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The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) has announced the line-up of the highly anticipated 12th annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival, running from November 3-19, 2023.

Discover the exciting lineup of LGBTQ+ films at aGLIFF's Prism 36. Don't miss out on this celebration of diverse storytelling and powerful narratives. Plan your movie marathon and be part of the vibrant LGBTQ+ community.

One of Broadway’s newest musicals, ANASTASIA, has arrived in Vancouver! Being the 3rd musical to come to Vancouver this year with Broadway Across Canada, ANASTASIA has proven itself to be the best one yet.

What did our critic think of ANASTASIA at West Fargo Sheyenne?

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of Emma Rice’s critically acclaimed Wuthering Heights, a reimagined version of Emily Brontë’s gothic masterpiece. Performances begin Friday, November 18 and continue through Sunday, January 1, 2023.

Although there may be nothing earth shattering about Anastasia, the scenery, costumes, and cast performances are all excellent reasons to see the show during its national tour stop in Ottawa.

Dear Readers, some of you may remember the 1997 animated rendition of “Anastasia” that the current musical production at the Paramount is based on … loosely. We still have most of those lovely Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty songs from the animated version and the story is still about a young girl discovering that she is the lost Romanov daughter and trying to make her way to Paris to reunite with her grandmother. But don’t expect to see the magical immortal Rasputin as the villain or a wise cracking bat for comic relief. However, if you really wanted that animated version on stage, you may be in luck as many of the performances last night were inexplicably cartoonish in a show with a few memorable songs but a convoluted story that made little sense if you pay attention to it.

Russian-set musicals figure highly in this actor's nontraditional path to the tour stage. ANASTASIA, the new Broadway musical, and its Dowager Empress are on the Orpheum's stage till Dec. 19.

The North American Tour of Anastasia-the sweeping, alternate-history/fairytale musical based on the animated 1997 film-journeyed to Philadelphia's Merriam Theater last night. Anastasia features a book by theatre luminary Terrence McNally, and a score by the Tony Award -winning team of Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics).

In the last decade or so, musicals based on movies have become a regular occurrence. It seems like several new shows are opening each year, so it's not surprising that a?oeAnastasia,a?? Don Bluth's semi-unconventional take on a princess movie, made the transition a?' and thankfully, the end result maintains much of the magic of its source material.

The first clue that ANASTASIA was going to be different than what I expected was a note on the title page reading, “Inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Pictures.” Plural? A savvy journalist, I quickly asked Siri to bring up the imdb page for “Anastasia”. Turns out Fox made ANASTASIA twice, the 1997 animated off-brand Disney princess movie and a 1957 film that scored Ingrid Bergman's second Oscar and marked Helen Hayes' transition to the big screen. And it turns out the musical version has more in common with LES MISERABLES and RAGTIME than BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Gone is the hell-wizard Rasputin, his talking fruit bat sidekick, and the singing demon caterpillars. At intermission, I asked my third grade niece, Adalyn, how she was liking it. “It's awesome…it's real people, like no Beast or anything. No animals.” We decide that Disney staged musicals are great but more it's more impressive when you can achieve the magic without a story that departs from reality. ANASTASIA is historical fiction hypothetical. It poses a “what if…?” that a daughter of the last czar of Russia (The Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna) escaped when the czar's family was executed in 1918. Rumors persisted for decades that Anastasia did, in fact, escape. In 2007, DNA testing confirmed the remains of all four Grand Duchesses were in the Imperial grave. In this version, Terrence McNalley's book follows Anastasia's rediscovery of her identity after surviving the attack on her family and sustaining some plot enabling amnesia. Renamed “Anya” she grows up and makes a life in post-Revolution Russia. Anastasia's grandmother, the Dowager Empress (in a staggeringly moving performance by Joy Franz) has fled to France and offered a cash reward for anyone escorting the rumored alive Anastasia to Paris. The wily duo Vlad (Edward Staudenmayer) and Dmitry (Jake Levy) pull a My Fair Lady style makeover on Anya to collect the Dowager's prize. They are pursued by Gleb (Jason Michael Evans). A Soviet officer drawn to Anya romantically but tasked with finding and eliminating the last Romanov. Anya's memory becomes somewhat coaxed back, but the Dowager has stopped seeing Anastasia claimants after too much heart-break from countless frauds. It sounds dark, but with high-tech digital scenery and inspired performances across the cast it is delightful. Stephen Flaherty (Music) and Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics), responsible for bringing us RAGTIME, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, LUCKY STIFF, as well as the Oscar nominated songs carried over from the animated film. ANASTASIA is a perfect context for this pair. “Stay, I Pray You” (my favorite song of the evening) is evocative of RAGTIME's “New Music”. The two songs literally race my heart in a strangely specific way. My real test of a National Tour at Gammage is how fast I get the music playing in my car on the way home. At ANASTASIA I was already finding, “Stay, I Pray You” walking through the parking lot. The rest of the score is similarly haunting. Lila Coogan, as Anya/Anastasia, powers through the score with nuance, clarity, and passion. Tari Kelly, as Countess Lily, and Stadenmayer (Vlad) were Adalyn's favorite performances and I have to agree. This incredibly gifted pair take the “triple threat” designation (singer, dancer, actor) and go quadruple with the addition of flawless comic timing. The choreography by Peggy Hickey is masterful. It somehow combines inventive and traditional throughout and the ten-minute slice of “Swan Lake” infused into “Quartet at the Ballet” is the highlight of the second act. It's a fun-size version that gets an under-represented art form onto the plate. This kind of trope often means the plot putting the plot on hold. But here, it is the connective tissue between Anya, Dmitry, the Dowager, and Gleb as they each bring us up to speed heading into the show's climax. Ultimately, the show's success comes from applying a higher artistic standard to the “previously-animated-film-now-theatrically-staged” genre. It cashes in on the name draw of the 1997 film then gives the viewer something much more enriched than what they think they are coming to see.

