'Anastasia' coming to the Barker school stage

Mar. 8—The Barker music department is putting forth a story that's a cross between a princess tale and historical fiction in its production of the spring musical "Anastasia."

The musical is based on the legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, member of the royal family of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who was rumored to have escaped execution in the early 20th century.

The plot follows Anya, an amnesiac girl who encounters two con men named Vlad and Dmitry, who aim to pass her off as the grand duchess to her grandmother. Along their journey from Russia to France, Anya discovers more memories of her true past.

"In that process (Anya and Dmitry) find each other in the end ... so there's a small love twist in that as well," said sophomore Jocelyn Schmitt, who portrays Anya.

Director Cheryl Johnson said Barker's production of "Anastasia" will play out in a similar vein to the 1997 Disney movie, but with a few key differences.

"The character Rasputin is not in the musical at all, and there's different characterizations historically closer to the actual historical events and characters who were involved in this situation," Johnson said.

Coming off of last year's performances of "Cinderella," which garnered Barker the Kenny Award for Outstanding Musical Production, several students in the cast wanted to follow it up with a show that goes more in-depth in plot and character development.

"We decided we wanted to do something a little bit more mature this year," said junior Shelby Dauphinee, who is portraying Tsarina Alexandra Nikolaevna.

While the cast describes "Anastasioa" as a "darker" show compared to last year's production, the music and lighting induce a variety of moods.

"We have different color schemes that can completely change the mood of our stage, which is great for the audience's point of view," Schmitt said.

"The song 'We'll Go From There' is very bright, upbeat and happy. That's when we're on the train and we're on our way to Paris and we're getting out of the sad, depressing Russia," added Adler Detschner, who is portraying Dmitry.

Performances are slated for 7 p.m. today and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday in the Herbert F. Ludwig Fine Arts Hall at Barker Jr./Sr. High School. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students.