鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful mystery, fairy tale, romance,鈥� playwright Terrence McNally says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the most modern story I could think of. It鈥檚 the search for identity, roots, family connection. What mysteries lie in our lineage? That鈥檚 why it continues to speak to people.鈥�
McNally is talking about Anastasia, the new musical opening in one month at Connecticut鈥檚 Hartford Stage, for which he has written the libretto and and Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Rocky) have written the score. Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage鈥檚 artistic director, heads the production. A Tony winner for A Gentleman鈥檚 Guide to Love and Murder (which began at Hartford Stage), Tresnjak brings his vision to the show inspired by the 1997 animated movie of the same name鈥攐riginally scored by Ahrens and Flaherty.
The true story of Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II, inspired that movie. Anastasia鈥檚 fate remained uncertain for many years after the Russian Revolution鈥攚as she or was she not killed by the Bolsheviks along with the rest of her family in 1918? And if she wasn鈥檛, where could she be?
McNally (The Visit, Ragtime) is quick to point out that the new musical is very different from the movie, in both book and music. 鈥淭his is a stage version for a modern theatre audience,鈥� the four-time Tony winner says. The project is also the first reunion of the Ragtime creative team.
Nominated for two Oscars for their work on the film, Ahrens and Flaherty鈥檚 new score includes the Oscar-nominated tune 鈥淛ourney to the Past,鈥� as well as five revised songs from the movie, plus 16 new songs.
And the new libretto? 鈥淥nce you have a live character onstage,鈥� McNally says, 鈥渋t鈥檚 such a totally different expression than a cartoon figure. I never felt as if I was adapting a cartoon. I think the story was too real. This story happened less than 100 years ago and has entered the collective consciousness as a fairy tale. Most fairy tales are buried further back in time. This is a contemporary one.鈥�
He also had access to the 1956 movie Anastasia, with Ingrid Bergman, 鈥渁nd of course the story鈥檚 in the public domain.鈥� The libretto鈥檚 鈥渁 blend鈥� of old and new, according to McNally. 鈥淭here are characters in the musical that appear in neither the cartoon nor the Ingrid Bergman version.鈥�
While the animated film starred Meg Ryan as Anastasia鈥檚 speaking voice with Liz Callaway singing, Hartford鈥檚 musical features Christy Altomare (Mamma Mia) in the title role and Derek Klena (The Bridges of Madison County, Wicked) as Dmitry, the male lead, with a supporting cast of Broadway veterans, including Manoel Felciano, John Bolton and Mary Beth Peil.
Felciano plays a new character, Gleb, 鈥渂asically a police officer assigned to the case,鈥� McNally says. He鈥檚 tasked with determining if this girl is or is not the Czar鈥檚 daughter. After all, 鈥渢he Bolshevik government doesn鈥檛 want a legitimate heir to the Russian throne to be alive.鈥�
McNally says he鈥檚 not concerned that DNA tests proved Anastasia did not survive the Bolshevik Revolution. 鈥淭his story is bigger than that. I think that鈥檚 what a fairy tale does. I don鈥檛 think we worry, 鈥榃as there really a Cinderella, was there really a Snow White and the seven dwarfs?鈥� They鈥檙e a part of all of us. Anastasia is a real person who has made that leap into the mind bank, the emotional memory bank.鈥�
McNally is hopeful that Anastasia has a life beyond Hartford. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a dream of every show to end up in New York. But I鈥檝e been doing this long enough to know: Let鈥檚 get it right in Hartford. And, if you get it right in Hartford, it will end up in the right place.鈥�
