Review: ANASTASIA at Fulton Theatre

Fulton Theatre masterfully brings the Pennsylvania professional premiere of Anastasia to the Lancaster stage. Based loosely on both historical events and a 1997 animated film, Anastasia tells the story of a long-lost Russian grand duchess, and the peasant orphan girl claiming to be her.

Lila Coogan puts in a powerhouse performance as Anya/Anastasia.  She has a dynamic stage presence and a phenomenal voice in both pitch and power. Coleman Cummings and Nick Gaswirth, both Fulton newbies, star as Dmitry and Vlad, respectively.  The duo has great chemistry and propel the story forward as Anya’s travel buddies seeking to reunite her in with her estranged Grandmama, the Dowager Empress (Mary Ernster).

The first act is mostly a road trip, with our three heroes taking the perilous journey from Leningrad to Paris.  They must avoid the ruthless Gleb Vaganov (Gregory Lee Rodriguez) and his soldiers as they seek to find and eliminate the last traces of Russian royalty.

The costumes for this show were especially remarkable.  Cheers to Jeff Hendry, the show’s Costume Designer and his crew, for creating a dazzling array of attractive handmade garments.

This show is scenic-projection heavy, which is a trait I usually don’t care for.  However, video designer Luis Gracia and scenic designer William James Mohney use the technology in interesting and exciting ways, most notably the extended train sequence.

Director, Kenny Ingram does an effective job of translating what was essentially a knock-off Disney cartoon feature into a grounded and mature piece of musical theatre. While there is nothing particularly inappropriate about the show, it never panders to children in ways that similar shows like Frozen or The Little Mermaid do.

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