PA’s spring musical, “Anastasia,” took center stage on May 1-3, with four shows spanning across three days showcasing the latest production of talent within the musical theater program. From an “Anastasia” inspired spirit week to the light-up tiaras cast members were selling around the hallways, the musical program once again showed their hard work and dedication as they prepared and put on “Anastasia.”
“Anastasia” follows the story of a young girl named Anastasia (played by sophomore Baylee Perkins), a member of the royal Russian family, the Romanovs. After her family is assassinated, Anastasia is captured and presumed dead, along with the rest of her family. Years later, a rumor emerges that Anastasia is alive, and two wanted con men, Dimitri (played by sophomore Sophia Ferguson), and Vlad (played by senior Thomas Flisk) hatch a plan to bring a fake Anastasia to the palace in return for money.
As the play progresses, the audience watches as Dimitri and Vlad try to shape Anya into Anastasia as they travel across Russia to find the Dowager Empress (played by senior Destiny Holloway). Along the way, Anya meets Gleb (played by senior Mason Marino), who is a general tasked to end the rest of the Romanov family, and Countess Lily (played by junior Juliana Sayre), who is the Dowager Empress’ lady-in-waiting. The play comes to a close with Anya discovering her true identity as Anastasia and leaving with Dimitri, her love interest, by her side.
Before the cast could start working on bringing the musical to life, everyone had to go through a two-day audition process, where potential cast members learned a dance and gave a monologue. Afterwards, they had to sing a snippet of a song provided by the directors, according to junior Juliana Sayre, who played Lily.
“[The audition process] was really fun,” Sayre explained. “The sense of community was really good because we would be standing out in the hallway helping and practicing with each other. I even made some friends while practicing the dance, so it was pretty fun, but also nerve-wracking.”
Sometimes, the audition process goes differently than the way one might expect, and this is especially true for Perkins. According to Perkins, she originally auditioned for the role of Lily but sang an Anastasia song for her audition. “[The directors] called me back for Lily, so I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to get Lily.’ So when the cast list came out and I got Anastasia, it was crazy. I was really not expecting it.”
After the auditions were over, the cast moved on to the preparation process. Rehearsals took place over a three-month long time period, according to Ferguson. “The first rehearsal was a read-through,” she explained. “That’s just to look over the script and see what happens, to hear yourself saying the lines and getting a feel for how the character itself would say it.”
Next, the cast incorporated music, choreography, and eventually, the scenes themselves. Blocking is also established further into the production. Blocking is “knowing where the character goes and how the characters react to certain situations,” explained Ferguson. “This is when you really solidify who the character is and how to embody them.”
As it got closer to opening night, the cast and crew prepared for “tech week” where they dedicate an entire week to do dress rehearsals, run through the music and scenes, and ensure the show runs smoothly. Sayre described the week as “tiring because of how often they were there.” She also added that it was really fun because over the week “the musical really became like a family.”
That family extended beyond the principal six characters to the ensemble. The ensemble was split into the bigger townspeople ensemble and the smaller officer ensemble. The townspeople ensemble also consisted of members who played reporters, Persians, and everything else in between, according to sophomore Maddie Johnson, who was a part of the townspeople ensemble.
“I think that being a part of the ensemble and having to interact with all kinds of people is the reason that I became close with a lot of people,” Johnson explained.
Opening night arrived on May 1, and as Perkins described, the time before the curtain rose was “nerve-wracking.” “On opening night, I was terrified that I was going to mess up,” she said. “Throughout that show, the feeling just went away.”
Sayre agreed, adding, “I get so nervous backstage, but as soon as I go out onstage, my nerves basically go away. I think everyone was nervous, but as soon as it started, we all just kind of jumped into it.”
After the success of the first night, “Anastasia” premiered again on Friday, May 2, and twice on Saturday, May 3. As the show neared the end on closing night, Perkins explained how she was “really sad through intermission because we had just run through the last first half and we were about to run through the last second half.”
As the show came to its final close, Johnson described how although the stress of the musical was over, the production was her “biggest outlet for music every single day, and I loved it so much.”
The show ended every night with senior speeches, where the outgoing seniors talk about what the show meant to them and gave any shoutouts. One of the more bittersweet senior speeches mentioned by many of the cast members included the song “Stay, I Pray You,” about Anastasia leaving Russia.
“Everyone wants to leave Russia because it is a sad country, especially during that time,” said Ferguson. “But at the same time, it’s all [the characters] know. They had such a strong bond with it despite everything, so of course it’s hard to leave that. Everyone kind of felt similarly about the show and about theater.”
Now on the other side of the production, Sayre described how the show would stay with her. “I haven’t really played a character like Lily before,” she said. “She was very bold. I wasn’t used to playing bold characters because I was normally given the comedic, light-hearted characters. Getting someone who was more powerful than anything was really different, but it was great.”
Ferguson echoed the sentiment, saying, “It’s a bumpy road, having a role that’s such a big shoe to fill. It’s not easy; it takes a lot of time. People often overlook high school productions because they assume people do it for fun, but those are my roots. Those are the roots of almost every single actor. So of course, I’ll always have this show to thank.”
