Mary Beth Peil joins cast of Broadway's Anastasia

Tony nominee Mary Beth Peil will officially reprise her role as Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in the Broadway premiere of the stage adaptation of the 1997 animated musical Anastasia. She originated the role in the Hartford Stage world premiere earlier this year.

Mary Beth Peil will first take on the role of Madame de Rosemonde in the Broadway revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses this season, which begins previews tomorrow at the Booth Theatre and runs through to 22 January 2017. She was last seen on Broadway in 'The Visit' and she earned a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut as Anna Leonowens in 'The King and I' in 1985. Other Broadway credits include 'Follies,' 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,' 'Sunday in the Park with George,' and 'Nine.' She is also known for her TV role as Jackie Florrick on CBS' "The Good Wife."

Ms. Peil joins previously announced cast members Christy Altomare (Anya), Derek Klena (Dmitry), John Bolton (Vlad Popov), and Caroline O'Connor (Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch), who are all reprising their respective roles from the world premiere Hartford production, as well as Tony and Olivier nominee Ramin Karimloo (Gleb).

Anastasia begins previews at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre on 23 March 2017, before an official opening on 24 April.

Anastasia is helmed by Hartford Stage Artistic Director and Tony winner Darko Tresnjak and features a book by Terrence McNally, with music by Tony winner Stephen Flaherty & lyrics by Tony winner Lynn Ahrens.

Synopsis: "From the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, the new musical, Anastasia, is the romantic, adventure-filled story of a brave young woman attempting to discover the mystery of her past. The new musical is inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Pictures."

The creative team behind Anastasia features choreography by Peggy Hickey, music supervision & direction by Thomas Murray, orchestrations by Doug Besterman, scenic design by Alexander Dodge, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Donald Holder, sound design by Peter Hylenski, projection design by Aaron Rhyne, and hair & wig design by Charles LaPointe.

Anastasia is produced on Broadway by Stage Entertainment USA, Bill Taylor and Tom Kirdahy Productions.

Twentieth Century Fox's 1997 animated feature Anastasia was nominated for two Oscars: Best Score (Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and David Newman) and Best Original Song (Ahrens and Flaherty) for "Journey To The Past." It featured the voice talents of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, Kirsten Dunst, Andrea Martin, and Dame Angela Lansbury.

- by Tom Millward