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If we had been in possession of a crystal ball when we selected Anastasia as our spring show, we likely would have reconsidered. As late as when we cast the show in the fall, we had no idea that Russia would attack the sovereign nation of Ukraine, putting the whole world in the position of deciding which side of history it would be on. When the news began to develop, we sat down with our cast to discuss: Is this show, a show that is in many ways a love letter to Russian history and Russian mythology, the show that we should be doing right now? The cast stood firm. Why? They pointed out that it is something more than that. It is a story about the stories that we tell because we need them to see us through crisis. It is a story of refugees finding their way home. It is ultimately a story of hope and love, something that all of us need to feel right now.

When our cast spoke with Russian History Professor Emeritus Mark Steinberg (University of Illinois), we asked him a similar question: How do we process our feelings about this story in this moment in history? He pointed out that there are many Russians currently who feel just as helpless and horrified as much of the rest of the world, that they sing a mournful song for a Russia that they can be proud of. Steinberg has experienced that version of Russia and its people, and he encouraged us to focus on that. This is a love letter to kind people of all nations finding their way to a new sense of home through painful loss. We perform this show for them.

Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Jennifer Heaton & Alyssa Pavlakis, Directors

If you would like to donate to the people of Ukraine, we urge you to visit 

https://donate.unhcr.org/

or visit this QR code