On Tour: Anastasia

Right on theme with the show’s iconic home, love and family— I returned home to Anastasia while it was on tour at the Citizen Bank Opera House in Boston.

For the dear reader who might be new here, Anastasia is my favorite musical, and this show has meant so much to me since it opened on Broadway in 2017. I have been fortunate to see the show both on Broadway and first national tour, and now the second national tour.

Much like the story of Anya coming to a crossroad in her life, I find myself holding this musical dear to my heart when I am at crossroad in my own life. The musical premiered during a time I felt a lot of uncertainty in what was next for me as I finished school, and now, five years later, I found myself at the same crossroad.

This performance was special, as I saw the tour on the first day of a new journey for myself, and it was so special and felt so full circle to be able to celebrate a new life chapter in their way.

I started following the second national tour of Anastasia back in September 2021 and really connected with this cast, especially when things still felt difficult and uncertain during COVID. I am so glad I was able to catch this cast in their final performances after following this tour for nearly a year, and was excited to be able to catch the cast for the second year of the tour while they were in Boston as well.

Something I really enjoyed about this tour was the changes in blocking that they made when they remounted this tour. The first national tour really struggled with the elimination of the turn table that they had in the Broadhurst on Broadway, and tried to just choreograph a recreation of the turn table.

The second national tour reblocked and reimagined some of the scenes where the turntable played a heavy role in the original broadway mount, most notably in the train scene and “We’ll Go From There.” Of course I loved the train set piece in the original production, however, I also loved the reblocking of this piece of the show. I loved the weary travelers sitting on their suitcases in rows like they’re sitting on the benches on the train and the creation of the illusion of the train.

I also loved the reblocking of “Once Upon a December,” for this tour. The Broadway production left me stunned with the use of projections and design, but I really liked how they reblocked the beginning. Anya goes to sit on the bench in St. Petersburg, and the LED screens fade to black and white to make it seem like she’s fading to a memory.

Overall, I really liked many of the changes they made, and it appeared the cast had ironed out some of the issues the book had with some dialogue that was always clunky in the show. Many of the performers also made slight adjustments to their portrayals and delivery to make the dialogue and actions flow more naturally and iron out some of the elements that really felt like they were written specifically to the Original Broadway Cast.

Since I was able to see both casts, this will be a double feature, highlighting the casts of both performances I saw of this show I absolutely love. This is not necessarily a compare and contrast, but more of a celebration and highlights of cast members from both casts.

August 20 (First Year 2NT Cast)

Kyla Stone played an incredible Anya. Both her immaculate wit in the role and incredible voice showed a thoughrough understanding of Anya’s journey. Stone’s Anya was fiery while at the same time her resilience and hopefulness shone through. Her on stage chemistry with every member of the cast brought Anya to life, but especially her ability to play off Sam McLellan, Bryan Seastrom and Gerri Weagraff. I was especially stunned by her “Journey to the Past” and her “In a Crowd of Thousands.”

Sam McLellan captured Dmitry with bite and resilience. I loved seeing him play a quick with with Bryan Seastrom and his gentle journey with Kyla Stone’s Anya. While his “My Petersburg” was one of my favorite parts of the show, I greatly enjoyed his heart and emotion put into “Everything to Win.” This performance also happened to be McLellan’s final performance as Dmitry, and it was such a joy to be able to watch him pour his heart into this character on stage. He played wonderfully with Stone, and his balance of wit and heart made Dmitry feel so tangible on stage.

Brandon Delgado was part of the original touring cast on the second national tour, and made a brief return for their run in Boston. I was so thrilled to be able to see Delgado’s Gleb, as it has consistently been a standout in reviews of this tour. He did not disappoint! I really liked how he was able to capture the awkwardness of Gleb’s character as well as having a command on Gleb’s unravelling that leads him to the confrontation in Act II. Delgado also has an excellent voice, creating powerful moments in “The Neva Flows” and “The Neva Flows (Reprise).”

Bryan Seastrom and Madeline Raube captured the spotlight as the comedic duo of Vlad and Countess Lily. Seastrom plays so well with McLellen in almost a Father/Son duo, and then it is even more delightful to see him play with Raube on stage in their characters’ secret love affair.

Raube plays a rambunctious Lily, and is so delightful to watch on stage. Her “Land of Yesterday” was a show-stopping moment and Raube leads this portion of the show with ease and grace, with her impeccable comedic timing and strong vocals. She then goes on to play fabulously with Seastrom throughout the rest of the second act and is delightful to watch on stage.

August 24 (Second Year 2NT Cast)

Veronica Stern plays a timid Anya who grows strong into her shoes. Her voice is beautiful, stunning the audience upon her entrance in “In My Dreams,” and suddenly the Anya who enters the palace doesn’t seem so timid anymore. Stern’s voice is powerful and her on stage chemistry with Willem Butler illustrates a timeless story of frosty allies to lovers.

Willem Butler played a biting and witty Dmitry, finding himself at odds with Stern’s Anya, and then slowly falling in love with her with each turn of his shoulder. I loved his “My Petersburg” and was so glad to see him fall so easily into Dmitry’s Character. He played so well with Seastrom, never missing a beat.

Bryan Seastrom and Madeline Raube continued on as Vlad and Countess Lily, but should be dually noted that their performances do not disappoint.

Seastrom again had incredible chemistry with Raube on stage, as well as with Butler as his new, strapping partner-in-crime.

I will always recommend this show to anyone who will listen, but this tour cast is giving 110% and doing incredible work with the show. I feel so lucky to not only have gotten to see them once, but twice to see a range of incredibly talented performers.