Anastasia

Auditions will be held 5/2 and 5/3 at 6:30pm in the Leeds Arts Council Theatre

Show Dates July 25- August 4, 2024 (8 shows)

Directed by Brandi McClaran and Carrie Self

Please prepare 16 to 32 bars of a Broadway type song for the vocal audition. An accompanist will be provided, so please bring sheet music to your audition. There will also be a cold read from the script. Rehearsals will begin mid May and will run Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 9pm. If you have any questions, please contact Brandi McClaran at broadwaybound38@yahoo.com

Character Breakdown

Anya/Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov
● Playing age: 26
● Lead role. Star Vehicle.
● Range: G3-F5, Belt to D5. Disney-esque Soprano or Mezzo
● Dance Requirement: Some movement
● Anya is brave, fiery, witty, and above all determined. With no memory of her life before age 17 and having lived through the horrors of the Russian Revolution, Anya jumps at the sound of gunshots and is distrustful of strangers, but there is steel hiding just beneath the surface. Anya is strong-willed and compassionate. Her mantra, “Home, love, family” is her goal. All she knows is her family is in Paris and she will find them however she can.

Dmitry Sudayev
● Playing age: 28
● Lead role
● Range: A2-G4. “Baritenor”
● Dance Requirement: Some Movement
● Dmitry is a scoundrel with a heart of gold. A street rat who grew into a conman, Dmitry does all he does to get out of poverty and is not above lying, cheating, and stealing to do so–that is until he meets Anya. What starts as just another scheme (albeit much bigger than anything he’s tried to pull off before) turns into the adventure of a lifetime that requires Dimitry to look inward and figure out how to put the one he loves before himself.

Vladimir “Vlad” Popov
● Playing age: Mid 40s-Early 50s
● Supporting Lead role
● Range: A2-F4. Comic Baritone
● Dance Requirement: Strong mover
● Vlad is Dmitry’s partner in crime (literally) and surrogate father. Before the revolution he
scammed his way through society pretending to be a count. Vlad is dramatic, crafty, and a big softie at heart. While he, like Dmitry, is not above lying, cheating, and stealing, he cares greatly for his loved ones and is generally affable, though he can be calculating when he needs to be.

Deputy Commissioner Gleb Vaganov
● Playing age: Mid 30s
● Supporting Lead role
● Range: A2-Gb4. Baritone with a strong upper extension.
● Dance Requirement: None.
● Gleb is the villain of the show, though not a bad person. He fully believes in the Communist ideals he follows. Loyal, honest, and hard working, Gleb almost has the potential to be a hero (he’s very much the hero of his own story). A deeply conflicted person, Gleb’s infatuation (and borderline obsession) with Anya leads to his battle with the idea of doing one’s duty vs. doing what is right.

Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch
● Playing age: ~40 (She’s based on Lili Dehn- a real life Russian countess who was a family friend of the Romanovs
● Supporting role
● Range: G3-C5 (Briefly sings a B5 at the end of Land of Yesterday, but the rest of the role is very
Mezzo) Jazzy Mezzo with an upper extension.
● Dance Requirement: Dancer (Ideally a strong dancer)
● Lily is the lady in waiting to the Dowager Empress. She has been by the Dowager’s side since before the revolution. Lily is clever, dutiful, and above all fun (when not working for the
Dowager). She deals with her exile from Russia with a sort of resigned dark humor…and a LOT of vodka. She and Vlad were once an item (unbeknownst to her oblivious husband) and rekindle their romance upon re-uniting.

Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna Romanov
● Playing age: 80
● Supporting role
● Range: F3-Bb4. A regal Mezzo
● Dance Requirement: None
● The Dowager Empress has lost everything she once held dear and must now put up with
imposter upon imposter never allowing her to grieve in peace. She is icy, proud, and regal (not to mention intimidating) to all but her family. Though, she does have a very sharp wit. She is especially warm with Anastasia both when a child and after it’s revealed that Anya really is the princess. She commands authority and attention the minute she enters a room.

Young Anastasia/Alexei (Doubles in Ensemble as well)
● Playing age: ~5 for Young Anastasia, (cast with an older child, normally between 9 and 14), 13 for Alexei
● Featured role
● Range: C4-C5, a sweet child soprano
● Dance Requirement: Very little.
● Young Anastasia is the willful, brave, proud, and precocious youngest daughter of the Tsar. She has a special bond with her grandmother (whom she calls Nana). Alexei was the Tsarevich (Heir to the throne) and only boy of the Romanov siblings. He suffered from debilitating hemophelia that often left him bed-ridden. Anya mentions that he was her best friend.

Ensemble
● The Ensemble has a TON to do in this show and plays a vast array of featured characters
● All of the Ensemble plays Townsfolk, Royal Servants, Bolshevik Officers and Soldiers, Parisians, Reporters, and Aristocrats