Dreamcast: Anastasia West End…with Six actors!
At this point I don’t think it’s a secret that I love Anastasia. I grew up on the movie and was absolutely thrilled when the musical adaptation was announced. It had been announced way back in 2017 that the West End would be staging a production. The production never materialized, but since a few of the actors I’d wanted to see were in Six I thought I’d make a dreamcast entirely with Six actors!
Anastasia is a particularly demanding show dance-wise, and requires a level of ballet/pointe/partnering training that most musical theatre actors don’t have. Many productions have actually had to cast professional ballet dancers, which Six does not have. As such I was really intentional in only casting actors that I could prove or reasonably assume had that required level. Tracking all that down has been a lot of work over a long period of time and tended to be fairly limiting, but with a few more additions in recent months I think I’ve finally gotten a group who can do it! I’m pretty happy with it and while I doubt a West End production will happen now...it’s still a fun one to dream about.
Anya: Courtney Stapleton
Lily: Christina Modestou
Dowager Empress: Carly Mercedes Dyer
Tsarina: Roxanne Couch
Young Anastasia: Megan Leung
Olga/Odette: Artemis Chrisoulakis
Tatiana: Jasmine Jia Yung Shen
Maria: Shakira Simpson
Ensemble: Amy di Bartolomeo
Countess Gregory: Cassandra Lee
Singer swing: Bryony Duncan
Dancer swing: Sophie-Rose Middleton
Understudies:
Anya: Bryony Duncan, Shakira Simpson
Lily: Roxanne Couch, Bryony Duncan
Dowager: Cassandra Lee, Amy di Bartolomeo
Odette: Megan Leung, Sophie-Rose Middleton
A few additional notes on the ballet: All four of the sisters, as well as both swings, are required to have a pretty solid level of proficiency and experience with dancing en pointe. One of the sisters, Olga/Odette, is required to have a significant higher level (this is the track they often cast professional ballerinas for). I also needed two actors who could feasibly dance at that level as understudies. My parameters for proving that someone could most likely do that role included being able to find videos of them doing pointe work at the required level OR other certain indicators that I felt like proved they could most likely do it (e.x. - experience in a a specific show/track that would require an equivalent level of pointework).
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Things I want to see in Six in 2024
This is a part-prediction, part-bingo, part-want, part-far-fetched-ideas-to-see-if-they-magically-become-true list of things I have in mind for Six in 2024. Please reblog and add your own let's be chaotic together. Enjoy:
UK Tour ends or gets a revamp
A more permanent crossover between Canada and the US productions (i.e. universal alts somehow cover in Canada officially)
Courtney Mack returns (bonus points if she debuts a 4th role)
Another cruise member debuts in a land production
A cancelled debut finally happens (i.e. Carly Mercedes Dyer, Shantel Cribbs, original Breakaway 2.0)
A change in the North American alternate system
Someone joins a production with little-to-no announcement
A new or majorly updated costume
Principal-to-alternate pipeline but on land
New US sit-down production (bonus points if it's Los Angeles) ((extra bonus points if it's majority professional debuts/recent grads cast)
Something with Natalie Pilkington or the Harriets
An original WE or BW cast member returns
New weird production (i.e. Amusement park production)
Another Bliss Seymour comes to land (after Caitlin, Gabriella, and now Wesley)
Bizzare emergency cover
Entirely new cast for UK Tour, Boleyn Tour, or Broadway
Canada extends and gets a cast change
All alternate show on Broadway
Someone from the last cruise casts goes straight into a land production
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“It’s impossible to be in love with all the six queens’
The Six queens in question:
Megan Gilbert, Ashleigh Weir, Holly Musgrave, Oliver Wickham, Annabel Marlow, Shimali De Silva, Renee Lamb, Christina Modestou, Natalie Paris, Genesis Lynea, Aimie Atkinson, Izuka Hoyle, Jaye’J Richards-Noel, Millie O’Connell, Alexia McIntosh, Maiya Quansah-Breed, Grace Mouat, Vicki Manser, Courtney Stapleton, Adrianna Hicks, Andrea Macaseat, Abby Mueller, Brittney Mack, Samantha Pauly, Anna Uzele, Mallory Maedke, Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert, Courtney Mack, Shantel Cribbs, Courtney Bowman, Sophie Isaacs, Danielle Steers, Zara Macintosh, Cherelle Jay, Hana Stewart, Collette Guitart, Candace Furbert, Hazel Karooma-Brooker, Caitlin Tipping, Sophie Golden, Alicia Corrales-Connor, Viquichele Cross, Bryony Duncan, Natalie Pilkington, Lori McLare, Amy Bridges, Lauren Drew, Maddison Bulleyment, Lauren Byrne, Shekinah McFarlane, Jodie Steele, Athena Collins, Cassandra Lee, Jennifer Caldwell, Harriet