World Premiere of ANASTASIA Opens Tonight at Hartford Stage

The world premiere musical ANASTASIA, inspired by the real life of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov and the enduring mystery of her true identity, officially opens tonight, May 27, at Hartford Stage in Connecticut. The new musical runs through June 19, 2016

ANASTASIA reunites Tony Award-winning writers of the Broadway classic Ragtime: book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak, Tony Award-winner for Best Direction of a Musical for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, directs, and Peggy Hickey (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder) choreographs.

Christy Altomare plays Anya and Derek Klena plays Dmitry, the coveted romantic leads in ANASTASIA. Altomare's credits include Mamma Mia! on Broadway and 'Wendla' in the national tour of Spring Awakening. Klena's credits include The Bridges of Madison Countyand Wicked on Broadway.

The role of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna will be played by Mary Beth Peil, who was nominated for a Tony Award for The King and I and who is well-known to TV audiences as Grams on "Dawson's Creek" and as Jackie Florrick on "The Good Wife."

Manoel Felciano, who was nominated for a Tony Award for Sweeney Todd, will play Gleb.John Bolton will play Vlad, opposite Caroline O'Connor, who will play Lily. Bolton's numerous Broadway credits include Spamalot and Curtains. O'Connor's many credits in Australia, the West End, and Broadway include A Christmas Story: The Musical, Chicago and the film Moulin Rouge. The role of Young Anya will be played by the Chicago native Nicole Scimeca, whose credits include LES MISERABLES and, on television, "The Wizard of Lies," "Chicago Fire." Click here for the full ensemble and creative team.

From the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, the new musical Anastasia is the romantic and rousing story of a brave young woman attempting to discover the mystery of her past while finding a place for herself in the rapidly changing world of a new century. The new musical is inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Pictures.

Now in its 52nd year, Hartford Stage is under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts. One of the nation's leading resident theaters, Hartford Stage is known for producing innovative revivals of classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 70 world and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education program, which reaches more than 20,000 students annually.

Since Tresnjak's appointment in 2011 the theatre has presented the world premieres of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Tresnjak; Quiara Alegría Hudes' Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty; Big Dance Theatre's Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov; and Reverberation by Matthew Lopez.

Hartford Stage has earned many of the nation's most prestigious awards, including the 1988 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Other national honors include Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, OBIE, and New York Critics Circle awards. Hartford Stage has produced nationally renowned titles, including the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans' Home Cycle; Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger's Children; and Tea at Five.