ANASTASIA the Musical opens tonight at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, and the anticipation feels city wide.

After years of waiting, the Australian premiere finally arrives and the excitement is full blown, the kind usually reserved for blockbuster openings where nostalgia meets curiosity and theatregoers and lifelong Fantasias are hungry for the moment. At this exclusive media call, that pre opening electricity was palpable, a production standing right on the brink of something big.

Inspired by the mystery of Anastasia Romanov and the animated classic that revived her legend, this production opens the story out with stunning cinematic sweep. It moves from the fading luxury of Imperial Russia to the glittering promise of 1920s Paris as Anya searches for the truth of her past. With danger on her heels and two unlikely allies at her side, she forges a journey shaped by identity, belonging and the hope of finding home.

This is more than a stage adaptation of the beloved 1997 film. It is a reimagining. With new music, fresh faces and a deeper emotional pulse, Anastasia expands the story audiences thought they knew and elevates it into something richer, more resonant and unmistakably theatrical for a whole new generation of musical theatre lovers.

The creative team spoke passionately about honouring the original story while diving into the musical’s expanded world, balancing fan favourite moments with a bold, more sophisticated vision and richer characters. Lyricist Lynn Ahrens reflected on shaping the story’s emotional core for the stage, and the whole team spoke with real affection for this material as we were treated to three dazzling numbers.

Leading lady Georgina Hopson takes on Anya with vocals so clean and confident you know the role is safe from her very first note. With credits spanning Titanique, Phantom, Bananaland, Jekyll and Hyde and her Green Room Award for Ragtime, she brings heart, star power and a bright, irresistible charge that lights up the stage the moment she steps onto it.

When she joins Robert Tripolino for “My Petersburg,” that charge sharpens into something electric, a duet that crackles with tension, warmth and the kind of chemistry that promises the journey ahead. Then comes the number everyone waits for, “Journey to the Past,” delivered with such haunting, spine‑tingling beauty that the entire room seems to hold its breath.

And then there is “Land of Yesterday,” where the wonderful Rhonda Burchmore turns the entire number into a masterclass in comic glamour. She hits the stage like a slice of lemon dropped into a crystal glass, sharp, zesty and instantly effervescent, cutting through the scene with that unmistakable Burchmore bite. It is bold, cheeky and one of the show’s most delicious jolts of energy.The ensemble’s dancing is tight and expressive, moving from sharp tap rhythms to bold Cossack bursts that light up the stage.

The backdrop shifts from the frosted grandeur of Imperial Russia to the warm, romantic glow of 1920s Paris with a cinematic sweep that feels like stepping into a storybook. The sumptuous costumes echo that transformation, moving from muted winter palettes to lush Parisian elegance and creating a visual world that feels expansive, polished and emotionally in step with Anya’s journey.

ANASTASIA has something for everyone: the nostalgia kids, the theatre lovers, the families, the romantics and especially the proud Fantasias who grew up wearing out their VHS tapes. It sweeps you from the frost of Imperial Russia to the glitter of 1920s Paris with music that hits straight in the chest and staging that feels big, bold and completely absorbing. You get heart, humour, mystery, a heroine finding her voice and those goosebump moments we all wait for. It is the kind of show you walk out of feeling lifted, a little dazzled and maybe even believing in magic again.

Take your mum, take your best friend, take your inner child. This one is for all of us.

Anastasia opens tonight, 10 April, through to 25 May 2026 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

For further details see: https://anastasiathemusical.com.au/

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