For my birthday last year, I bought myself a last-minute ticket for Anastasia the Musical.

I was excited, looking forward to a spectacular dress transformation in “Once Upon a December,” to the live musical twist on the fantasy, to Dmitri enchanting.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed; and I ended up staying up late that night to watch the animated film, which reminded me even more distinctly how much better it was. 

There were many “small” choices that bothered me about the musical’s execution. One of the biggest was that the actress who plays Countess Lily, aka the Sophie analogue, is thin. From when I was young, Sophie being so sexy while being unapologetically fat, without it being a big joke, was vital for me, and I was incredibly disappointed to see a rather thin actress play her. “Once Upon a December” was not nearly as big as I anticipated it would be, especially considering that the scene of the ballet was so breathtaking—they could have done better for sure.

The creators of the musical took an interesting turn that had tremendous potential: they decided to make the story more realistic, getting rid of the demonic sorcerer Rasputin and the green monsters that haunt the film. It was an intriguing twist with a lot of potential, but ultimately, it didn’t work because of their indecision and their failure to commit to the idea fully.