Tony Nominee Ramin Karimloo to Return to Broadway in Anastasia

Ramin Karimloo is journeying back to Broadway! The Tony nominee has boarded the company of Anastasia, which is scheduled to open at the Main Stem’s Broadhurst Theatre on April 24, 2017. Directed by Tony winner Darko Tresnjak, the new musical, which recently made its world premiere at Hartford Stage in Connecticut, reunites the Tony-winning creative team behind Ragtime and features a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens.

Karimloo will take on the role of Gleb, the antagonist, who he played in the show’s 2015 workshop. (Manoel Felciano appeared as Gleb at Hartford.) For those familiar with the 1997 movie version, the character replaces Rasputin and is a secret police officer. Karimloo received a 2014 Tony nomination his performance as Jean Valjean in the recent Les Miz revival, a role he also played in London. Other credits include appearing as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera in the West End, in the 25th anniversary concert filmed at Royal Albert Hall and in the long-running tuner's sequel, Love Never Dies.

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. Inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox movie, the tuner features songs from the film, including Ahrens and Flaherty’s Oscar-nominated “Journey to the Past,” as well as an entirely new score.

The company will also include the previously announced Christy Altomare as Anya, Derek Klena as Dmitry, John Bolton as Vlad Popov and Caroline O’Connor as Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch, in the roles they originated at Hartford Stage. Full casting will be announced later.

The Broadhurst is currently playing host to the starry Nathan Lane-led limited engagement, The Front Page.