We’ve got a new look at the the cast of “Anastasia: The Musical,” *and* the show’s new villain

Fans of the 1997 animated film Anastasia get ready because a musical adaptation of the film is coming to Broadway this spring. Like the film, the musical centers around one of the greatest legends of the 20th Century, the survival of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, during the mass execution of the ruling family. We have an official look at the cast of the upcoming Broadway production and it has us SO excited.

Christy Altomare, who played the role of Sophie in Broadway musical Mamma Mia!, will be originating the role of Anastasia, who suffering from amnesia, goes by Anya. Playing the dreamy love interest Dimitry, a con man who falls in love with Anya is American Idol alum Derek Klena, who recently starred as Fiyero in Wicked.

Fans of the movie will remember the evil Rasputin as the villain and betrayer of the Romanov family but in the stage musical, he is nowhere to be found. Instead, the villain in Anastasia: The Musical is Gleb, a Russian revolutionary looking to stop Anya’s true identity from being discovered. Tony nominee Ramin Karmaloo, who played Jean Valjean in the 2014 Broadway production of Les Miserables takes on the role of Gleb.

The story of the Romanov family is truly devastating, but we loved how the movie gave the legend of Anastasia an optimistic and happy life. Rounding out the cast are Olivier nominated actress, Caroline O’Connor as Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch, Broadway mainstay John Bolton as Vlad Popov, and Mary Beth Peil (Grams from Dawson’s Creek) as Dowager Empress Maria.

We definitely like the musical adding a new villain and we think it will seriously change up the story we’ve all become so familiar with. It’ll we’re really excited to see what the adaptation will look like on stage come April. We’ll be in line waiting for tickets.