Anastasia: The New Musical Comes to the FA Stage

FA ARTS

Cast members dance the last dance of the Romanovs before the Russian invasion, featuring Jennifer Noh ’24 (center), Ashe Rabideau ’24 (left), and Katey-Anne Clark ’26 (right).

Anastasia: The New Musical Comes to the FA Stage

BY LAURA AYER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Set in the historical period from the peak of the Russian Empire to the roaring 1920s, FA’s Anastasia production— with its elaborate stage settings, ornate costumes, and dazzling music—did not disappoint. This year’s production, performed on November 10th12th, had over 60 students participating, ranging from cast members and stagehands to musicians in the pit band and technical crews.

Ava Frechette ’23 played the heroine of the story as Anya, an amnesiac young woman, who may in fact be the Grand Duchess Anastasia and sole survivor of her family’s execution by the Bolsheviks (Solana Manning played young Anastasia). She tries to discover the mystery of her past while being ruthlessly pursued by Soviet officer Gleb Vaganov, played by junior Arkie Baptista. On her epic adventure, Anya is ultimately saved by con man and fellow ex-aristrocrat Dimitri, played by sophomore Quinn Haggerty and, in the process, finds home, love, and family. “While the basis of the story follows Anastasia on her journey to finding out who she is, I understand and acknowledge the parallels between Russia in 1920 and Russia today,” says musical director Brynn Dutelle. “This musical demonstrates the difficulty of patriotism for people who disagree with the decisions made by the government and how to move forward from those decisions.”

l to r: Cast members Brian Lucy ’24, Wanny Khang Nguyen Tran ’25, and Hunter Tripp ’24 recreate the scene where Anastasia’s beloved music box is auctioned off.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING CAST AND CREW MEMBERS FOR THEIR REMARKABLE PERFORMANCES:

CAST (in order of appearance): Rose Tepe ’23 (Dowager Empress) Solana Manning (Young Anastasia) Jiwon Choi ’24 (The Tsarina/Ensemble) Samuel Vallee ’23 (TheTsar/Gorlinsky/Ensemble) Ava Frechette ’23 (Anya/Anastasia Romanov) Iver Minnich (Alexei Romanov) Isabel Macht ’24 (Olga Romanov/Ensemble) Lily Bryan ’26 (Tatiana Romanov/Ensemble) Katey-Anne Clark ’26 (Maria Romanov/Ensemble) Lainey Rousey ’24 (Paulina/Ensemble) Jennie Noh ’24 (Ensemble) Charlie Anderson ’23 (Count Gregory/Ensemble) Abigail Paulding ’23 (Countess Gregory/Ensemble) Ashe Rabideau ’24 (Count Leopold/Ensemble Soloist/Drunk) Brian Lucy ’24 (Count Ipolitov/Ensemble Soloist) Arthur “Arkie” Baptista ’24 (Gleb Vaganov) Quinn Hagerty ’25 (Dimitri) Kevin Lucy ’24 (Vlad Popov) Fiona Bronsnan ’23 (Dunya/Ensemble Soloist) Wasp Harlow ’26 (Policeman/Ensemble) Hunter Tripp ’24 (Sergei/Drunk/Smoker/Ensemble) Jordan Westerberg ’23 (Policeman/Ensemble) Arthur Osbourne ’26 (Drunk/Assistant/Ensemble Soloist) Sao Băng Nguyen ’24 (Ensemble) Lily Day ’24 (Ensemble) Rissa Kiesman ’26 (Ensemble) Wanny Khang Nguyen Tran ’25 (Drunk/Ensemble Soloist) Sally Baptista ’26 (Marfa/Ensemble) Zoë Daigle ’25 (Lily Malevsky-Malevitch) Cailyn Fusco (Swan Lake ballet dancer) Kaitlyn Sakash ’24 (Swan Lake ballet dancer) Lily Metz (Swan Lake ballet dancer) Kaia Chakravadhanula (Swan Lake ballet dancer)

FRYEBURG ACADEMY PIT BAND:

Chloe Sartory ’23 and Olivia Wentworth ’24: Flute Andrew Irwin ’23 and Lilia Vishnyakov ’26: Clarinet Griffin Gillis ’25: Baritone Saxophone Soleil Huang-Dale ’24: Trombone Will Guthro ’23: Percussion Kacey-Jane Clark ’23: Keyboard Cello/Alto Saxophone Gideon Richard ’24, Henry Lee, Isaac Houghton’ 25 and Sierra Rullman ’24: Violin Polly Peirce: Bass John Waldie: Piano Mike Sakash: Conductor

BACKSTAGE HELP:

Set Crew Jordan Brown ’26 Jonah Densmore ’24 Ash Jackson ’26 Annabelle Longpre ’25 Makayli Perreault ’25 Melanie Perreault ’24

Tech Crew Tommy Guthro ’26 (Spotlight) Noah Jacobs ’24 (Lighting) Catie Nippins ’25 (Tech Director) Seth Riddensdale ’23 (Sound) Logan Smith ’26 (Lighting) Props Crew Sarah Duncan Elsie Leonard ’23/Student Director Chloe Longpre ’24 Costumes/Makeup Crew Sofia Cerritelli ’23 Eliya Deri ’24 Emily Hess ’24 Emily Moll ’25 Carla Pintor Gali ’24 Emily Schrader Pejic ’24 Angela Schubert ’23

l to r: Vlad (Kevin Lucy ’24) and Dimitri (Quinn Hagerty ’25) help Anya (Ava Freschette ’23) study the life of Anastasia to prepare her to meet the Dowager Empress. Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch (played by Zoe Daigle ’25) sings at The Neva Club in Paris, while cast members Ashe Rabideau ’24 (left), Hunter Tripp ’24, and Sam Vallee ’23 (right) look on.