''Anna Karenina'' is a 1992 musical with a book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg and music by Daniel Levine. Based on the classic 1877

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

novel of the same name, it focuses on the tragic title character, a fashionable but unhappily married woman, and her ill-fated

liaison Liaison means communication between two or more groups, or co-operation or working together. Liaison or liaisons may refer to: General usage * Affair, an unfaithful sexual relationship * Collaboration * Co-operation Arts and entertainment * Li ...

with Count Vronsky, which ultimately leads to her downfall. Directed by

Theodore Mann Theodore Mann, birth name Goldman, (May 13, 1924 – February 24, 2012) was an American theatre producer and director and the Artistic Director of the Circle in the Square Theatre School. Mann co-founded Circle in the Square Theatre, widel ...

, the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production opened on August 26, 1992, at the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, in the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of two Broadway theaters that use a thrust stage that extends ...

and ran for 46 performances. The cast included Ann Crumb in the title role and John Cunningham as Nicolai Karenin.

Synopsis

In 1870s Russia, Anna Karenina is a virtuous woman married to a government official 15 years older than she. Anna falls in love with the handsome and charming Count Alexei Vronsky, but she is torn by her loyalty to her husband and small son. Meanwhile, Vronsky had first courted Ekaterina "Kitty" Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky, who chose him over gentleman farmer Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin. When Vronsky falls in love with Anna instead, Kitty becomes ill, and Levin, heartsick, withdraws to his country estate. Kitty and Levin finally declare their love for each other. Anna's choice of love over duty leads to tragedy: Her affair with Vronsky is revealed, and she is shunned; eventually, she throws herself in front of an oncoming train.

Broadway production

After 18 previews, the Broadway production, directed by Theodore Mann and choreographed by

Patricia Birch Patricia Birch (born October 16, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, film director, and theatre director. Early life Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Birch began her career as a dancer in Broadway musicals, including ''Brigadoon'', ''Goldi ...

, and associate choreographer, Jonathan Stuart Cerullo, opened on August 26, 1992, at the

. In keeping with the theater's small size (by Broadway standards), the staging included a sparse set, an almost bare stage, and only seven members in the orchestra, with orchestrations by

Peter Matz Peter Matz (November 6, 1928 – August 9, 2002) was an American musician, composer, arranger and conductor. His musical career in film, theater, television and studio recording spanned fifty years, and he worked with a number of prominent ...

.Henry, William A
"A Big Epic Writ Small"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', September 7, 1992. Retrieved September 5, 2007 In addition to Crumb and Cunningham, the cast included Scott Wentworth as Vronsky,

Gregg Edelman Gregg Edelman (born September 12, 1958) is an American movie, television and theatre actor. Biography Edelman was born in Chicago, Illinois, attended Niles North High School, where he starred as Li'l Abner opposite future soap star Nancy Lee G ...

as Constantin Levin,

Melissa Errico Melissa Errico (born March 23, 1970)"Melissa Errico"
profile,

as Princess Kitty Scherbatssky, and Jerry Lanning as Prince Oblonsky. ''Anna Karenina'' was received poorly by the critics. ''

'' deemed it "earnest, intermittently moving but never quite thrilling", and ''

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'' was harsher, calling the show a "series of misperceptions and errors in judgment." Other critics believed the musical's approach to be trivial, including ''

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'', which called the musical "comic-strip Tolstoy". The musical ran for 46 performances. It received

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nominations for Best Actress in a Musical ( Ann Crumb), Best Book of a Musical, Best Score of a Musical, and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (

),Evans, Greg
Tony bids: 'Tommy,' 'Kiss' 11; 'Angels' 9
''

'', May 11, 1993. Retrieved September 5, 2007 as well as a Drama Desk Award nomination for Lanning. A recording of the musical released on August 7, 2007, stars

Melissa Errico Melissa Errico (born March 23, 1970)"Melissa Errico"
profile,

as Anna,

as Levin, Brian d'Arcy James as Vronsky,

Jeff McCarthy Jeffrey Charles McCarthy (born October 16, 1954) is an American actor and director. Early life McCarthy was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Santa Maria, California - growing up blocks away from the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, ...

as Karenin,

Marc Kudisch Marc Kudisch (born September 22, 1966) is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway. Early life and education Kudisch was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Florence and Raymond Kudisch. His fami ...

as Oblonsky and

Kerry Butler Kerry Butler is an American actress and singer known primarily for her work in theatre. She is best known for originating the roles of Barbara Maitland in ''Beetlejuice'', Penny Pingleton in ''Hairspray'', and Clio/Kira in '' Xanadu'', the latt ...

as Kitty. In 2006, a version of the Dan Levine, Peter Kellogg musical was produced and performed in Japan. The original Japan cast included Maki Ichiro, Yoshio Inoue, Hitomi Harukaze. A two-DVD set with a length of more than three hours of the Japanese language production is available. There is also a CD of the songs sung in Japanese.

Musical numbers

;Act I Prologue: St. Petersburg Train Station *On a Train – Anna, Vronsky, Levin, Chorus Scene 1: Moscow train station, next morning *There's More to Life Than Love – Stiva and Anna Scene 2: – Kitty Scherbatsky's house, later the same day *How Awful – Kitty *Would You? – Levin *In a Room – Levin, Kitty, Anna, Vronsky Scene 3: A ball, a few days later *Waltza and Mazurka – Anna, Kitty, Vronsky, Stiva, Chorus Scene 4: A small station between Moscow and St. Petersburg, the next night Scene 5: Anna's house in St. Petersburg *Nothing Has Changed – Anna Scene 6: Prince Tversky's home, that night *Lowlands – Basso Scene 7: Croquet Lawn, several weeks later *Rumors – Chorus Scene 8: Kitty's house *How Many Men? – Kitty Scene 9: A small dance in St. Petersburg *We Were Dancing – Vronsky Scene 10: On the way home *I'm Lost – Anna Scene 11: Anna's house *Karenin's List – Karenin Scene 12: Vronsky's apartment *Waiting for You – Anna and Vronsky ;Act II Scene 1: Anna's house, three months later *This Can't Go On – Anna, Vronsky, Karenin Scene 2: Levin's estate and Italy *Peasant's Idyll – Chorus *That Will Serve Her Right – Levin Scene 3: A villa in Rome *Everything's Fine – Anna and Vronsky Scene 4: Kitty's house *Would You (Reprise) – Levin and Kitty Scene 5: A hotel in Moscow *Everything's Fine (Reprise) – Anna Scene 6: Karenin's house *Only at Night – Karenin Scene 7: St. Petersburg Train Station *Finale – Anna and Chorus

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anna Karenina 1992 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on novels