This weekend only, Triumvirate Theatre is staging “Anastasia: The Musical” at its Kenai playhouse. Two dozen middle school actors sing and dance their way through a tale of a lost duchess finding her place, all against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution.
Young actors wear heavy coats to brace against the chill of 1926 Leningrad. Everyone’s looking for a better life. On stage is Ella Mallard. She’s playing the Grand Duchess Anastasia, who was orphaned 10 years ago, but she doesn’t remember her noble background.
“This has been my dream role, like, since forever,” Mallard said Monday. “It’s been really cool to be able to play Anya slash Anastasia, just because it means a lot to me and it’s really deep to me. Because, she’s trying to find her family and trying to find her past and her future at the same time.”
Some of the young “Anastasia” actors have been performing with Triumvirate Theatre for years. Others are stepping on stage for the first time.
Jack Meyers is a veteran actor. He plays Dmitry, who finds Anastasia while struggling to rise out of his challenging life.
“What I love about the show is how it’s historical fiction and how it’s based on true events, but we take it and we make it into a fun, entertaining show for everyone to watch,” he said.
Meyers says he and the cast have worked hard to bring music and jokes to the stage.
Rounding out the show’s central trio is Eli Yeager as Vlad. He’s a con artist, hoping to pass off Anastasia as the lost noble heir. He doesn’t realize that he’s found the real duchess. Yeager hasn’t been performing as long as some of his castmates, but he says they’ve put together a show he’s proud of.
“The music is incredible, but I think the cast has a lot of really good chemistry together,” he said. “I personally think it’s entertaining.”
Carlee Christensen is one of the show’s directors. She says themes of identity in “Anastasia” make the show resonate with young actors.
“They’re growing up, and they’re realizing ‘oh shoot,’ I have to figure out all these things by myself and I need to find my place in the world,” she said. “For a lot of these kids, their place is this building, it’s the theater, and I’m happy to see that this play has resonated with so many of them in finding their place here.”
Putting on a show with young people presents a unique challenge, Christensen says. It helps that they’re eager, excited, and talented.
Triumvirate Theater’s “Anastasia” runs Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. Get more information or purchase tickets at triumviratetheatre.org.
