Anastasia Reviews

Michelle from Dallas, Texas

BEAUTIFUL MUSICAL, BETTER THAN I EXPECTED

The actress who played Anastasia had such a beautiful voice, and all the other actors/actress performed perfectly as well, the scene of grandma and granddaughter was quite emotional and I really love the quartet at the ballet.

Xaxaxogi from San Francisco, California

CHARACTERS/ON-SCREEN

The entertainer who played Anastasia had such a delightful voice, and the various on-screen characters/on-screen character performed flawlessly too, the location of grandmother and granddaughter was very passionate and I truly love the group of four at the expressive dance.

Kelly from Arnprior, Ontario

AMAZING!!

This show was amazing. Me and my sister grew up with the fox version of Anastasia. We knew the musical was going to be a bit different but it was honestly amazing. The costumes were Incredible, the ensemble and cast were amazing. They kept several of the original songs which brought a bit of nostalgia to our evening. It was definately worth the trip to Toronto!

Cynthia from Toronto, Ontario

A DELIGHTFUL ROYAL FAIRYTALE!

Delicious musical playing at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto - full of treats for the eyes and ears. Strong and talented cast. Beautiful and creative set design. Ditto the costumes. And a charming, happy ending. Just what is needed this winter season.

Barbara Price from Toronto, Ontario

ANASTASIA

Beautiful production for opening night. I loved everything about it. The voices, stars, music and scenery was beyond gorgeous. I recommend this to anybody who needs winter "pick me up". You will leave humming the songs. Loved it. Two thumbs up.

Mike Zee from Toronto, Ontario

TERRIFIC IN TORONTO!

Amazing overall performance. Dance, songs, dialogue. Prepare yourself to be intrigued by the real story . Amazing cast. The ballet performance was the highlight for me. Laugh, cry, enjoy!

Talor sheffield from Kansas City, Missouri

LOVED IT

The costumes were amazing the music was magical the effects really added to the story if this was your first time you could tell what was happening where you were and all that. I would definitely take your kids to this Becouse the Eroma of being there live is amazing 5/5 stars

Heidi Wood from Chicago, Illinois

ANASTASIA

Wonderfully entertaining! The voices of the lead players were fantastic. Costume detail and set design was truly amazing! See this now and enjoy the theater area with dinner before the show! It was a lovely evening in Chicago! Must see!

Sondra from St. Louis, Missouri

ANASTASIA AT THE FABULOUS FOX

I have seen Anastasia in NYC twice and absolutely loved the production. The Fox version, actors, actresses and scenery did not match the Broadway production but was still a wonderful show. Lila Cohan, as Anastasia has a fabulous voice! My 8 year old grand daughter was mesmerized by the play and loved it. We ate before the show at Stage Left Grille. The location is directly next door to the Fox so a perfect place to eat before a show.

Showpick from San Francisco, California

GORGEOUS MUSICAL!

I saw the producion in NYC with its original stars. It's an elegant musical that is delightful for all ages.

Jeanette S. from South Bend, Indiana

HARD TO UNDERSTAND

The musical itself was a sight to see--beautiful visuals, dance numbers, music was lovely. However, a lot of the dialogue was very hard to understand. My twelve year old kept asking me "What? What did she say?" The songs were the hardest of all. The gentleman in front of us kept trying to adjust his hearing aid. That was disappointing in such a beautiful place.

K Duhaime from Detroit, Michigan

ANASTASIA DETROIT

I was completely taken out of the moment every time the lead actress playing Anastasia spoke! What was wrong with her annunciation? It was like staccato and impossible to listen to. Great singer but what director let’s someone speak that way? Sets were gorgeous. Two songs were amazing. Just could t stay in the show.

Jeff Stacey from Toronto, Ontario

HAD TO LEAVE

Agree with most that the sets were visually spectacular...alas, the singing was sub-par. Anastasia was energetic, but so harsh/nasally, and the villain so flat, that we had to leave during intermission...(sigh).

Hemant tailor from Toronto, Ontario

I DON’T HAVE ISSUES HERE

Sat in row J left side and couldn’t decipher the lyrics. Screeching followed by some dialogue. If it wasn’t for body language!! I gave it a chance as I admire these actors and what they do but I couldn’t figure out what they were singing through what appeared as noise. So I’m disappointed. Sit further ahead I guess is the solution. Get the sound guys to sit in J and listen to the screeching.

Lizzie from Sarasota, Florida

EXCELLENT VOICES - STRANGE CASTING

Gorgeous projections turn an empty stage into many different fabulous scenes which works really well. Lovely voices from the main 4 characters and a couple of beautiful songs but overall the show seems to lack something. It feels like it needed more work script wise. There are several tiny female actors on this huge scale VannWezel stage who appear to be out of place and look odd next to their taller counterparts. The Countess has a marvelous scene with her former lover. Overall i felt the problem was with the show itself.

