Anastasia: The Musical, Performed by The Utah State University Opera Theatre

The Utah State University Opera Theatre will perform the modern, contemporary American musical, “Anastasia: The Musical,” on Nov. 9, 10, 12, and 13.

The performances will take place at the Morgan Theatre in the Chase Fine Arts Center at USU. All of the performances will be at 7:30 p.m., except the showing on Sunday, Nov. 12, which will be at 4 p.m.

Tickets for the performance are free for all USU students, and CCA specific staff and faculty. Adult tickets are $15. USU general faculty/staff, senior (65+), and youth (8-17) tickets are $10. These tickets can be purchased at the USU Box Office or online at this site.

The majority of the performers in this production are vocal performance students from the USU Department of Music.

According to Dallas Aksoy, USU Music Lecturer & Opera Theatre Director, the students have been heavily involved with the creation process of this performance, including making their own costumes and creating the set.

USU Adjunct Professor and “Anastasia: The Musical” Stage Director Stefan Espinosa said attendees can anticipate hearing incredible singing, enjoying great acting, and watching wonderful dance choreography.

The music in the show will be provided by a live orchestra from USU students in the Department of Music.

“It's a big show with a lot of moving parts,” Espinosa said.

According to Aksoy, Anastasia is a musical that is beloved in the music community.

The CCA event website states: “Anastasia adapts the legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, who was rumored to have escaped the execution of her family at the twilight of the Russian Empire. Anya, an amnesiac orphan trying to discover her past, teams up with two con men and travels to Paris to hopefully find her home, love, and family. This Tony-nominated musical is a brilliant modern-day fairy tale about discovering ‘who you are and defining who you’re meant to be.’”

Aksoy said the musical is a very inspiring story to watch on stage.

“With this production we’ve achieved that perfect balance of providing valuable real-life educational opportunities for students while still giving our audiences a fantastically-enjoyable night of musical theatre,” she continued.

Espinosa said the strong creative elements, as well as the excitement of the students will make for a beautiful show.

“It’s so rewarding to work with these students because they already possess skills that are exciting and fun to watch, but they also still have hunger and passion and they're reaching for something more. So you can watch them reaching and striving, and as they reach, they stretch and they grow, and you're able to see where they started and where they finish,” Espinosa said.

USU Opera Theatre offers students the opportunity to participate in productions of the great works of classical opera and modern musical theater every year under the direction of Professor Aksoy.

For more information regarding this performance, check out the event site.