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Anastasia Dazzles at Picketwire: A Thrilling Journey of History, Heart & Hometown Talent
Description: “Anastasia” has been described as: “A big, wonderful Broadway musical with plenty of charms to thrill the audience.” It is a sweeping adventure, an historical epic with romance that piles “discovery upon discovery." Don’t miss this marvelous production at Picketwire this week. Production dates are July 17-19 at 7:30 PM and July 20 at 2:30 PM. All tickets are $18 and are on sale at the Box Office or online at the link below... The Picketwire Theatre is located at 802 San Juan Avenue in La Junta, Colorado. (Photos by John Lockhart)
“Anastasia” Opens Thursday at Picketwire
“Anastasia” the musical is absolutely beautiful - the story, the set, the costumes and performances. The history, folklore and magic of “Anastasia” come together in one delightful summer musical at Picketwire Center for Performing and Visual Arts. The musical opens this Thursday (July 17th) and plays through Sunday. Evening performances begin at 7:30 PM. Sunday’s matinee begins at 2:30 PM.
“Anastasia” is directed by Heather Pidcock-Reed who accomplishes the impossible task of bringing fifty plus performers and countless technicians into a production that does Picketwire proud. The production began with near perfect casting and continued with a very talented crew. The story is a difficult one to translate to the stage, but Ms. Pidcock-Reed achieves it successfully.
The question of whether the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov survived assassination during the Russian revolution is dissected within this epic adventure. As the story unfolds, the audience will experience wonder, humor, and tears as Anastasia seeks to discover her identity. Early in the story someone asks her what she is running from. Anastasia responds: “I’m running to something.” We are all taken on this emotional journey with her.
The Broadway musical was written by veteran playwright Terrence McNally, with music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. It opened on Broadway in 2016 and was described as a “spectacular musical about discovering who you are and defining who you’re meant to be.”
Helping to create the mood are inventive and imaginative sets designed by Tom Seaba. Panels rotate to depict different locations and some are flown from above to make scene changes seem effortless – although the crafting of the set was anything but simple. Watching a train come onstage was amazing, especially since the moving parts were essential to the action for the scene.
The projections are fabulous and create the illusion that we are in the middle of a palace, or on the streets of Leningrad after the revolution, or even in the exciting city of lights – Paris. When Anastasia is trying to remember the ghosts of her past, the projections are almost haunting. She sings as figures dance gracefully across her memory.
Liz Leonard designed beautiful, historic costumes. When the royal family first appears in beautiful regalia afforded only royalty, we knew the costumes were going to be extraordinary. Ms. Leonard was assisted by Kaydence Salazar and Crystal Valerio. Anastasia’s ball gown, designed and made by Kaydence Salazar, is breathtaking.
Of course, Picketwire couldn’t mount a musical without brilliant music direction by Dean Rees. His ability to bring 50 voices together to sing some difficult music in harmony is near genius.
The choreography of Rena Ruiz and Cynthia Fazio was so difficult, but such fun that it almost looked easy. There were several full cast dances that got our toes tapping.
The leads in “Anastasia” were tremendous. They brought a difficult story to life with their beautiful voices and sensitive character interpretations. Emma Bryant as Anya and Noah Nunez-Rebel as Dmitry were excellent as their talent and professionalism shown brightly.
Jonathan Colson as Vlad was delightful and brought comic relief to many emotional storylines. His scenes with Kate Pruyn as Lily were a real treat. Ms. Pruyn’s voice is so wonderful, but her playful acting and dancing were a side of her we hadn’t seen in her previous Picketwire performances. Nothing like a playful tango to spice up a scene. Both Ms. Pruyn and Mr. Colson’s voices were so brilliant, we wanted more from them.
Matthew Snyder (Tsar Alexander), Kaylee Raynsford (Tsarina Alexandra), Ransom Turner (Alexei), and Bethany Taullie, Kaydence Salazar and Sarah Asmus (the sisters) played the Romanovs with regal stature. Raelynn Domsten rounded out the family as the Dowager Empress. Her voice, along with the powerful sopranos of Ms. Salazar and Ms. Taullie were flawless. Audrey Leitner as young Anastasia showed much promise. Her spunk foretold the toughness of an older Anastasia during her journey.
Many of the actors played multiple roles, including Cody Rogers who, as cousin Leopold Romanov, was both greedy and insipid. Demian Ryder also played multiple roles. His mean demeanor as Gorlinsky was quite out of character for Mr. Ryder. He barked orders and threatened revolutionary Gleb (played by Colton Stumpf) to find and “take care of” Duchess Anastasia.
The choral voices were melodic and added depth to the action. And, of course, who doesn’t love watching Darlene Blackford glide across the stage. Whether she plays a Countess or a peasant, once a dancer, always a dancer.
The cast was impressive as they maneuvered the many emotions of losing their homeland, their heritage, and their identity. Their suffering and hope for a better future were visible and truly believable.
Assisting Ms. Pidcock-Reed were Assistant Director Veronica Leitner, Backstage Manager Julie Meiklejohn and Lighting Tech Jason Fazio. Mounting any production is a monumental task. A production the size and complexity of “Anastasia” takes many moving parts working as one, under the strong, talented leadership of the Director.
“Anastasia” has been described as: “A big, wonderful Broadway musical with plenty of charms to thrill the audience.” It is a sweeping adventure, an historical epic with romance that piles “discovery upon discovery”. Don’t miss this marvelous production at Picketwire this week. Production dates are July 17-19 at 7:30 PM and July 20 at 2:30 PM. All tickets are $18 and are on sale at the Box Office or online: https://www.picketwireplayers.
The Picketwire Theatre is located at 802 San Juan Avenue in La Junta, Colorado.
Photo Gallery by John Lockhart
