Anastasia, one of the rare the ’90s ’toons that was not made by Disney, has been adapted into a musical that’s going to Broadway next spring. Producers announced Tuesday that the production will open at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 24, 2017.
The Don Bluth movie’s tunes by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens weren’t quite as indelible as some of the House Of Mouse’s from the period, but the likes of “Once Upon A December” and “Journey To The Past” are worth another listen. (“Journey” was even nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar in 1998, but lost to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.”) Those songs will be included in the show along with new music from Flaherty and Ahrens. The stage version’s book is by Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally.
The show just finished a run in Connecticut, and two of the returning cast members, Christy Altomare and Derek Klena, announced the move in a YouTube video. (You might recognize Klena from the most recent season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.)
Bluth’s take on the legend of the surviving member of the Romanov family premiered in 1997, and featured a voice cast that included Meg Ryan and Christopher Lloyd. But, according to the New York Times, the Bluth movie isn’t the only source material for the musical, which is also “inspired” by the 1956 film, Anastasia, starring Ingrid Bergman.