Once upon a December, the legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia was born. Once upon this January, students rehearsed onstage, singing and dancing despite their exhaustion. It was crunch time to put on the best performance they could.
When the day finally came, students rushed to touch up their makeup, check their microphones, and fix any buttons or zippers. The energy was high as they left the black box to take their position backstage. Musicians double-checked their instrument’s tuning while audience members settled into their seats.
The musical “Anastasia” is based on the 1991 animated film of the same name. In addition to iconic songs such as “Once Upon A December” the musical includes original songs such as “In My Dreams.” Klein Drama put on seven performances of “Anastasia”, opening Jan. 17 and closing Jan. 27.
The plot of “Anastasia” is based on the legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolevna Romanov, the youngest daughter of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. The musical begins in 1907 when the Romanov palace is invaded and the royal family taken and executed. Young Anastasia survives, but cannot remember anything about her past. 20 years later, a young woman named Anya is trying to uncover her past and meets two conmen, Vlad and Dmitry. The two plan a scheme to pass Anya off as Anastasia to the Dowager Empress, Anastasia’s grandmother. They teach Anya the basics of Russian royalty, and the trio travels to Paris, all the while being chased by Gleb, a Communist official. When in Paris, Anya discovers that she really is the Grand Duchess, and must reconcile that knowledge with her feelings for Dmitry.
Preparation for “Anastasia” began in late October. As they got closer to opening night, theater director Heather Garsen said they “needed every second” to put everything together.
“It almost felt like a plane taking off, and it wasn’t built correctly,” senior Regan Rucker, who played Dmitry, said. “And then we got to January, and that’s when things really hit, and that’s when the plane was actually together. And then you get to the shows, and it’s high flying up in first class.
Rucker said that he hopes to be a high school choir director, after pursuing a double major in Music Education and Vocal Performance at the University of North Texas.
“I had done ROTC the past couple years, and in the future, I’m hoping to major in music,” Rucker said. “And I thought, why not take an opportunity to find something new and do the musical to add to my resume?”
The musical offers a chance for students to showcase their musical, acting, and dance skills. One sophomore said she hopes productions such as “Anastasia” are a precursor for a long and successful theater career.
“I wanted to do the musical because I dreamed to be on Broadway someday, and it’s great practice to be able to do so many musicals,” sophomore Kaylee Bull said. “Each musical has a lesson, and I work really well with listening and stuff. So songs really helped me connect to stories and musicals are the best way to show that.”
This is the first musical since Garsen became the head theater director, after being the assistant director for a year. She said that Klein is one of the first schools to perform “Anastasia” in the Houston area.
“My favorite part has been working with the amazingly talented students at Klein,” Garsen said. “We have so many awesome singers, dancers and actors here, and it’s been really cool to see them all shine on stage.”
Rucker also said that the experience was multi-faceted, with students from band, choir, orchestra, and theater coming together to create an unforgettable performance.
“The people who stay in musical really form almost a family bond with them. You’re spending so much time together,” Rucker said. “So like, the only thing you can do is talk to each other, but I’ve really kindled a lot of new friendships. I really loved becoming a family with the cast and they really did become just really good friends that I’ll hopefully keep in touch with.”
Senior Kailey Cavazos, who played Anya, said she’s always loved to sing and dance and musicals are her happy place. She said she was disappointed because she was sick during all of the shows.
“I pulled through because I truly loved the show so much and I love performing so I just did everything I could to get better or not get any worse,” Cavazos said.
Cavazos was also one of the leads in last year’s musical, “Mamma Mia.” She played Sophie, a young bride trying to discover who her father is after inviting three possible candidates to her wedding. Cavazos said that while “Mamma Mia” was more upbeat, Anastasia’s storyline was darker and had more tension.
“Singing and acting are such a big part of my life and both musicals just brought me so much joy,” Cavazos said. “They were a lot of work but I didn’t see them as work, I saw them as a dream come true and that’s how everyone should feel about their careers.”
In addition to skills such as vocal strength, Rucker said involvement in the musical helped him learn another lesson.
“This experience taught me time management, for sure, with all my senior year responsibilities,” Rucker said. “But I feel like it’s definitely taught me for my future music majors, we really don’t get free time because you’re always taking classes, or practicing, or whatever the case may be.”
Senior Heritage Wilhelmsen, who played Vlad, said that his favorite part of his character was serving as the comedic relief throughout the show.
“I think that’s that’s something I’ve been called to do,” Wilhelmsen said. “I feel like I’ve been created to create things. I find so much joy in art, particularly performing and also music, which are both in musicals.”
Junior Sehar Mirza said her favorite costume was the plum ball gown Anya wore at the end of the musical.
“The costumes were so good,” Mirza said. “I’m glad I went. I didn’t expect much from a school play, but I was very impressed.”
Klein Drama will participate in the annual Tommy Tunes Awards program, offered by Theatre Under the Stars to celebrate the achievements of high school musical theater. Nominations for categories such as Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Choreography, and Outstanding Singer, are announced in March, and finalized in April.
“Regardless of what nominations we get, we’re really proud of the work we did and all of our students,” Garsen said. “We think they did an amazing job, no matter what Tommy Tune says.”
