Review: ANASTASIA at Hale Centre Theatre

Hale Centre Theatre in Gilbert, Arizona, is presenting ANASTASIA as part of a growing trend of local theaters bringing this once semi-obscure Broadway adaptation to local stages.

The musical is a historical fiction hypothetical posing "What if a daughter of the last czar of Russia 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 survival and rediscovery of her identity after the attack on her family leaves her with amnesia. Renamed "Anya", she grows up in post-Revolution Russia while her grandmother, the Dowager Empress has fled to France and offered a cash reward for anyone escorting the potentially alive Anastasia to Paris. The wily duo Vlad and Dmitry pull a “My Fair Lady” style makeover on Anya to collect the Dowager's prize, unaware they have come upon the actual Anastasia. They are pursued by Gleb, a Soviet officer drawn to Anya romantically but tasked with finding and eliminating her. Anya's memory becomes somewhat coaxed back, but the Dowager has stopped seeing Anastasia claimants after too much heartbreak from countless frauds.

It sounds dark, but with beautiful technical elements and inspired performances across the cast the show is a delight. Stephen Flaherty (Music) and Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics), responsible for bringing us RAGTIME, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, and LUCKY STIFF, provide some of their best work. Paired with a passionate and effectively dramatic book by Terrence McNalley, ANASTASIA is a stronger piece of art than your typical Princess story.

Hale Centre Theatre's current production is very much a success on most fronts. The technical aspects are professional and clean, creating a polished theatrical experience in their intimate theater-in-the-round space. Set elements, such as a rotating train car, are fun to watch and allow director Cambrian James to form lovely and inventive blocking.

The cast delivers several standout performances. Kathleen Sasnett commands attention as the Dowager Empress with a focused performance and bold assertion of practiced acting skill. Rob Stuart as Vlad, in his 35th appearance at Hale, demonstrates the onstage ease that comes with abundant quality time "on the boards" but doesn't let that familiarity affect the energy and investment of his performance.

The costumes are exquisite with only a couple of exceptions. Polished, decorative, and evocative of era, though choices like having Anya in princess pink for her climactic scenes flaw the design.

Director/choreographer Cambrian James stages like someone who has worked "in the round" dozens of times. He has considerable expertise at creating temporary pictures and knowing exactly how long before the focus must shift direction. However, that familiarity also brings gradual immunity to the oddity of having so many people say so many important things with their backs to each other facing the corners to the point of going to that well too often.

His choreography is high quality and impressive, but safe. The slice of "Swan Lake" infused into "Quartet at the Ballet," choreographed by Rebekah Hale, serves as the highlight of the second act. It's a fun-size version of the ballet that gets an under-represented art form a seat at the table. This kind of trope often means putting the plot on hold, but here the ballet functions as connective tissue between Anya, Dmitry, the Dowager, and Gleb as they each bring us up to speed heading into the show's climax.

When Disney acquired Fox's catalog, Anastasia came with it, and this musical, once performed in a more legitimate Broadway style, is starting to feel like a Disney musical. This is particularly evident in the vocal choices and acting style of the romantic leads. A once subtle, sincere show advances into Disney animated melodrama. It's almost as if, with the extraordinary success of Disney musicals like THE LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST with community theater audiences, theaters are beginning to see Anastasia as another vehicle for that familiar sound and style. Coincidentally or not, ANASTASIA is now officially a Disney Princess both as a character and as intellectual property.

This shift overlooks an opportunity to stretch Disney-style theatergoers into more complex, nuanced stories and characters. Brie Wadsworth-Gates as Anastasia is a gifted singer, and I imagine her performance as Ariel or Belle would exceed any expectation placed on those roles. But I'm looking for the legitimate Broadway sound found in RAGTIME or Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon's THE SECRET GARDEN.

The composer/lyricist team of Flaherty and Ahrens highly integrate specific genres and cultures into each of their shows. ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, set in the Antillean Islands, has a Caribbean sound. ANASTASIA is a clear homage to the great Russian composers. LUCKY STIFF has a comic film noir feel. And RAGTIME of course, is steeped in ragtime. This cultural specificity requires a more sophisticated vocal approach to honor what the composers built into the score.

While the audience is clearly eating up this interpretation, it does overlook the chance to introduce them to the richer, more culturally grounded musical theater that Flaherty and Ahrens intended. Still, this production succeeds as a crowd-pleaser, and the audience was clearly moved by the engaging performances and always inventive staging of Mr. James. Any issue I have with the Disnification of the show don't keep the production from being a strong success.