Amahl, cut from finer cloth than those eye-rolling movies, tells of an imaginary boy whose high spirits belie both the stark poverty in which he and his mother live and his disability: He is lame in one leg and walks with a crutch. Yet he has retained a loving heart and a generous spirit, both of which are key to the story. In addition to the brilliant puppetry by Paul Mesner (who designed and built the life-sized rod puppets, controlled from below), the Lyric has assembled a fine cast of singers, largely from its Resident Artist Program. At the heart of opening night was the luscious singing of Aubrey Odle, whose warm, plummy mezzo-soprano lent authenticity and pathos to the role of the Mother. Young Delilah Rose Pellow sang Amahl with a crystal-bright voice and a remarkable knack for pitch.
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The role of Alison is split between three actresses: “Alison” as the creator of the book, “Small Alison” at her youngest age (maybe eight or ten), and college freshman “Middle Alison.” All three of these actresses give extraordinary performances. It was the memory of Small Alison’s earliest gay awakening seeing an “old-school butch” delivery woman in “Ring of Keys” that made me first pull out my Kleenex, but I didn’t put them back away for the rest of the entire show. Those Alisons, played (from youngest to oldest) by Delilah Rose Pellow, Ellen Nikbakht, and Lauren Braton each give incredible performances. "FUN HOME (the musical) is, according to KC Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Stuart Carden, "the most important new musical theater piece" of the last decade. 2015 American Theatre Wing voters agreed by rewarding FUN HOME with Tony awards for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Lead Actor, and Best Director. FUN HOME is a non-linear coming-of-age tale from the successful graphic novel by gay cartoonist Alison Bechdel. It tells the mainly dark family saga of Bechdel's childhood and college years as seen through the adult Alison's (Lauren Braton) memories of earlier times. Young Alison is played by Delilah Rose Pellow. She already knows she is somehow different from other little girls. Dad Bruce clearly dotes on her. He lives with his own demons, but like the Mom would prefer it if young Alison grew up to be a wife and Mom. Everyone associated with FUN HOME is excellent. All three Alisons are super performers." The persistent legend, mystique and fascination of what may have happened to Anastasia after her Russian royal family was executed in 1918 finds a new home in the musical, Anastasia. It's daunting subject matter to be sure, covering revolution, the death of the Romanov family and the rumor that Anastasia may have survived the carnage of her ill-fated family - but playwright Terrence McNally was up for the task. He started with the 1997 animated film of the same name as his template, excising characters, trimming a little here and adding a bit there. Then he teamed up with Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, who wrote the original score for the movie, and together this creative team wrapped the legend with layers of music, romance, history and yes, comedy for the Broadway stage, much to the audience's delight. Visually stunning (Projections designs by Aaron Rhyne) and richly costumed (Linda Cho captures both pomp and pageantry as well as peasant austerity), Anastasia takes the audience into the crosswinds of history and mythic imagination for a wistful look into the past and hopeful eye to the future. The story begins in 1906 with a short prologue that introduces us to 6-year-old Anastasia (the charming and delightful Delilah Rose Pellow on opening night). She's sad that her "nana," the Dowager Empress (play with stately grace by Joy Franz) is leaving for Paris before the last ball of the winter season in Petersburg. The gift of a music box to her favorite granddaughter and assurances of meeting again in Paris placate the young child. Grandmama departs and Anastasia goes with her family to the ball. Director Darko Tresnjak uses the beautiful ballroom setting to introduce us to the family and their court. are Dressed in formal royal attire they glide across the dance floor while snow flurries speak of the cold outside the palace windows (Scenic design by Alexander Dodge). Anastasia dances with her father, Czar Nicholas II (Brad Greer), and as she goes around a pillar, suddenly we're in 1917 and the teenaged Anastasia (Lila Coogan) is dancing at the ball that takes place right before the family is executed by the Bolsheviks. The musical begins with a dramatic flashback to the end of the Romanov family's reign, marked with stunning white, gold and glittering traditional costumes, crowns studded with sparkling jewels, and gala balls that look like a snow globe fantasy come to life. (Linda Cho's stunning costume design covers many countries, time periods and social classes.) There we meet Little Anastasia (a perky Delilah Rose Pellow in the performance I attended) and the Dowager Empress (Joy Franz, whose characterization unfortunately veered to melodrama and whose voice was not up to the task of delivering her solos). Delilah is thrilled to announce that after her year long run with ANASTASIA on Broadway, she has joined the cast of the First National Tour! She is reprising her role of Little Anastasia/Alexei on tour, and couldn't be more happy to continue her journey with this show. For more information and to buy tickets, click here! KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- A young actress appearing in Monday night's episode of the CBS hit-show "Bull" is from the metro. Delilah Rose Pellow was born and raised in Lee's Summit. The 11-year-old is living in New York City for the last year playing a young Anastasia on Broadway. "It's amazing. I love it. It's so fun," she said. But, Delilah got her start in Kansas City in youth theater at the age of 3 and then hit the stage at Starlight Theatre and played Cindy Lou Who in the national tour of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." However, this is her first step into television. "I did my scene and really had to go into that character because it's an emotional character. Then, they called me a couple of days later and told me I got the role," Delilah said. "Bull" with guest-star Delilah airs at 9 p.m. on KCTV5. Delilah is happy to announce that after three months of understudying, she has moved full time in to the role of Little Anastasia and Alexei Romanov doing all 8 shows a week! Delilah began performances in her new track on July 10th. Be sure to follow Delilah on Instagram for more updates! For tickets to ANASTASIA on Broadway, click here to visit the official website. Also, be sure to check out Delilah on the Internet Broadway Database and on BroadwayWorld!
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