Anastasia Reviews

Lizzie from Sarasota, Florida

EXCELLENT VOICES - STRANGE CASTING

Gorgeous projections turn an empty stage into many different fabulous scenes which works really well. Lovely voices from the main 4 characters and a couple of beautiful songs but overall the show seems to lack something. It feels like it needed more work script wise. There are several tiny female actors on this huge scale VannWezel stage who appear to be out of place and look odd next to their taller counterparts. The Countess has a marvelous scene with her former lover. Overall i felt the problem was with the show itself.

Helen from Atlanta, Georgia

PRETTY BUT BLAND

I wasn't expecting a perfect remake of the 1997 animated film but I was expecting something a bit more exciting. The beginning DRAGS. ON. There were too many moments where I was wondering when the intermission would happen. The primary issue I had was that the lead characters were pretty forgettable. I'm not kidding, I forgot Dimitry was there half the time. Anastasia had a lot of spunk and personality in the original story, but just felt like a damsel in distress with no real character in this rendition. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the actress. I appreciated that they were trying to go for a more realistic version with the new villain, but he barely did anything which was a shame. Otherwise, Lily (Madeline Raube) absolutely stole the show and was the only character I was excited for, and the ballet number was beautifully done.

Paul Robetts from Chicago, Illinois

UGH... WHERE TO BEGIN?

We saw Anastasia at Chicago's Nederlander Theater last night. There were many problems, but let's start with the good things. The visual projections which serve as the scenery were vivid and appealing. The chorus was lively and performed well. Now the bad news: Gleb overacted his heart out (some of his facial grimaces during songs were unintentionally funny). Dmitry and Vlad worked well together and were entertaining. Unfortunately, the lead character is miscast. She has a very good voice, but her tone was hard to tolerate at times and her acting skills were lacking. Zero chemistry with either Gleb or Dmitry. The biggest problem: the musical itself. It just isn't well conceived. The songs are forgettable. Their Disneyfied version of the royal assassinations and the Bolshevik revolution is weird and heartless. A musical written without heart makes it difficult for the performers to give their best. That's what we saw last night.

Eileen Adams from Ohio

DISAPPOINTED IN DENVER’S PRODUCTION

This production had beautiful costuming and creative use of sets (I especially liked the train scene). The singing voices were good, but the acting - with the exception of the actor who played Vlad, the grandmother, and Vlad’s love interest, Lily - was terrible. There was absolutely no chemistry between the actors who played Anastasia and Dmitry. Such a disappointment! I have directed about 50 shows in my life, and I never would have allowed middle school youth or community theater actors to pretend so inadequately to pour liquid into a cup, nor to drink hot tea as if it were a shot of liquor. These “little things” distracted greatly from what could have been a better production. Not at all the quality I was expecting from a city the size of Denver. The storyline is so different from the Disney movie, too, it added to the disappointment: no Rasputin, minions or Bartok.

Wendy from Toronto, Ontario

DISAPPOINTING

The music is very forgettable and the choreography simple. Actors were enthusiastic but seemed to be yelling all the time. At "normal" volume we could understand the lyrics but when they kicked up into high volume the distortion was such that the lyrics were unintelligible. Maybe that is the fault of the sound engineers? If I had to sum up the show in one word it would be 'tedious."

Nicole from Toronto, Ontario

MOVIE WAS BETTER

The costumes were all beautiful and the ballet portion was gorgeous. Vlad and Lily were amazing and so entertaining. I don’t like that Rasputin was changed, it made everything more boring. Anastasias singing voice was phenomenal but her acting was horrible and she spoke in a weak shaky voice the whole time which was so annoying. Dimitri did alright although I think the villain gleb had a stronger voice than him.

Ann from Hartford, Connecticut

DISAPPOINTING PRINCESS

Where to begin.... The overall presentation of the national tour of Anastasia is meant to leave you drooling over it's beauty, but here's where I believe it fails: The Leading Lady. Ms. Coogan's voice is admirable when she sings, but the lady simply should not have been cast in a speaking roll. Staccato is the best description I can give her delivery. Her lack of emotional warmth toward both if her leading men left me stone cold. Most of her energy seemed to be spent in showing us her pretty profile and navigating her choreography. Put plainly, she is miscast. The two best things about this tour are actor Edward Staudemayer as Vlad, and the ensemble who shine in vocal and dance presentation. The "movie" of a set is stunning and some of the music is memorable. All in all, I was disappointed.

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