is reprising his role as the wonderfully kindhearted and patient Vlad. And Caroline O'Connor is playing Countess Malevsky-Malevitch, who seems to be the musical adaptation's answer to Sophie from the movie.

Does the stage show capture the magic of the movie? Well, looking at these images from their rendition of "Once Upon a December" I can say that without a doubt I got goosebumps, just as I did as a child seeing the images on screen.

Here's a quick bullet point list of the main facts you need to know about the Anastasia Broadway musical:

Opening night: April 24, 2017Theater: Broadhurst TheatreScore by: Lynn Ahrens and Stephen FlahertyBook by: Terrence McNallyDirector: Darko TresnjakChoreography: Peggy HickeyTickets: AnastasiaBroadway.com

Granted, the official site doesn't have much yet, but it does have this cute little video message from Anya and Dimitri themselves:

Given that Anastasia was my favorite animated movie growing up, it is a pleasure to see that it appears it will be given justice with this company and this Broadway adaptation. The timing is perfect for the release as well, as the movie will be celebrating its 20th anniversary when it hits the Broadway stage.

[Image sources: Hartford Stage]