Theatrikids Kicks Off Summer Season With ANASTASIA The Musical

TheatriKids, the education wing of Flagstaff's community theatre, Theatrikos, has announced it's first performance workshop production of the summer of 2022, Anastasia the Musical.

In collaboration with Coconino High School, Anastasia tells the story of the search for the surviving heir of Tsar Nicholas II the last ruler of the Russian monarchy. A poor street sweeper is plucked from obscurity by two con men in the hopes of securing a much sought-after reward for finding the lost princess.

Based on the 1997 animated feature of the same name, Anastasia the Musical reworked most of the songs of the original to fully round out a classical musical homage to Broadway's golden era. Gone are the supernatural villain and his cute sidekick. They are replaced by a Soviet officer, Gleb Vaganov a Russian Javert, who will stop at nothing to capture the purported princess. And like the titular heroine must come to grips with his past and his identity.

A cast of 36 ten to eighteen olds round out the cast of this impressive show which spans 1907 Russia all the way to Paris of 1927. With much singing and performing, Anastasia will have audiences guessing if the street sweeper is really a princess and heiress in disguise.

Recently, Broadway League dropped their vaccine mandate for audiences. At Monday's meeting, Theatrikos' board of directors decided to follow their lead. Effective with Anastasia, Theatrikos will no longer require vaccination for audiences on Friday and Saturday night performances. Broadway is keeping their mask requirement for audiences at least through May 31. Theatrikos will also keep the mask requirement at least through that time. All of Theatrikos' cautious safety protocols will remain in effect for Sunday matinees: vaccine requirement, masks, social distancing, closed concessions. "Safety of our cast and crew and audience and our Flagstaff community is always our priority," said Theatrikos Executive Director Chris Verrill. "We're not out of this yet. Hopefully the latest Omicron subvariant stays at bay. My thanks to all of our patrons for their patience with these perpetually changing safety protocols."

Performances of Anastasia the Musical run June 24-26 and July 1-3 at Theatrikos Theater in Flagstaff, AZ. Tickets may be purchased online at Theatrikos.com or by calling the box office at 928-774-1662 or by visiting the theatre's box office, which is open from noon to 6 pm Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and two hours prior to each performance.