"Anastasia" is the story of a girl trying to rediscover her past.
"Anastasia" was a very sweet show. It was a great family-friendly musical. I can see little girls especially loving it, I would have enjoyed it when I was a girl. But being older, there were times when I was longing for more variation and creativity.
The singing was beautiful, but the acting that went along with it was disappointing.
I got the feeling that the actors were trying to be animated for the sake of harnessing the same feelings from the cartoon. The way that they spoke was unnatural and fake. I was confused about why they were saying things in such an unusual way. It was the kind of "theatre-y" acting that grows tiring. As a result, I did not get attached to the characters and their story. I felt almost left out of the story because I was not invested in it.
On the other hand, the music was charming. "Journey to the Past" stayed in my head as I left the theatre, all the way on my way home, and into the next day. Lila Coogan's voice was amazing, and her last note of the song was incredibly strong and magnificent. I was astonished at the incredible power of her voice.
The sets were very nice, but I wished for more variation. They stuck with the same structure and changed locations using animations on a screen behind them. This was an interesting way of making multiple sets out of one, but by the second act I was bored of it and wanted to see something new. My favorite set though was the train. The way that they did it was cleaver and entertaining.
Overall, "Anastasia" lacks in prominence and grandeur, but still has a lovely sweetness and heart.
-Celia Boldizar