Earlier in April, Spotlight asked Eric Cornell to send us a short update on Anastasia and the preparations for the Opening Night. How did the cast and crew manage the excitement of the previews?
Anastasia starts performances in preparation for opening night.
After rehearsing the show for four weeks in a studio and another two weeks on the set, Anastasia began performances on 23 March at the Broadhurst Theatre. The official opening date is 24 April, and these 4 weeks of public performances are called previews. This is the time when the director, authors, and full creative team and producers get to see how the show performs in front of live audiences and understand how they react to different parts of the show. As applause or laughter shifts from night to night, we talk with the director and authors after each show and begin to make changes that will strengthen the experience for audiences. We also look at the pacing of the show and discuss changing or cutting songs, trimming the book, or tightening choreographed sequences.
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Previews are often the most exciting time of an original show’s life, as you see the production evolve in real time – Tuesday night a song might look and sound the way you have been working on it for years, but by Thursday it might be a whole new version with updated lyrics, musical phrases, and even costumes or props. Fortunately, Anastasia has been developed by an experiences team and had a few workshops and an out of town try out, so our changes during previews have been minimal compared to what some shows go through. Our audiences have been loving the show and have given us standing ovations each night.
They are also very active on social media and word of mouth on the show has been strong and loud. We are on our way to opening and are excited to welcome all of our colleagues to the show! Be sure to follow Anastasia on all our social media platforms at @AnastasiaBway.
