by Leah Arington
Anastasia: The Broadway Musical, Lincoln Community Playhouse, Friday August 16, 2024
Opening night of Anastasia was a delight from beginning to end. The only thing missing was the dog 🙂 (not included in the musical version).
This ensemble show was well executed by Director, Michelle Colette Ingle and Choreographer, Karen Freimund Wills. The simple set design along with projections worked very well. In a world of tracks, it was good to hear live music under the direction of Kaleb Wilkening.
Lisa Steiner was a highlight as Countess Lilly, the Dowager’s lady in waiting. Her performance in the duet, “Countess and the Common Man” with Vlad was beyond charming and laced with excellent comedic timing down to every last hand gesture and look!
Dimitri, played by Ben VandeVere, was remarkable. His honest believability was fueled by an energy that kept the pace moving to the show’s advantage. His acting and singing achieves exciting unity, making us fall in love, feel sorry for, and admire his courage and genuineness.
Reagan Gausman’s Anastasia was stoic and well done! Her singing is wonderful. She managed excellence under technical sound duress as they worked to solve some issues. It always happens on opening night doesn’t it?
The most memorable moment of the show was the dialogue between Anasatasia and her Grandmother played by Sandy Van Pelt. I was appropriately drawn in and invested!
Though there were some blending issues in the beginning, the ensemble is strong. They produced a well done version of the challenging powerhouse “Stay I Pray You”.
With shows added for this weekend, I highly recommend you see Anastasia at the Lincoln Community Playhouse!
Kudos to the cast and crew!
Book by Terrence McNally, Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
If you go: Anastasia runs August 16-25, 2024, Fri-Sat 7:30PM and Sun at 2PM. A performance has been added on Saturday August 24th at 2PM. Ticket information at https://www.lincolnplayhouse.com.
Leah Arington is the Artistic Director at Theatre Arts For Kids in Lincoln, NE
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