The persistent legend, mystique and fascination of what may have happened to Anastasia during Russia's revolution finds a new home in the musical ANASTASIA

This Anastasia is impeccably performed, gorgeously rendered, and entertaining to be sure. Still, to me, the new songs don't soar alongside the old ones. I wonder how I'd feel if I didn't already know those old songs by heart. That's the risk the show's creators took in translating Anastasia for Broadway.

Thankfully, when ANASTASIA hit Broadway, it dispensed with anyone immortal or winged, replacing fantasy with the real-world politics that led up to the Romanovs' demise. The added historical context grounds this once-wacky story, and frankly, I would have welcomed even more of it...

A Haunting Tale of Anastasia On Tour

Opening night Kansas City audiences for 'Anastasia the New Broadway Musical' were treated to a tremendously well performed, visually dazzling, homage to the classic musical theater form. 

Whether you're a history buff, grew up with the film or are a newcomer to the mysterious story of the lost princess, you will find something to love. Run, don't walk to catch this instant musical theatre classic before it leaves Austin on February 17th.

This fable of a musical lacks passion and is rather bland.

Cast members and writers of two new Broadway shows are featured on THEATER TALK this week - Chris Cooper, Laurie Metcalf and playwright Lucas Hnath, all Tony Award-nominated for A Doll's House, Part 2 at the Golden Theatre; and Christy Altomare, Ramin Karimloo and librettist Terrence McNally representing Anastasia, now at the Broadhurst Theatre. Co-hosts of THEATER TALK are Michael Riedel of the New York Post and producer Susan Haskins.

The new musical, ANASTASIA, dances into Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street) tonight, April 24, 2017, produced by Stage Entertainment, Bill Taylor (Sister Act, Rocky), Tom Kirdahy (It's Only A Play, The Visit) and Hunter Arnold (Kinky Boots, Spring Awakening). The company is led by Christy Altomare, Derek Klena, John Bolton, Ramin Karimloo, Caroline O'Connor and Mary Beth Peil. Scroll down to get to know the company before they take their opening bows!

Berkeley Rep today announced the American premiere of 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips adapted by Michael Morpurgo (War Horse) and Emma Rice, with Rice also directing.

Berkeley Rep today announced the American premiere of 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips adapted by Michael Morpurgo (War Horse) and Emma Rice, with Rice also directing.

Berkeley Rep today announced the American premiere of 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips adapted by Michael Morpurgo (War Horse) and Emma Rice, with Rice also directing.

Theater for the New City presents Suddenly, A Knock at the Door, a new play based on stories by award winning Israeli author and filmmaker Etgar Keret written by Robin Goldfin with live music composed by Oren Neiman and performed by Oren Neiman & Gilad Ben-Zvi. David L. Carson* directs a cast of 6, including Jeffrey Swan Jones*,Antonio Minino, Alyssa Simon*, Kenneth Talberth*, Stephen Thornton, and Elanna White. Fourteen performances will be staged from June 2-19, 2016 at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Streets) in New York City's East Village.