skygiants

I am likewise a deep and abiding fan of the 1997 animated Anastasia despite having no memory or connection of the 1956 movie.

I recall seeing a trailer in the theater (probably attached to Hunchback of Notre Dame, looking at the timeline), and being instantly won over by the combination of Angela Lansbury's voice and snippets of the songs (if memory serves, clips of "Once Upon a December" and "Rumor In St. Petersburg" were both in there). Once I realized that the score was from Ahrens and Flaherty -- whom I revered then and now as two of the minds behind Schoolhouse Rock -- I was all the more motivated, and the actual movie impressed me even more. (Most of the critical attention at the time went to the music; not many noted that the dialogue, and the chemistry between the leads, made the movie a gorgeous classic rom-com in the Hepburn/Tracy mode.)

Cut to last year, when I caught wind of the impending Broadway show, and realized that I was wildly unlikely to get to NYC while it was still running (although it seems now to be doing fairly well, being popular enough to make this year's Macy's parade). I therefore pre-ordered the cast album about 15 minutes after establishing that there would be one, and was again not at all disappointed. It is a gorgeous score, as one would expect from Ahrens and Flaherty, even if there's not quite as much as I'd like retained from the animated version, and the performances are exceptional.

I'm still not likely to hit NYC soon enough to see the original run, but if there is a national tour -- which seems not at all unlikely at this point -- and if said tour stops here? Count me very definitely in.