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Anya (musical)
Encyclopedia
Anya is a musical
with a book by George Abbott
and Guy Bolton
and music and lyrics by Robert Wright
and George Forrest
. As they had done with Song of Norway
(1944) and Kismet
(1953), Wright and Forrest developed the musical score using themes written by a classical composer, in this case Sergei Rachmaninoff
.
Based on Bolton's 1954 English
adaptation of Marcelle Maurette's play Anastasia and the subsequent 1956 film adaptation of the same name
, it focuses on Anya who, when discovered in a Berlin
psychiatric facility in 1925 by taxi
driver Bounine, a former Cossack
general in Czarist Russia
, claims to be Anastasia
, the supposedly murdered youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II
.
A number of fiction
al elements, including a romantic triangle involving Anya, Bounine, and his mistress Genia and the addition of a comical character, café proprietor Katrina, weakened the plot of the true story. It also continued to perpetuate the notion that the Dowager Empress had met Anya in real life, when in fact the two never crossed paths.
After sixteen previews, the Broadway
production, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Hanya Holm
, opened on November 29, 1965 at the Ziegfeld Theatre
. Denounced as an old-fashioned operetta
by the critics, it closed after only 16 performances, the last production to be presented in the historic venue, which had housed the original Show Boat
in 1927.
The cast included Constance Towers
as Anya, Michael Kermoyan as Bounine, Karen Shepard as Genia, Irra Petina
as Katrina, and Lillian Gish
as the Dowager Empress. Supporting roles were played by George S. Irving
and John Michael King
.
The production was nominated for the Tony Award
for Best Scenic Design. An original cast recording was released by United Artists Records
.
Act II
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
and Guy Bolton
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton was a British-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the U.S., he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred working in collaboration with others, principally the English writers P. G...
and music and lyrics by Robert Wright
Robert Wright (writer)
Robert [Craig] Wright was an American composer-lyricist for Hollywood and the musical theatre best known for the Broadway musical and musical film Kismet, for which he and his professional partner George Forrest adapted themes by Alexander Borodin and added lyrics...
and George Forrest
George Forrest (author)
George Forrest was a writer of music and lyrics for musical theatre best known for the show Kismet, adapted from the works of Alexander Borodin.-Biography:...
. As they had done with Song of Norway
Song of Norway
Song of Norway is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran...
(1944) and Kismet
Kismet (musical)
Kismet is a musical with lyrics and musical adaptation by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Alexander Borodin, and a book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, based on Kismet, the 1911 play by Edward Knoblock...
(1953), Wright and Forrest developed the musical score using themes written by a classical composer, in this case Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
.
Based on Bolton's 1954 English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
adaptation of Marcelle Maurette's play Anastasia and the subsequent 1956 film adaptation of the same name
Anastasia (1956 film)
Anastasia is a 1956 American historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak for 20th Century Fox. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes. Supporting players include Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, and, in a small role, Natalie Schafer...
, it focuses on Anya who, when discovered in a Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
psychiatric facility in 1925 by taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
driver Bounine, a former Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
general in Czarist Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, claims to be Anastasia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna....
, the supposedly murdered youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
.
A number of fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al elements, including a romantic triangle involving Anya, Bounine, and his mistress Genia and the addition of a comical character, café proprietor Katrina, weakened the plot of the true story. It also continued to perpetuate the notion that the Dowager Empress had met Anya in real life, when in fact the two never crossed paths.
After sixteen previews, the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Hanya Holm
Hanya Holm
Hanya Holm is known as one of the “Big Four” founders of American modern dance...
, opened on November 29, 1965 at the Ziegfeld Theatre
Ziegfeld Theatre
The Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway theater located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1927 and, despite public protests, was razed in 1966....
. Denounced as an old-fashioned operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
by the critics, it closed after only 16 performances, the last production to be presented in the historic venue, which had housed the original Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
in 1927.
The cast included Constance Towers
Constance Towers
-Early life:Towers was born in Whitefish, Montana, the daughter of Ardath L. and Harry J. Towers. According to her official Web site, a contract from Paramount Pictures was offered to her at age 11 but was declined...
as Anya, Michael Kermoyan as Bounine, Karen Shepard as Genia, Irra Petina
Irra Petina
Irra Petina was an actress and singer, as well as a leading contralto with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was called the "floperetta queen" by critic Ken Mandelbaum.Born in St...
as Katrina, and Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
as the Dowager Empress. Supporting roles were played by George S. Irving
George S. Irving
George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...
and John Michael King
John Michael King
John Michael King was an American actor most often associated with his roles in musical theatre.-Biography:The son of actor Dennis King,...
.
The production was nominated for the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Scenic Design. An original cast recording was released by United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
.
Song list
Act I- A Song from Somewhere
- Vodka, Vodka!
- So Proud
- Homeward
- Snowflakes and Sweethearts (The Snowbird Song)
- On That Day
- Anya
- Six Palaces
- Hand in Hand
- This Is My Kind of Love
- On That Day (Reprise)
Act II
- That Prelude!
- A Quiet Land
- Here Tonight, Tomorrow Where?
- Leben Sie Wohl
- If This Is Goodbye
- Little Hands
- All Hail The Empress