Helen from Atlanta, Georgia

PRETTY BUT BLAND

I wasn't expecting a perfect remake of the 1997 animated film but I was expecting something a bit more exciting. The beginning DRAGS. ON. There were too many moments where I was wondering when the intermission would happen. The primary issue I had was that the lead characters were pretty forgettable. I'm not kidding, I forgot Dimitry was there half the time. Anastasia had a lot of spunk and personality in the original story, but just felt like a damsel in distress with no real character in this rendition. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the actress. I appreciated that they were trying to go for a more realistic version with the new villain, but he barely did anything which was a shame. Otherwise, Lily (Madeline Raube) absolutely stole the show and was the only character I was excited for, and the ballet number was beautifully done.

Isabella Corsato Alvarenga from Fort Collins, CO

THE ENTIRE SHOW WAS A PLAYBACK- THE ACTORS DON’T ACTUALLY SING

My boyfriend and I were very disappointed when we realized we paid so much for this show, and none of the actors actually sung. They acted really well and pretended they were singing. Also, the show doesn’t represent old Russia well. At least the visuals and lights were great! And actors were very well trained, although we would have liked to see them singing live.

Paul Robetts from Chicago, Illinois

UGH... WHERE TO BEGIN?

We saw Anastasia at Chicago's Nederlander Theater last night. There were many problems, but let's start with the good things. The visual projections which serve as the scenery were vivid and appealing. The chorus was lively and performed well. Now the bad news: Gleb overacted his heart out (some of his facial grimaces during songs were unintentionally funny). Dmitry and Vlad worked well together and were entertaining. Unfortunately, the lead character is miscast. She has a very good voice, but her tone was hard to tolerate at times and her acting skills were lacking. Zero chemistry with either Gleb or Dmitry. The biggest problem: the musical itself. It just isn't well conceived. The songs are forgettable. Their Disneyfied version of the royal assassinations and the Bolshevik revolution is weird and heartless. A musical written without heart makes it difficult for the performers to give their best. That's what we saw last night.

Eileen Adams from Ohio

DISAPPOINTED IN DENVER’S PRODUCTION

This production had beautiful costuming and creative use of sets (I especially liked the train scene). The singing voices were good, but the acting - with the exception of the actor who played Vlad, the grandmother, and Vlad’s love interest, Lily - was terrible. There was absolutely no chemistry between the actors who played Anastasia and Dmitry. Such a disappointment! I have directed about 50 shows in my life, and I never would have allowed middle school youth or community theater actors to pretend so inadequately to pour liquid into a cup, nor to drink hot tea as if it were a shot of liquor. These “little things” distracted greatly from what could have been a better production. Not at all the quality I was expecting from a city the size of Denver. The storyline is so different from the Disney movie, too, it added to the disappointment: no Rasputin, minions or Bartok.

Wendy from Toronto, Ontario

DISAPPOINTING

The music is very forgettable and the choreography simple. Actors were enthusiastic but seemed to be yelling all the time. At "normal" volume we could understand the lyrics but when they kicked up into high volume the distortion was such that the lyrics were unintelligible. Maybe that is the fault of the sound engineers? If I had to sum up the show in one word it would be 'tedious."

Nicole from Toronto, Ontario

MOVIE WAS BETTER

The costumes were all beautiful and the ballet portion was gorgeous. Vlad and Lily were amazing and so entertaining. I don’t like that Rasputin was changed, it made everything more boring. Anastasias singing voice was phenomenal but her acting was horrible and she spoke in a weak shaky voice the whole time which was so annoying. Dimitri did alright although I think the villain gleb had a stronger voice than him.

Ann from Hartford, Connecticut

DISAPPOINTING PRINCESS

Where to begin.... The overall presentation of the national tour of Anastasia is meant to leave you drooling over it's beauty, but here's where I believe it fails: The Leading Lady. Ms. Coogan's voice is admirable when she sings, but the lady simply should not have been cast in a speaking roll. Staccato is the best description I can give her delivery. Her lack of emotional warmth toward both if her leading men left me stone cold. Most of her energy seemed to be spent in showing us her pretty profile and navigating her choreography. Put plainly, she is miscast. The two best things about this tour are actor Edward Staudemayer as Vlad, and the ensemble who shine in vocal and dance presentation. The "movie" of a set is stunning and some of the music is memorable. All in all, I was disappointed.

