Anastasia (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

"The show as a whole is a tad bland, though it’s beautifully staged...There's a workmanlike feel to the musical's construction. Lack of nuance in the writing makes the three leads, while vocally strong, quite vanilla...But Tresnjak elevates the material...It's kitschy, old-fashioned entertainment given a relatively sophisticated presentation, and you have to acknowledge its success when you hear the target demographic swoon on cue."
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"It’s just dull...The show has few illuminating ideas of its own: At various times, the musical interludes remind you of better moments in 'My Fair Lady,' 'Fiddler on the Roof' and 'Les Miz.' Not even my daughter, who loved the movie version as a child, fell for the tortured make-believe mechanics of this 'Anastasia.'"
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"Works quite delightfully when the star is center stage, and struggles mightily when she is off in the wings, where the charming Christy Altomare spends far too long...A clunky start...Tresnjak forges some potent later scenes...This is not a musical that wants to start a revolution. To say the least. But once McNally's book finds its feet, and the physical production gets out of the way of the several gorgeous, old-school ballads therein, 'Anastasia' has its moments of credible emancipation."
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"A fidget-inducing, two-and-a-half-hour Broadway musical, with a production not nearly animated enough to warrant that running time...Peil and her gregarious lady-in-waiting, Countess Lily prove to be the most dynamic performers of the bunch. Altomare and Klena fall flat, lacking the charisma needed to fill the slog...Fans of the film will find some joy in the score...Director Tresnjak caters to his young audience with a healthy—perhaps too healthy—dose of superfluous ensemble sequences."
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"An uneven but well-meaning and mostly pleasant new Broadway musical...The highlights of the score are the pretty power ballads from the film...Too much time is filled with drawn-out scenes and new songs (also by Ahrens and Flaherty) that are not as memorable...As directed by Tresnjak, it looks elegant, moves seamlessly and makes unusually great use of background digital projections. Christy Altomare is smashing as Anya, with powerhouse vocals full of spark and sensitive yearning."
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"Undeniably entertaining, but also relevant to the magical thinking that seems to have overtaken so much of the world...There are plenty of great performances in 'Anastasia'...Sporting a bright and clear voice, Altomare is amiable as Anya, but not nearly enough of a presence to sustain this central role...In moments, 'Anastasia' seems to transcend its cartoonish origins and become something one might not expect from the title: a serious Broadway musical."
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“No, that's not some forgotten Golden Age musical floating effervescently across the Broadhurst stage, but ‘Anastasia’ sure has the old-fashioned romantic feel of one…Director Darko Tresnjak's charming production is played on designer Alexander Dodge's simple unit set that frames storybook projections by Aaron Rhyne…While the story may be told in broad strokes, ‘Anastasia's’ attractively traditional score, good humor and winning performances make it a family-friendly delight.”
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“‘Anastasia' is mostly interested in platitudes and rose-colored romance…It's tough to care about a cast of characters that includes a leading lady with no fixed identity, a pair of grifters, and a bitter old recluse; nevertheless, the principals do their best to put over the improbable plot…If you're in the mood for this kind of colorful Barbara Cartland nonsense, 'Anastasia' goes down pretty easily, although Tresnjak's direction never really isolates the juicy melodrama at the show's heart.”
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