Review: ANASTASIA at The Lighthouse Repertory Theatre Company

In the perennially winter tale of “Anastasia,” a musical about the young Russian woman with claims to be being the lone survivor of the royal Romanov family’s massacre, The Lighthouse Repertory captured the magic and warmth of a Christmas-time story while creating great dramatic tension.

Director Tony Chiofalo’s vision portrayed macro and micro perspectives on the tale with the interplay of the revolutionized Russia trying to find a solid place in their new world juxtaposed to Anya/Anastasia’s journey to make sense of her past in order to find her future.

Set designer Spencer DeStefano and props designer Denise Hagen utilized key props and set pieces to distinguish the vastly different scenes from the opening. The lush, French-influenced settee used in the introductory scene with young Anastasia and the Dowager Empress was every bit of royal indulgence while the rusty bonfires of the disillusioned comrades expressed the drabness of dreams dashed.

Sherry Kfare’s costume design reflected a deep, dramaturgical nuance to the wardrobe that spans the first quarter of the twentieth century with an innocent, lush white flush of debutante-style dresses, into the near rags of the early twenties, to the bold and flirtatious Flapper era.

Choreographer Tyler Matos brought forth the superior technical abilities of his dancers with choreography worthy of its own stage debut. Mackenzie Waite as Odette in Swan Lake during the Paris ballet scene was a regal prima ballerina whose en pointe routine was as delicate as the tragic character she played and a worthy companion to the fate of Anastasia as well.

Jacklyn Lisi as Anya/Princess Anastasia gave a triumphant performance of the character arc of the displaced royal with a grittiness in spirit that was at home in both iterations of the title character. Her strong voice filled the theater but also whispered the emotions of the song.

Patrice Richardson as Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna Romanov was straight out of Anna Karenina as the ultimate authority on royal deportment. In her later scenes when she is spiraling and professing her great sadness, Richardson still maintains that nobility. Her tender moments with Mackenzie Rosado and the music box for “Once Upon a December” are as much haunting as they are beautiful. Rosado was delightful in the opening scene with Richardson as the timber of her young voice was full of life, belying a prescience about the end of that era.

Dmitry, by the aptly named Stephen Anastasia, had undeniable chemistry with Lisi as the two skillfully manage to put off their characters actually falling in love until the end but portraying the eventual romance as inevitable in their scenes together. In “A Rumor in St. Petersburg,” Stephen’s energy and steadfastness is abundant, but also is his command of the music.

Rick Wilson as Vlad Popov was paternal and gracious in his portrayal of the intellectual. His character comes to life when paired with Stephanie Schrader. Schrader as Countess Lily Malevsky Malevitch is the aristocrat with a sordid past with intact allure and a wonderful source of comic relief. Their duet, “The Countess and the Common Man,” is a nice sojourn into another devastated displacement of the Russian aristocracy following the revolution. Shrader’s powerful voice matched the bold, brazen woman she played.

Of course as the villain, Aaron Mor as Gleb Vaganov is perhaps the most complex character in the entire show as he struggles with his new position as a figure of authority. Mor’s nuanced Gleb is often torn even if he is strong in his conviction. In his final song with Anastasia, “Everything to Win (reprise)”, he paradoxically brandishes his gun while quavering. The flood of relief that overcomes Mor’s face when he makes his final decision with the firearm is the dramatic moment that encapsulates the whole production.

As Tsarina Alexandra and Tsar Romanov II, Kayla Sackler Wrobel and Andrew J. Koehler, the couple clad in white were ghostly tragic figures who danced for all of the Russian court’s excesses. Koehler also played Count Ipolatov, the diametric opposite of the staid Tsar to great comedic effect.

"Anastasia" will play through December 28.