Ramapo High School has two performances every year consisting of a fall play and a spring musical. The 2024 fall play is The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women. It’s an interactive comedy that allows the audience to participate with the show by giving them the ability to choose what happens next. The formatting of this production is a play-within-a-play, which means the people on stage are acting out another play while still being in character. The Anastasia Trials is about a radical feminist theater company that comes together in order to perform a courtroom drama about the rumored survivor of the imperial family of Russia, Anastasia Romanov. Though the play is not historically accurate, it offers an alternative view of what could have happened if Anastasia had survived.
Marissa Colangelo, a Senior at Ramapo High School, has been a valued member of Gold Masque since her sophomore year. She plays Diane, the director of the Emma Goldman Theater Brigade, and the prosecuting attorney in The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women. Marissa wants the audience to expect “a great time of interactivity” and she wants everyone to expect “a lot of humor, especially when Clara Peuthert enters the stage.” When asked for more details about the show, she stated, “well, you’ll just have to come to the show and find out.”
The play consists of nine female actresses: Betty, Diane, Athena, Marie, Donna, Melissa, Amy, Lisa, and Jenny who all have their own roles in the courtroom. Betty as the Bailiff, Diane as Prosecuting attorney, Athena as Defense Attorney, Marie as Clara Peuthert, Donna as Shura Tegleva, Melissa as Thea Malinowsky, Amy as Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, Lisa as Zinaida Tolstoy, and lastly, Jenny as Anastasia Romanov.
The Russian Revolution led to the end of the Romanov dynasty when Tsar Nicholas II abdicated in 1917. The Bolsheviks detained the royal family, eventually leading to their execution in 1918. According to a newsletter in The Guardian, in 1991, nine skeletons were found in a Russian grave and were eventually identified by Russian forensic experts through DNA testing. The DNA testing revealed the nine skeletons to be the last Tsar, Tsarina, three children, the physician, and the servants. Despite rumors, Discover Magazine explained that Anastasia was not the only person missing when the family was found. In fact, there were even more people missing from the gravesite, with Prince Alexei and Princess Maria’s graves still undiscovered, leading to ongoing mystery and speculation about their fate. “No one survived, and anyone who claimed otherwise was an imposter” (Discover Magazine).
Each reenactment of the historic event has a different ending, but The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women portrays Anastasia Romanov’s family being killed by the Bolshevik firing squad. The production confirms rumors of Anastasia’s survival, showcasing her encounters with friends, coworkers, and enemies after her survival.
In an interview with Becca Corrado, the artistic director and the club advisor of Gold Masque, she says that the club had been working hard on the show for about ten weeks prior to the opening night on Thursday, November 21. When asked what her favorite part of directing the show was, she stated, “Honestly, just working with you girls because you’re all so nice and you’re all just so confident and excited to work with each other. That’s what makes me excited to work with all of you.” Her last few words for the readers of Rampage were, “Come see the show and/or audition for Xanadu in December for the spring musical. Continue to support the arts. The arts are everything in the entire world. All of your favorite actors started as theater kids.”
