EAST SYRACUES-MINOA SCHOOL DISTRICT – East Syracuse Minoa’s Spartan Stage will be performing “Anastasia: The Musical” Feb. 27 to March 1.
The performances will take place in the auditorium of Central High School at 6400 Fremont Road in East Syracuse Feb. 27 and 28 at 7 p.m. as well as Saturday, March 1 at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets, which are $10, can be purchased by visiting esmschools.org/musical
Based on the 1997 animated film of the same name, the musical set in both the twilight years of the Russian Empire and 1920s Paris centers on Anya, a young woman with amnesia who sets out to discover her true identity while unraveling the mystery of her past.
Along the way, she’s relentlessly pursued by the ruthless Soviet officer Gleb, and she embarks on an epic, enchanting adventure as a duo of con artists attempts to claim a monetary reward by passing her off as Anastasia, the lost grand duchess rumored to have survived the Romanov family murders.
ESM started auditions for the play in November and eased into rehearsals in December. The school musical’s run is about a week earlier than it’s usually been because the high schoolers are going on a choir trip to Disney in March also.
ESM senior Emma deBerjeois, who’s playing Anya, said that despite the dates for the show moving up she and her castmates fortunately had the winter break to prepare still. She said the break this past week allowed everyone to get more rest and then give it their all during rehearsals, because otherwise it can get tiring getting the lines and dancing down after already having a full school day.
Since they’re seniors, this will be the last ESM musical for both deBerjeois and fellow lead Ryan Sullivan, who portrays the younger of the two conman characters Dmitry.
deBerjeois said she’s sad it’ll be her last show but that she’s glad to have been surrounded by a multitalented, “truly put-together” group of theater lovers through her time at ESM.
With plans to pursue acting in college, Sullivan said he’s thankful for the support from various people he’s had over the years and the theater-related opportunities that ESM has offered, which altogether has bettered his talent and gotten him to where he is now.
He said that has included voice lesson help from Emma’s mom, the director of ESM’s production of “Anastasia” Aimee deBerjeois.
Sullivan, who praised the lighting and props in the district’s upcoming production of “Anastasia,” said this musical has moments that “pop” and that people will enjoy it even if they have no prior knowledge of the full story or frame of reference going into seeing it.
For “Anastasia” Spartan Stage is using state-of-the-art digital projectors and the same backdrops used in the original Broadway version, which were secured by Aimee and the show’s technical specialist Todd Durantini Jr. after multiple meetings and budgeting accommodations.
Aimee said she’s wanted to bring “Anastasia” to ESM ever since she caught the musical on its Broadway tour when it came to Rochester in 2019. Calling it a “hidden gem,” she said the play is “visually spectacular” and that it will amaze local audiences with its “grand and gorgeous” ballroom numbers, its “exquisite” costumes, and how colorful its 100-plus backdrops are.
Because of the sheer size of the musical and the fact that there’s so much happening in it, Aimee said seeing it is an “immersive” experience that will grasp the attention of even the littlest children while also captivating the adults of any age in the audience.
Aimee commends the “phenomenal” work of the show’s choreographer Caira Cramer-Walter, who she said had her work cut out for her with the snippet of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet that’s a highlight of the show, as well as the “energetic and enthusiastic” Durantini for always being up for anything and the team of Joyce and Carl Rode for the complex set pieces they built up to the ceiling.
As for the pit band and the entire cast, Aimee said, “Everyone has stepped up their game, and they’ve been doing the practicing they need to do to make sure they can get this done.”
Junior Aaron Ali, who plays the other conman Vlad, added that the ensemble is “versatile” with a lot of chemistry and that humor is injected into the play tastefully considering it often deals with death and tragedy, becoming a historically accurate form of “edutainment.”
Ali said he was last in an ESM musical when he was in “Sleeping Beauty” in the fifth grade, making this his big, unexpected comeback.
The musical features a book by Terrence McNally and a score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens.
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