“ANASTASIA” AN AWESOME MUSICAL ADVENTURE

Adventure, romance and mystery swirl around a penniless young girl who may just have a secret identity or does she?

Is she the perfect and poised princess or the fanciful figment of a fruitful imagination?  Come meet Anastasia, the lass whose family is assassinated in a revolt in czarist Russia at the turn of the twentieth century in a glorious musical at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford until Sunday, January 19.  Trust me, you don’t want to miss this splendid spectacle of a show. It is magical and momentous and marvelous.

Lila Coogan’s Anastasia, better known as Anya, is the delightfully spunky and devoted daughter whose story book childhood is disturbed violently when the peasants revolt  and everyone in her family is killed, save for her and her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, played regally by Joy Franz, who had fortunately traveled to Paris in advance of the siege.  Coogan is wonderfully charming as the young girl thrust out of her aristocratic upbringing to find herself suddenly sweeping streets, penniless and alone.  Think Eliza Doolittle without the flowers. .

Two men, Jake Levy’s Dmitry, and Edward Staudenmayer’s Vlad come upon Anya in her reduced state and determine she would be an excellent candidate to pose as the lost princess, to learn the appropriate facts and pass herself off as The Dowager Empress’s missing heir.  Think Professor Higgins and his mate  Pickering without the language lessons.  While the gentlemen are working to perfect their scheme, the ruthless Russians want to suppress any rumors that Anastasia survived the coup and procede to plot her death, led by Jason Michael Evans’ Gleb.

The Dowager in Paris is protected by her guardian Lily, a vibrant Tari Kelly, who dismisses all the imposters who claim to be ready to assume the legacy.  Lily’s past relationship with Vlad helps to open the door for Anya to make her claim, and the renewing of that courtship is a delight to witness…one of millions in the musical.  One quickly runs out of superlatives to describe the elegant costuming, the elaborate scenic design, with amazing projections and video, the enchanting choreography  and the exceptional direction.   All the moving parts of this magical musical fit together in a masterful jigsaw puzzle of perfection.

This new musical boasts a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and the result is joyful. Tunes like “Once Upon a December,” “We’ll Go From There,” “In  a Crowd of Thousands,” “Land of Yesterday” and “Everything to Win” swell with meaning. There is even a scene from the ballet “Swan Lake “ to admire and applaud.

For tickets ($31 and up), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org/MyTickets.  Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday  at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Hop aboard for the white gloved elegant hit of the season as Anastasia takes you on a journey of adventure and romance that bridges decades and destiny.