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The legend of the Russian princess Anastasia has her traveling from St. Petersburg to Paris. Now the big splashy musical about her has accomplished the journey from Hartford to Broadway. Previews for the Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty/Terrence McNally musical began March 23 at the Broadhurst Theatre on West 44th Street in New York City, with opening night scheduled for April 24.

“Anastasia” set box office records when it premiered at Hartford Stage last year. The cast and creative team are virtually the same as they were in Hartford, including Christy Altomare in the title role, Derek Klena as Dmitry, John Bolton as Vlad, Caroline O’Connor as Countess Lily, Mary Beth Peil as the Dowager Empress. Of the lead players, only Ramin Karimloo — as the Soviet officer Gleb who pursues the unwitting princess on her odyssey from poverty to royalty — is new to the cast. (Manoel Felciano played the role at Hartford Stage.) Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak remains “Anastasia”‘s director, and has suggested that there have been some minor changes made to the show since its Hartford run. Details at anastasiabroadway.com.

Light’s On

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford is giving its 17th annual Monte Cristo Award to the actress and LGBT activist Judith Light. The guy who’ll be presenting the award to Light is pretty cool too: Thomas Kail, the director of “Hamilton,” “In the Heights” and TV’s “Grease Live!”

Judith Light will receive the 2017 Monte Cristo Award from the O'Neill Theater Center.
Judith Light will receive the 2017 Monte Cristo Award from the O’Neill Theater Center.

Both Light and Kail are alums of the O’Neill Center’s summer “conferences” where new shows are workshopped. Light, who appeared in three staged readings at the O’Neill back in 1977, has won Tony Awards for “Other Desert Cities” and “Assembled Parties.” Generations of TV watchers know her as Angela on “Who’s the Boss” (a series that was set in Fairfield) and Karen Wolek (circa 1977-83) on the soap “One Life to Live.”

The Monte Cristo Award ceremony, and gala dinner, will be held in New York on May 21. Details at theoneill.org.

There Goes New Neighborhood

New Neighborhood is on the move. The multidisciplinary collective, started by playwright Rolin Jones, director Jackson Gay and a bunch of other Yale School of Drama alums following the success of “These Paper Bullets!” at Yale Rep in 2014, has unleashed a slew of new theater, TV and music projects. Top among them are the TV series “The Exorcist” (which credits Jones as an executive producer) and a theater event at Washington D.C.’s Studio Theatre in which Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” (directed by Gay) and “No Sisters,” a new play by Aaron Posner (whose adaptation of “The Chosen” was at Playhouse on Park last year) are performed simultaneously, in two different venues, with some of the cast members dashing from one show to the other.

Move back to Connecticut already, New Neighborhood! Details at newneighborhood.net.

No, Not That Trump

I love when famous writers make fun of theater trends: Ring Lardner’s Dada rip-off “Clemo Uti — The Water Lilies,” George S. Kaufman’s Tennessee Williams parody “Big Casino is Little Casino,” William Aytoun’s 1854 epic “Firmilian: A Spasmodic Tragedy.”

Just found a fine example of theater mockery in “Trump — The Complete Collection,” a long-awaited hardcover reprint of the short-lived 1956 humor magazine edited by genius “Mad” creator Harvey Kurtzman and published by Hugh Hefner. It’s a three-page parody of Arthur Miller, titled “Death to a Salesman” and written by none other than Mel Brooks. In it, professional pickpocket Harry and his wife Mae despair that their son Stanley will not follow in his father’s criminal footsteps.

Stanley: I know this is gonna sound strange, by you’ve gotta listen to me. Mom, I got a job … an honest job!!

[Mae gives him a big hit in the face, knocking him to the floor.]

Mae: I told you never to use that kind of language in this house.

“Trump — The Complete Collection” is published by Fantagraphics Books, fantagraphics.com.

Connect The Dots

Yale Rep is currently presenting the musical “Assassins,” which will be followed by the new Amy Herzog play “Mary Jane,” which will be directed by Anne Kauffman… who in June will directing a new production of the musical “Assassins” in New York.

Hartford Stage’s most recent show was Caryl Churchill’s classic social satire “Cloud 9.” Hartford Stage’s next show is “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey,” written and performed by James Lecesne… who appeared in the off Broadway production of “Cloud 9” in the early ’80s.

Last year around this time, David Harris and Stephen DeRosa were appearing together in the uproarious “Anything Goes” at the Goodspeed Opera House. This month, both are back in Connecticut, appearing in darker musical fare: Harris plays the barely-holding-it-together husband Dan in “Next to Normal” at TheaterWorks, while DeRosa is Charles Guiteau, the man who killed President Garfield, in “Assassins” at Yale Rep.

Stephen DeRosam keft, and David Harris as they appeared in “Anything Goes” last year at the Goodspeed Opera House. Both actors are back in Connecticut this month, doing much darker fare.

Filling The ‘Room’

You’ll find familiar faces in the cast of the world premiere of Adam Gopnik and David Shire’s musical “The Most Beautiful Room in New York.” Anastasia Barzee played the title role in “Kiss Me Kate” at Hartford Stage. Joe Cassidy was in “The Last Five Years” at TheaterWorks. Darlesia Cearcy was in “Nicolette and Aucassin” at Westport Playhouse in 2000. Krystina Alabado was in the Yale Institute of Music Theatre workshop of “Pregnancy Pact.” Danielle Ferland, who hails from Derby, was in “Into the Woods” at Westport Playhouse.

Tyler Jones will be seen in “Newsies” this summer at Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Mark Nelson’s many previous shows at Long Wharf include “My Name is Asher Lev,” “Underneath the Lintel” and “Abstract Expression.” Anne Horak was in the last musical Long Wharf did, “My Paris.” And Constantine Maroulis, before he was an “American Idol” contestant and a Broadway star, appeared in a non-Equity tour of “Rent” at the Shubert in New Haven.

“Most Beautiful” cast members who seemingly haven’t yet set foot on a Connecticut stage are Ryan Duncan, Allan K. Washington and Sawyer Niehaus.

It goes without saying that this ensemble has scads of New York theater credits amongst them. Cassidy is fresh from “Waitress.” Maroulis starred in “Rock of Ages” and “Jekyll & Hyde.” New York City is where this show is set — at a fancy restaurant in Union Square. Long Wharf Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein directs. Details at longwharf.org.

Ruhl Rules

Sarah Ruhl’s second premiere of this theater season, “How to Transcend a Happy Marriage,” opened at the Lincoln Center Theater last week. It’s directed by Rebecca Taichman, also represented in New York right now with “Indecent,” which premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in 2015. Ruhl’s “Scenes from Court Life, or the whipping boy and his prince” world-premiered at Yale Rep this past September. She’s also continuing to work with Elvis Costello on their musical version of Budd Schulberg’s social satire “A Face in the Crowd.”

One of Sarah Ruhl’s early hits, her feminist take on the Greek myth “Eurydice,” is currently being staged, through April 2, at Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Details for “Eurydice” are at crt.uconn.edu.