Kharachatter!

I only saw the bootleg once when it was first released and my memory isn’t the best, so I couldn’t note every detail that I wanted to, but:

Subtle tweaking of the book throughout and Christy’s own improvements as an actress have made me really fall in love with her Anya. She’s still lost and dealing with severe trauma, so she won’t be an exact copy, but I thought her personality was a bit closer to the headstrong Anya from the cartoon this time. But it’s Christy’s own spin here, and you really see her confidence grow over time.

An example of the small changes: in the original ending, Anya and Dmitry are standing on the bridge in Paris when he tries to say goodbye and she runs off with him. On Broadway, this scene is subtly re-staged with the addition of a suitcase. Dmitry’s sitting on it glumly, then he stands and prepares himself to go. But Anya strides on up, slams that suitcase down, stomps on it, and uses her new height leverage to kiss him. Gives that scene a tiny extra kick.

Gleb is the most changed, as he’s the only one of the principal cast with a new actor for Broadway. He’s now played by the beloved Ramin Karimloo, and though I’m not familiar with his work...well, let’s just say I now understand why he’s so goshdang popular. He was given a new song toward the end of Act 1, ‘Still’, and it’s a beauty. Very powerful and layered with conflict. He appears more often throughout Act 2 now, and in Gleb and Anya’s scenes he seems to establish their connection better than in Hartford. He’s sweet and awkward in his attempts to be Anya’s friend at first, and then duty rears its ugly head and he has to grapple with a painful decision. I really didn’t like this character in Hartford, but I really get what they were going for now.

The backgrounds are improved, with a few more real props added in front. One example: the original Journey to the Past was in front of a purple night scene. The Broadway version adds a little more movement, and the background is changed to blossoming spring trees that sweep out to the Paris landscape.

Costumes are largely the same. Anya’s still blonde, that photo was unfortunately a trick of the light. But there are two changes I noticed: Vlad’s last suit jacket was changed from mustard yellow to a more fitting blue...or was it green? I’ve forgotten already. And as I mentioned last post, Anya’s ballet outfit is now a gorgeous replica of the blue dress from the animated version. It was so beautiful that there were audible gasps when we saw it---that shimmering in the cartoon is cleverly translated to the real world, let’s just say. Also, the burgundy velvet robe that appears in all the advertising is used for the reunion with Marie.