'Anastasia' spins romantic tale out of imperial Russia's darkest days

Posted March 29, 2019 4:30 pm

Lila Coogan stars as Anya, an amnesiac street sweeper in 1927 Russia who may be the missing Russian royal “Anastasia” in the touring production of the Broadway tuner. Courtesy of Matthew Murphy

“Anastasia” - ★ ★ ½

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, “My Fair Lady” and “Fiddler on the Roof” should be sincerely flattered by “Anastasia,” whose national tour arrived in Chicago days before its Broadway counterpart closes.

Based partly on the 1997 animated film about a young, amnesiac Russian woman who may be the last czar's only surviving heir, “Anastasia” comes courtesy of Stephen Flaherty (music), Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and Terrence McNally (book) - the blue-chip trio responsible for “Ragtime.” Despite that pedigree, plus a couple of musical gems including the wistful yet anthemic Oscar-nominated “Journey to the Past” and the lovely duet “In a Crowd of Thousands,” “Anastasia” remains a solidly middle-tier tuner now playing the James M. Nederlander Theatre through April 7.

Lila Coogan plays Anya, an amnesiac who Stephen Brower's Dmitry proposes to pass off as the lost grand duchess in the musical "Anastasia," running through April 7 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre. Courtesy of Matthew Murphy

The musical tells the story of the orphaned Anya (Lila Coogan), a street sweeper in 1927 Russia whose amnesia has left her with fragmented memories of a lost family she's desperate to locate. She meets a pair of genial, would-be con men: young Dmitry (a likable Stephen Brower) and middle-aged Vlad (Edward Staudenmayer), a former count looking to reclaim midlevel aristocracy. They are searching for a young woman they can pass off as the Grand Duchess Anastasia - the youngest daughter of Russian Czar Nicholas Romanov II and his wife, Alexandra - who was rumored to have escaped execution by Bolshevik revolutionaries. (In reality, Nicholas, Alexandra, their five children - Anastasia included - and several servants were shot to death in 1918.)

Much like Higgins and Pickering in “My Fair Lady,” Dmitry and Vlad groom Anya in all matters Romanov, intending to present her to the Dowager Empress (Joy Franz) who has offered a reward to anyone who reunites her with the missing Anastasia. Later in a scene straight out of “Fiddler,” the trio joins other soon-to-be Russian expats at a train depot where they express their sorrow over leaving their homeland for the last time.

The ghosts of her family haunt the amnesiac Anya in the national tour of "Anastasia," which plays Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre through April 7. Courtesy of Evan Zimmerman

Meanwhile the Bolsheviks, worried that the reappearance of a royal princess will undermine budding communism, do their best to silence the would-be impostor. The task falls to Gleb (Jason Michael Evans), an apparatchik whose father participated in the Romanov's execution and who inexplicably falls for Anya following a chance meeting on the street.

Coogan, a first-rate ingénue, heads up an earnest cast that includes the terrific Tari Kelly, who plays Countess Lily, the dowager's lady-in-waiting and Vlad's former paramour. Kelly and Staudenmayer make a jolly pair as the musical's comic relief and Franz is touching as its wounded heart. But it's Evans' clarion-voiced portrayal of the conflicted Gleb that stands out. His confrontation with Coogan's Anya late in the show over the new world vs. the old world order suggests weighty issues worth exploring. But those issues have no place in this frothy, fairy tale.

Gorgeously costumed by Linda Cho, director Darko Tresnjak's production unfolds against a backdrop dominated by Aaron Rhyne's postcard-pretty projections. The aerial shot of Paris at night is beautiful, as is the bucolic countryside Anya, Dmitry and Vlad hurtle past on their eventful train ride to Paris. The ghostly images of waltzing royals from Anya's fractured dreams are a poignant counterpoint to the red-drenched backdrop that marks the murdered family's final moments.

Jason Michael Evans plays Gleb, a Russian apparatchik who pursues the young woman claiming to be the lost grand duchess Anastasia in the national tour of the musical "Anastasia." Courtesy of Matthew Murphy

But for all that, Rhyne's projections and Alexander Dodge's set are essentially two-dimensional. As a result, the production feels flat.

With the exception of “Journey to the Past” and the insistent lullaby “Once Upon a December,” the score isn't especially memorable and we never really get a sense of Anya and Dmitry's romance evolving or the source of Gleb's infatuation.

What I found most jarring about the purportedly family-friendly “Anastasia,” however, is its violent back story - even with its plucky princess protagonist.

Location: The James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through April 7

Running time: About 2 hours 30 minutes, including intermission

Tickets: $27-$123

Parking: Paid lots

Rating: School age and older

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