The cast and crew of the new musical “Anastasia” took their own journey to the past with AncestryDNA
Most fans of Anastasia fans know the real life events that inspired the myth from which the animated film — and now brand new musical! — are based. The tragic demise of the ruling Romanov family at the hands of the Bolsheviks in 1918 Russia is a story that everyone’s heard, thanks to the popularity of Anastasia.
In the musical, Anastasia has survived her family’s killing but has no memory of it and must piece together her own past. Inspired by this, the cast and crew have teamed up with AncestryDNA to learn a bit about their own family histories.
Throughout the next few months, the cast and crew will be sharing their family histories through the musical’s social media channels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3m-K0f64lg?feature=oembed
According to the press release from Anastasia: The Musical, the cast and crew were surprised to learn the results of their ancestry tests, which included high percentages of Northwest Russian heritage, immigration due to The Great Famine and, famous ancestors.
Anastasia Producers Bill Taylor and Tom Kirdahy said in the press release that they found the collaboration between Anastasia and Ancestry to be fitting.
“This collaboration is truly exciting for everyone at Anastasia," they explained. "Every night we watch our audiences rapt with intrigue as they experience Anya’s journey of discovery. The work that our Ancestry friends do on a daily basis brings the same kind of joy and discovery to people around the world. We can’t wait to learn more about our personal stories and also watch our artists and fans experience their ‘journey to the past.’
We love that people are learning about their own family history using tests like AncestryDNA and we think it’s incredibly fitting that the cast and crew of Anastasia are finding their own histories just like Anya does in the musical.
The show is now performing on Broadway and was just nominated for nine Drama League awards. If you’re ready to take your own journey with Anya, you can snag tickets here.