‘Anastasia the Musical’ Remembers December

For a special Christmas and New Year’s run, Slow Burn Theatre Company is in the midst of its 15th Anniversary Season, and their current production of “Anastasia the Musical” is perfect for December. A take on the beloved animated Disney movie from 1997 with the same name, the production features a wintery Russia and an aristocratic Paris; snowy and cozy both are general feelings with which you leave. Taking fairly major diversions from the movie musical with which we all fell in love with Anya and Dimitry, the musical encapsulates the feeling of family and December, but ultimately misses on the magic from the film.

Opening on Saturday, December 21, and running through January 5, “Anastasia the Musical” contains yet another phenomenal set by Slow Burn. Framing the entire set, and increasing levels of depth behind it, neon trapezoid parallelograms reached up to the ceiling, jigsawed against another to run directly across the proscenium, with more jigsawed to the floor. It was a brilliant design. All props to the Scenic Designer, Nikolas Serrano. Coupled with the efforts of the Lighting Designer, Eric Norbury, and the Technical Director, Timothy S. Dickey, along many others I’m sure, I was blown away. The later appearance of an apparatus on wheels that had seats to simulate a moving train (shown in the photos) was also something no less than ingenious. Other constructions like this have appeared in Slow Burn’s recent productions, like “Newsies” and “SpongeBob,” were bigger, but this one was particularly impressive by its importance to the setting and scene.

The story begins in a similar fashion to the movie with a small slice of life inside the czar’s family. Little Anastasia (Blaire Dimisa) and her grandmother, the Dowager Empress (Laura Turnbull), share that they will always share Paris as a special place between them, and she gifts her a music box that plays the classic “Once Upon a December.” Rebels then appear, rather abruptly, in the form of a red projection, and the czar is then usurped, murdered, and we do not see Anastasia (Mikayla Cohen) until she has grown in some years. The viewer then learns she has lost her memory and is a street sweeper, with no context of her amnesia; she just doesn’t remember. This older version of Anastasia is mostly in distress for the majority of the musical, unlike her joie de vivre version from the film. This created anxiety in me. Also, the antagonist of this musical is not Rasputin, the dark sorcerer who sold his soul for the downfall of the Romanovs, but the future the revolution created in Russia, personified in a new character named Gleb (Sean William Davis). These stark departures, replaced with a more historical and realistic plot, disappointed me.

This observation of the departures does not diminish the outstanding efforts of the cast’s performances, particularly the four main characters: Anastasia, Dimitry, Vlad (Aaron De Jesus), and Gleb. Their songs, especially their solos, should be commended for portraying these difficult roles. I was most fond of “Learn to Do It,” led by De Jesus. This reviewer wishes “In the Dark of Night,” Rasputin’s song, somehow made it into the musical, but Gleb as an antagonist is much more nuanced of a character, with motivations in the benefit of Russia behind his actions, so an overtly evil song would be out of place for him.

My two biggest concerns with this production come in the form of one Easter egg and one technical issue. First, the opening preamble, the one that asks you to silence your cells, is said in Bartok’s voice. Bartok is the talking bat from the movie and Rasputin’s right hand. To introduce a character in this manner, as if foreshadowing to his appearance, is a misstep. I was first spoken to by the famous bat, and then he did not appear again, nor did Rasputin. Finally, opening night’s show had more than a few miscues on actors’ microphones. There were whole lines of dialogue that were spoken, unmic’d, and almost impossible to hear. One is a simple mistake, but multiple occurrences might mean something else.

For Slow Burn’s “Anastasia the Musical,” the set, stage, and performances are more than enough reason to attend. It’s on now through the New Year at Broward Center’s Amaturo Theater.