Producers of Broadway's Anastasia Served With Plagiarism Lawsuit

A plagiarism lawsuit has been served on the producers of Anastasia, which is set to begin performances on March 23, 2017 at the Broadhurst Theatre and will officially open on April 24. According to the New York Post, Jean-Etienne de Becdelievre, an heir of Marcelle Maurette, who wrote a 1952 play called Anastasia, wants to stop the show until an agreement on licensing can be made.

A production spokesperson sent Broadway.com the following statement on behalf of the producers. "Plaintiff’s case is wholly without merit. While the works may start with the basic idea of the historical story of the real-life Anastasia Romanov, copyright law does not protect ideas or historical facts. Moreover, the works involved are not similar: the Broadway production has a different plot, different characters, and different settings, not to mention the numerous songs that appear in the Broadway musical that do not appear in Plaintiff’s straight play. We are particularly disappointed about the filing as the production went out of its way to explain these myriad differences to Mr. Becdelievre to resolve the issue. We look forward to responding to the claims in court."

Directed by Tony winner Darko Tresnjak, the production reunites the Tony-winning creative team behind Ragtime: book writer Terrence McNally, composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens. The cast will include Christy Altomare, Derek Klena, Ramin Karimloo and Mary Beth Peil.

From the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, the new musical is the romantic, adventure-filled story of a brave young woman attempting to discover the mystery of her past. The tuner features songs from the Twentieth Century Fox animated film, including Ahrens and Flaherty’s Oscar-nominated “Journey to the Past,” as well as new additions to the score.