˗ˏˋ JOURNEY TO THE PAST ´ˎ˗

SYNOPSIS

Adapted from the 1997 animated film of the same name and the real-life legend of the Grand Duchess of Russia, Anastasia Nikolaevna, who is rumored to have escaped the execution of her family, this musical tells the story of an amnesiac orphan named Anya.

PROLOGUE

In St. Petersburg, Russia lived the Romanov family. The year was 1907 and seven-year-old Anastasia is saddened by her grandmother’s—the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna—pending departure to Paris. To comfort her, and as a parting gift, the Dowager Empress gives her a music box.

Ten years later, while attending a ball with her family, the Bolsheviks invaded and killed the Romanovs despite the latter’s attempt to escape. Anastasia was also presumed to be dead since, while attempting to retrieve the music box, she was shot.

ACT 1

In 1927, Gleb Vaganov, a general for the Bolsheviks, announced the renaming of St. Petersburg to Leningrad and promised a better future ahead for the town. However, the Russians were not happy with this change and started to protest.

Their mood changed when a rumor was spread that the Grand Duchess Anastasia could still be alive. There was also a reward promised to anyone who could find her, capturing the interest of con men Dmitry and Vlad Popov. They decide to find and train any young girl bearing resemblance to the Grand Duchess to act as an impersonator so they can be rewarded with the money. The auditions for this, however, turn out to be unsuccessful.

A young street sweeper and amnesiac named Anya arrives after auditions and asks the con men for paperwork so she can get to Paris, since she believes she will be able to find traces of her past there. They dismiss her at first, but eventually develop an interest in her after she mentions that she has amnesia and has a limited recollection of her past. Thus, they select her as their impostor, not knowing who she really was.

A few unselected auditionees report Dmitry and Vlad’s plan to the general, but he ignores them and files a case for Anya instead. At the palace, Vlad and Dmitry train Anya to pose as Anastasia through various lessons in history and behavior.

A few months later, Anya is arrested and is turned over to the general Gleb Vaganov. He catches feelings for her and tells her to reconsider Vlad and Dmitry’s plan since there could be consequences to her actions. He also reveals that it was his father who shot the Romanovs, telling her Anastasia really is dead. However, he realizes the possibility of Anya being the real Anastasia when he notices how her eyes resemble that of the Romanovs. With a warning, he lets her go.

Anya and Dmitry reunite and are attacked by Dmitry’s former con partners. After they fight them off, Dmitry talks about his past and what happened to his parents, beginning to trust Anya more. Because of this, he decided to show her a music box that he’s tried but failed to open, not knowing that this was the music box given to Anya by her grandmother. Anya is easily able to open the box and begins to remember parts of her past. To repay Dmitry, she gives him a diamond that was on her dress when she was found. They pay for their tickets to Paris using it.

While at the train station, Anya is recognized as Anastasia by Count Ipolitov, who later on leads the prayer of farewell to Russia. On the way to Paris, Dmitry, Anya, and Vlad talk about the tasks they want to fulfill in Paris. Anya hopes to discover more about her past, Dmitry hopes to win the money, and Vlad hopes to win back the woman he had an affair with, Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch.

A while later, Count Ipolitov is shot by the police for boarding the train illegally, sending Anya into a breakdown with Dmitry attempting to comfort her. Afterwards, the police look for the three of them since they are wanted criminals. Trying to avoid capture, they decide to jump off the train and walk the rest of the journey.

The head general of the Bolsheviks orders Gleb to assassinate Anya, and he agrees albeit reluctantly, as he realizes his feelings for Anya.

Anya, Dmitry, and Vlad finally arrive in Paris. Anya gets cold feet, but is able to find the courage and spirit to carry on, hoping to find a home, love, and family.

ACT 2

After admiring the city of Paris, Anya, Vlad, and Dmitry go their separate ways. Anya again starts to remember parts of her past as she crosses the Pont Alexandre III bridge, which was named after her grandfather.

As the only Romanov known to be alive, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna starts to lose hope of finding Anastasia while reading the letters of impersonators. Meanwhile, Gleb Vaganov arrives in Paris and the Dowager Empress’ lady-in-waiting, Lily, and Vlad reunite. Lily is mad at Vlad for stealing her jewelry back during their affair, but they still end up getting back together. Lily gives him tickets for Anya to be able to meet with the Dowager Empress at the ballet. Gleb overhears these plans and gets the tickets that Vlad had accidentally dropped.

Dmitry once again comforts Anastasia after she has a nightmare about her family’s execution. He tells about how once when he was younger, he bowed to Anastasia at a parade. They both realize that she indeed is the Grand Duchess when she tells him she remembers this encounter.

During the ballet, Vlad is saddened by the fact that despite Anya and Dmitry seeming to have fallen for each other, they will never be able to be together. When Anya spots the Dowager Empress, she recognizes her, and so does the Dowager Empress, but she denies it as not to give herself false hope. Meanwhile, Dmitry and Gleb think about their feelings for Anastasia.

After the ballet, Lily takes Anya to the Dowager Empress after recognizing her as Anastasia, and Dmitry finally realizes his feelings for Anya. However, he knows that nothing can ever happen since the sole reason they came to Paris is so she could reunite with her family.

During Anya’s meeting with the Dowager Empress, Anya learns that Dmitry and Vlad were merely using her for the reward and storms off. Afterward, Dmitry intercepts the Dowager Empress albeit disrespectfully and pleads with her to meet with Anya again, and while she reprimands him at first, she ends up meeting with Anya again while the latter packs. There, she asks Anya who she really is, and Anya calls her cruel and unlike what she remembers her grandmother to be. Anya asks the Dowager Empress if she recalls the time she last saw Anastasia and the music box she’d given her. Anya shows it to her, opening it and singing the lullaby her grandmother used to sing to her. Finally, they embrace, realizing that she is the real Anastasia.

Later on, as the press tries to gain information from Lily about Anastasia, she and Vlad attempt to send them away since they cannot disclose anything yet. Before she is presented to the public, the Dowager Empress tells Anya that Dmitry refused the money. Her grandmother notices Anya doubting her future as a princess and being in the public eye, but the former reassures her, saying they’ll always have each other no matter what. Afterwards, Anya realizes her feelings for Dmitry. However, before she leaves to tell him, she is intercepted and trapped in the room with Gleb, who nearly shoots her. He is unable to do so as he refuses to be like his father, and they shake hands, calling a truce.

Vlad and Lily search the palace for Anastasia, but are unable to find her, but the Dowager Empress is just happy that Anastasia is happy. It turns out Anastasia went searching for Dmitry, and she finds him at the Pont Alexandre III, where they share a kiss.

The Dowager Empress tells the public not to create any more rumors about Anastasia, and that the reward for her finding will be given to charity. They declare the closing of her case, while Anya and Dmitry leave Paris together.