Jack T. from Cincinnati, Ohio

DISAPPOINTING

Unfortunately, the performers lost me within the first 10 minutes or so of the show. Anya's forehead lavalier mic was positioned in the center of her forehead, was dark in color, and was clearly, and distractingly, visible. Dimitri's mic was about an inch below his right hairline part, was also black, and also quite visible. Same issue with four or five other performers. All was quite distracting. When Dimitri began his first solo, there was no sound...someone forgot to bring up his mic until he was several lines into it. Not long after, during a portion when a number of the cast were upstage in a line from left to right, Dimitri had to bend over to tie his right shoe. Perhaps double-knotting prior to a performance would be a good idea for everyone! Throughout the first act, the sound level of the performers was generally low (no, I have no hearing issues), spotlighting at a number of points in the first act was not accurate...leaving a portion of the lighted performer in the shadow, slightly bouncing vertically at times or extinguishing just before the performer concluded her/his portion. During several of the dance scenes taking place "indoors," the snow effect (a video file), meant to be taking place outside I'm sure, was evident on the interior columns of indoor room. Additionally, no snow that I have ever witnessed in real life, fell upwards or "curled" upwards, as quite a bit of the flakes did! Wind either blows it in its direction, or it falls straight to the ground. At most other shows we have attended (been season ticket holders for 8 years now) there is a cue monitor placed on the front of the first level balcony facing the stage and a static camera in the orchestra pit that is focused on the orchestra's director. No monitor was used last evening, instead, the director was lit by two stage right and left spots, his movements throughout the first act were abundantly visible and as distracting as everything else I have mentioned. And there were several other things that provided distraction from the performance and which were not fair to the performers. As for the performances, I think I would rate them average. No spectacular singing or speaking voices (could have been the result of poor sound engineering), and dialogue seemed to be "rushed" at several spots in the act. I know that all performers gave their best...they deserve better technical support. My comments are all observations from the first act. In our time attending Broadway performances, there has been only one other evening that we left at intermission. The performance of Anastasia at the Cincinnati Aronoff last evening was the second.

Mimi from Vancouver, British Columbia

NO VILLAIN, NO HERO, NO PLOT, GREAT ORCHESTRA

The play, if you could call it that, lacked stage presence. Non of the characters were likeable. With the exception of the scenes with Lilly and Vlad, and the ballerinas, there was little going on. Every other song was just a song - no backup dancers, no special effects, no stage changes, nothing - a tiny dot, in a corner of the stage, standing under the spotlight, sulking. The rewrite of the story presented many infuriating plot holes. Vastly changing the timeline of events made for unnecessarily long and tedious stay in Saint Petersburg and a short and uneventful trip to Paris. The famous Rasputin, the most devious man in Russian history, was replaced with no-substance nobody, who added nothing to the story. Appalling attempt to create drama. Flat and forgettable. On the bright side, the costumes were shiny and the live orchestra was amazing. Frankly, it would have been a more entertaining show had they been on stage instead.

Jay from Denver, Colorado

THIS WAS NOT GOOD

Go in with low expections. This is not like the movie and frankly we found it boring. The leads could have been better cast. Was so uncomfortable in my seat. Wish I did something else with my night.

Rebecca from Dallas, Texas

ANASTASIA’S JOURNEY TO NORTH AMERICA=FAIL

Extremely disappointed. I have seen both performances on and off broadway and recommend they revisit the touring Anastasia’s performance. Instead of leveraging the past and history of the story. This traveling actress portrays a self-righteous, presumptuous appearance. All in all, the touring cast may need a refresh from the original cast to avoid a cost deficit. I’ve never rooted for the main character to be eliminated until now. Her talent in singing is fine but her annunciation and emphasis on words is her death.

Dana Spivak from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

NO WORDS...

We love the theater and go every chance we get. This is the first time we have ever left at intermission. I would have left sooner, but I didn't want to disturb others around me. The setting was absolutely magical. The stage, props, and costumes were amazing. Anastasia had an angelic voice that sent chills through you. That being said, there was ZERO chemistry on stage between characters, the acting portion of the play was horrible, and the songs were so unbelievably boring that it was hard to stay awake. If it wasn't for the few one liners by Vlad I may have snored out loud. (He was great by the way!). Save your money! This one should have stayed with 20th Century Fox's animation department.

M. Fox from Cleveland, Ohio

BRING SOMETHING TO READ...

As a regular to Cleveland's Playhouse Square, we were looking forward to an entertaining afternoon out with Anastasia. Sadly, I was everything but entertained. I was forewarned it was slow to start. Turns out it is also slow to end. Most actors overacted as such to make their characters cartoonish. All but 3 or so of the songs were merely filler and did not lend anything to the progression of the plot. While I do appreciate classically trained vocals, they seemed misplaced for the characters. Much of the drawn out vibrato was extremely distracting and made it difficult to even understand the actors. I liken the entire performance to a better than average high school performance and ended up reading over my entire playbill awaiting its end. We should have left at intermission.

Big Joe from Ledyard, Connecticut

WE AREN’T IN BROADWAY…

Painful / songs that nobody have heard off / plot that doesn’t develop….painful to watch. We left at intermission like quite a few others. So disappointed with this experience. Not the worst show that we have been to but definitely the worst musical and I have been to a lot of them…

Page:12345All