Peggy Hickey News

The world premiere of the new musical ANASTASIA, starring Christy Altomare and Derek Klena, opened May 27, 2016 at Hartford Stage. 

Meet Anastasia on tour's new Anya, Beth Stafford Laird, who rejoins the national tour of Broadway's Anastasia beginning April 7, 2020.

Rehearsals have begun for Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, on stage March 6 through 15. This 'classic whodunit' takes audiences on a fast paced thrill ride with a train full of suspects, and each one with an alibi! There are twists and turns aplenty in this intrigue-filled story, newly adapted for the stage from Agatha Christie's masterpiece by two-time Tony-nominated playwright Ken Ludwig. This unforgettable mystery takes audiences on a thrilling ride - Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer - in case he or she decides to strike again.

Hancock Whitney Broadway in New Orleans announced today that the individual tickets for the tour of the critically-acclaimed Broadway production of ANASTASIA will go on sale Friday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m.

CAPA and Broadway in Columbus are pleased to announce that ANASTASIA will host a digital ticket lottery during the upcoming Columbus engagement January 28 through February 2, offering fans the chance to purchase a limited number of $25 tickets available per performance.

Woensdagavond zijn de Musical Awards 2020 uitgereikt in het RAI Theater in Amsterdam. De vakjury, bestaande uit voorzitter Charles Droste en de leden Isabelle Beernaert, Marisa van Eyle, Arno Gelder, Alex Klaasen, Michiel de Regt en Tania Kross, hebben in 12 verschillende categorieën de winnaars vanavond bekendgemaakt. Grote winnaar is Lazarus, met vier awards. ANASTASIA ontving de AD Publieksprijs voor Beste Musical 2019 en Soldaat van Oranje - De Musical ontving uit handen van Prof. Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven de Award voor Unieke Prestatie. De musical Lazarus, die in oktober afgelopen jaar in première ging, ontving onder anderen de awards voor Beste Grote Musical en Beste Regie.

The Rochester Broadway Theatre League and Albert Nocciolino will welcome the Broadway production of Anastasia as it makes its Rochester Premier at RBTL's Auditorium Theatre January 21-26, 2020. Tickets are on sale now and available at RBTL's Auditorium Theatre Box office or by visiting ticketmaster.com.

A mysterious girl, who may or may not be the long lost Princess Anastasia Romanov of Russia, a grandmother intent on finding her, and the desperate men willing to do whatever it takes to get out of Russia. These are at the center of the musical ANASTASIA which is now playing at The Bushnell in Hartford.

The Rochester Broadway Theatre League and Albert Nocciolino are pleased to announce that ANASTASIA will host a digital ticket lottery during the upcoming Rochester engagement from January 21 to January 26, 2020 at RBTL's Auditorium Theatre, offering fans the chance to purchase a limited number of $25 tickets available per performance.

Playhouse Square has announced that ANASTASIA is coming to the Connor Palace for a three-week engagement, February 4-23, 2020, as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series. To purchase tickets, visit playhousesquare.org, call 216-241-6000 or visit the Playhouse Square Ticket Office (1519 Euclid Ave.).

CAPA and Broadway in Columbus are proud to present the Columbus premiere of ANASTASIA at the Ohio Theatre with performances beginning January 28 playing through February 2.

Matt Owen, Jillian Gottlieb and Jim J. Bullock celebrate Christmas at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in the a?oesparkle-jollya?? production of Elf the Musical, which began performances on November 30th.

The Rochester Broadway Theatre League and Albert Nocciolino announced today that the individual tickets for the tour of the critically-acclaimed Broadway production of ANASTASIA are on sale now. Tickets are available at RBTL's Auditorium Theatre Box office or by visiting ticketmaster.com.

At first glance, the musical stage adaptation of ANASTASIA looks and feels like an appropriately grand, luxe affaira?"from its gorgeous costumes designed to the lush soundscapes created by the orchestra and the vocal talents that have been assembled for this tour. But the undeniable wow factor of the show is, of course, the stunning visual trifecta of its scenic design working in keen harmony with dazzling projections and stage lighting. The overall technical prowess of this stage musical is just jaw-droppinga?"and, I must say, is quite an adequate enough reason to experience the show. The adaptation's execution of the story itself, however, suffers slightly from its well-meaning intentionsa?"revealing a stage show that feels stilted by its own drama, and with an unsure footing of what it truly wants to be.

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.

Tony nominee Adam Pascal stars as Professor Harold Hill in the first show of the 5-Star Theatricals 2019-2020 season, THE MUSIC MAN, featuring book, music and lyrics by Meredith Willson, musical direction by Brad Ellis, choreography by Peggy Hickey and directed by Larry Raben.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature Once On This Island, The Light in the Piazza, Sweeney Todd and more!

Trent Mills is one of those versatile young actors who can do it all - a 'five-tool' player who can act, sing, dance, do drama, and comedy and do it all well. Mills is starring as Marcellus Washburn in 5-Star Theatricals' production of 'The Music Man,' which plays through Oct. 27 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. We talked with Mills about the art of physical comedy and his fresh, new approach to his character.

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