Etcetera OG ✎ COMPLETE

; i saw 'anastasia' on broadway and have feelings

Okay. So I know I already talked about it, but I need to talk about it again. I'm just constantly reminded how much I obscenely adore Anastasia and to be fair I never told you about getting to see the musical live on Broadway, so this is post is going to be a little bit of that and a little bit of my fEELINGS. Because I have a lot of them.

You all know that Anastasia is my favorite movie of all time (do you? I think I said that in the last Anastasia post...), but did you know I love it so much that I spent over three hundred dollars on tickets to see it on Broadway in New York? No you don't because I never told you. Let's fix that.

When I first found out Anastasia was becoming a musical, I believe I was just minding my own business at school, you know – trying to survive. My friend Chelsea, who must follow EW's Twitter account religiously (I'm convinced she has her notifications turned on for them, which, yike, because they post fifty times a day), sent me a text message with a link to the musical's announcement that changed my life. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that Anastasia: The Musical was on the back of my mind every day leading up to the moment those tickets went on sale. Even when I wasn't actively thinking about it, it was there.

And as excited as I was, I was also terrified. What if they cast people who couldn't fill the animated characters' shoes? What if Anya's voice couldn't hold a candle to Liz Callaway's? What if they changed the characters too much or the scenes too much or left out some of my favorite songs? What if they took too many creative liberties?

But also what if it's as incredible as the movie was? What if I got to go see it, and if so, what if I cried during the opening number the same way I did when I saw CATS? What if all my favorite songs are even better somehow performed on a Broadway stage? What if it's even more magical?

Despite everything that worried me, I had the highest hopes for it. There really was no other way for me to go about anticipating this musical.

When the cast was announced, I don't think I was aware of it. Unlike Chelsea, I don't keep tabs on anything musical/Broadway-related, so when I first saw Anya and Dmitry (I know, I know, it's spelled different than the movie version) in character it was in a few promotional pictures I discovered on Tumblr after seeing a short little promo ad on YouTube. And believe me, when you're not expecting a promo ad for a musical you only thought was in-the-making, it can really take you by surprise. I think I choked on my spit. Naturally, straight to Tumblr I went.

And that's when I saw them. A picture of Dmitry sat atop a bench, looking out into the distance, and Anya on the other end of the bench, staring at him (with heart eyes, don't even argue with me about this).