Watson, Jasmine Shen, Kelly Sweeney, Jessica Niles, Georgia Carr, Amelia Walker, Liv Alexander, Elizabeth Walker, Maddison Firth, Laura Blair, Chloe Zuel, Kala Gare, Loren Hunter, Kiana Daniele, Courtney Monsma, Vidya Makan, Ella Burns, Karis Oka, Shannen Alyce-Quan, Jade Marvin, Lucy Aiston, Gabriella Stylianou-Burns, Scarlet Gabriel, Rebecca Wickes, Megan Leung, Sophie Rose Middleton, Abbi Hodgson, Kara Ami Mcraenor, Emily Harrigan, Gabrielle Smith, Melissa Ford, Kaylah Attard, Fia Houston-Hamilton, Rhiannon Bacchus, Rhiannon Doyle, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Elena Gyasi, Keirsten Hodgens, Artemis Chrisoulakis, Ellie Sharpe, Sadie Hurst, Melinda Porto, L’Oreal Roache, Wesley Carpenter, Maya Christian, Brianna Mooney, Meghan Dawson, Marilyn Caserta, Ashlee Waldbauer, Adrianna Glover, Alize Ke’Aloha Cruz, Kristina Walz, Amy Di Bartolomeo, Amanda Lindgren, Claudia Kariuki, Dionne Ward-Anderson, Tsemaye Bob-Egbe, Meesha Turner, Paisley Billings, Danielle Rose, Roxanne Couch, Esme Rothero, Rachel Rawlinson, Lauren Irving, Danielle Mendoza, Shelby Griswold, Kennedy Carstens, Abigail Sparrow, Jarynn Whitney, Madeline Fansler, Channing Weir, Princess Victomé, Sunayna Smith, Chloë Hart, Casey Al-Shaqsy, Aiesha Pease, Jaina Brock-Patel, Alana Robinson, Grace Melville, Leesa Tulley, Harriet Caplan-Dean, Khaila Wilcoxon, Storm Lever, Jasmine Forsberg, Olivia Donalson, Didi Romero, Gabriela Carrillo, Cassie Silva, Kelly Denice Taylor, Erin Ramirez, Kelsee Kimmel, Phoenix Mendoza, Chelsea Dawson, Chiara Assetta, Cristina D’Agostino, Joy Woods, Bre Jackson, Keri Rene Fuller, Brennyn Lark, Ayla Ciccone-Burton, Holli’ Conway, Brianna Javis, Gabbi Mack, Casey Esbin, Ellie Wyman, Sasha Renae Brown, Nicole Lamb, Aja Simone Baitey, Willow Dougherty, Kayla McSorely, Emily Rose Lyons, Chelsea Wargo, Hannah Taylor, Jessie Bodner, Jasmine Hackett, Janice Rijssel, Lucia Valentino, Elena Breschi, Meg Dixon-Brasil, Sarah McFarlane, Reca Oakley, Gerianne Perez, Zan Berube, Amina Faye, Terica Marie, Aline Mayagoitia, Sydney Parra, Jana Larell Glover, Taylor Pearlstein, Aryn Bohannon, Cecilia Snow, Rhianne Louise McCaulsky, Baylie Carson, Koko Basigara, Monique Ashe Palmer, Leah Vassell, Hailee Kaleem Wright, Leandra Ellis Gaston, Bella Coppola, Nasia Thomas, Zoe Jensen, Taylor Iman Jones, Aubrey Matalon, Kristina Leopold, Rae Davenport, Gianna Grosso, Kathryn Kilger, Bethany McDonald, Jillian Worthing, Haley Izurieta, Jasmine Smith, Lois Ellise Reeves, Alyssa Giannetti, Eden Holmes, Jaelle Laguerre, Kate Zulauf, Lee ARumSoul, Son Seungyeon Kim Ji Woo, Sophiya Pae, Park Hye-na, Park Ga-Ram, Kim Ji Sun, Choi Hyun-sun, Kim Ryeo Won, Heo Sol-ji, Yoo Ju-hye, Hong Ji Hee, Nicole Louise Lewis, Laura Dawn Pyatt, Erin Caldwell, Kenedy Small, Lou Henry, Aoife Haakenson, Ellie Jane Grant, Izi Maxwell, Tamara Morgan, Shakira Simpson, Fiorella Bamba, Lucinda Wilson, Caitlyn De Kuyper, Amanda Lee, Gabriella Boumford, Audrey Fisher, Brooke Aneece, Jaz Robinson, Julia Pulo, Maggie Lacasse, Krystal Hernández, Elysia Cruz, Lauren Mariasoosay, Julia McLellan, Darcy Stewart, Hailey Lewis
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It keeps me wondering since cast change – does Claudia wear Carly's wig? Or did they just make the same // similar one?
Congratulations, you have stumbled on one of my biggest questions post-cast change! The TL;DR is we don’t know for sure but it seems like they’re different. I also checked in with @poc-dreamcast and asked for her input.
(top right is snappy_six, the other two are from their respective personal Instas)
So Broadway/WE wigs are custom made. Some wigs, like the ponytail wigs used for Howard on most productions,* are more easily repurposed. However, the majority of the wigs Six uses are full wigs that cover their full head of hair and therefore have custom hairlines etc and as a result it’s usually not super easy to reuse them - here’s a really great video from Wicked’s YouTube channel that explains the basics of the fitting and construction process if you’re not familiar (starts around 1:50). However, it’s definitely not impossible, and sometimes people do go back in later and alter a wig even to the point where it can be used for someone else.
With this scenario specifically, Carly and Claudia’s are shaped pretty differently but the hairline and shape is similar enough that it there’s potential it’s an alteration. However, the texture and styling is significantly different, so @poc-dreamcast said she’d lean towards it being different. It is potentially a restyling - with the amount of alterations that would need to be made to the base, that would be necessary anyway - but it’s significantly different enough that chances are it’s a different iwg.
*Tsemaye Bob-Egbe and Esme Rothero both use a full wig for Howard, but so far they’re the first actors to do so.
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