One step at a time. One hope, then another.
Anastasia is an enchanting musical that explores the enduring mystery of Princess Anastasia Romanov through song, dance, and performance. The show follows a girl with an uncertain past, who teams up with two questionable con men as they try to escape St. Petersburg on a fateful journey to Paris. Directed by Katie Runions ’25, Harvard’s production is running from Friday, Nov. 1 to Saturday, Nov. 9 in the Loeb Proscenium Theater. Anastasia is a heart-wrenching dive into one of history’s biggest unanswered questions: What happened to the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov?
Anastasia is based on the 20th Century Fox Animation 1997 film that adapts the legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, who was rumored to have escaped and survived the execution of the Russian Imperial family.
The show opens set against the backdrop of the Russian revolution with the Bolshevik regime on the rise; Anya (Caitlin Beirne ’25), an amnesiac orphan stranded in what was once the Russian capital, St. Petersburg, is on a journey to rediscover and uncover her past which she believes resides in Paris. Anya is accompanied by the charming conman, Dmitry (Kaylor Toronto ’27), and a fake ex-aristocrat, Vlad Popov (Alexander Lee ’25), who plan to use Anya to trick the only remaining Romanov, Dowager Empress Marie (Ria Cuellar-Koh ’26), into believing that Anya is the lost Anastasia.
As trouble ensues, the trio is forced to navigate the complexities of identity, loss, and family amidst the rapidly changing cultural landscape of the roaring twenties in the Modern World. With music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, this student-run production breathes new life and wonder into a classic tale. Including classic songs from the motion picture like “Journey to the Past” and “Once Upon a December,” Anastasia is a critical exploration of one determined girl’s journey to find home, love, and family as she discovers who she was and embraces who she is meant to be.
Runions’s bold directional and creative choices brought the world of Anastasia to life in a fresh, authentic way. The set consisted of a grand central set of marble steps with multiple levels, used to mimic both the gloomy streets of Russia and the regal plazas of Paris. Sound and lighting were used conceptually to supplement this change of location and mood, mirroring the emotional turmoil of the show’s plot.
In differentiating the musical production of Anastasia from the 20th Century Fox movie, Runions explained to the Independent how her team’s rendition “adds a lot of different plot lines and goes into exploring the themes of what it means to lose your identity and find your identity, especially amidst an ever-changing political backdrop.” To Runions, they aren’t just speaking of personal identity, but also cultural and national identity, exploring what it means to leave and find home and what home can meet for different people.
As director, Runions said she was tasked with coordinating and cultivating the final vision of the production, ensuring that her role serves as a collaborative tool for the rest of the crew. “I think that as a director, you’re kind of there to connect the visions of everybody and make it one solid vision you’re there to, like beautify what’s going to end up as the final product on stage.”
Though Runions studies Theater, Dance, and Media at Harvard, she still shared how there’s something really special about putting on a fully student-run production. “Some of the best directorial decisions were not decisions that I made; they were decisions made in conversation with actors or in conversation with the costume designer or lights, and they end[ed] up being some of the most beautiful moments in the show… I never would have come up with that on my own.” These spaces for completely student-led creative expression, Runions noted, are not available in the same capacity in the classroom.
Choreographer Alia Marrero-Alattar ’27 shared a similar sentiment when considering the most rewarding parts of working on the show. Dance plays an intricate and noticeably expressive part throughout the show, with a plethora of featured styles and techniques. Marrero-Alattar described how “choreography is used a lot through the different characters in storytelling about the relationship.” She added that “choreography throughout the show is very important in telling the timeline of the story.” The evolution of dance from Russian troikas and waltzes to more Western European-style waltzes reflects the shift from Russian joy to the heavier influences of the Western Imperial world. Similarly, the second act uses dances to characterize 1920s Paris, with Charlestons and seductive jazz.
Marrero-Alattar credits the success of the show to Runions and the collaborative abilities of the crew. “I’ve never worked with such a director who actually has so much value for every single person’s vision…especially choreography—that was so wonderful.”
For both Marrero-Alattar and Runions, some of the most rewarding moments of the show happened before audiences even started rolling in. To Marrero-Alattar, dress rehearsals with exclusively rehearsal staff were when the magic most prominently came to life. “It’s that private moment we have, especially your final dress rehearsal where, this is absolutely beautiful and stunning, and we’ve all worked so hard, and it’s ready to share for the world, and they’re going to get so many cheers and applause.”
This production of Anastasia struck a balance between the darkest and most joyful parts of the journey to rediscovering who you are. Throughout the show, I found myself inclined to take my own step back and truly reflect on who and what home means to me too.
Rania Jones’s ’27 (rjones@college.harvard.edu) new chronic show tunes fixation will be “Once Upon a December,” for the time being.