St. Petersburg, 1927
"Revolúcia je jednoduchá vec."
A Rumor in St. Petersburg
TOWNSPEOPLE:
The Neva flows
A new wind blows
And soon it will be spring
GLEB (spoken):
I hear you comrades,
The revolution hears you
Together, we will forge a new Russia
And we'll be the envy of all the World
The Czars St. Petersburg
Is now the people's Leningrad
DMITRY (spoken):
They can call it Leningrad
But it will always be Petersburg
New name, same empty stomachs!
(sung)
They tell us times are better
Well, I say they're not
Can't cook an empty promise
In an empty pot
"A brighter day is dawning
It's almost at hand!"
The skies are gray, the walls have ears
And he who argues disappears
DMITRY & TOWNSPEOPLE:
Hail our brave new land
TOWNSPEOPLE:
St. Petersburg is booming
A city on the rise
WOMAN:
It's really very friendly
WOMAN 2:
If you don't mind spies
Sshh
MAN:
We stand behind our leaders
MAN 2:
And stand in line for bread
TOWNSPEOPLE:
We're good and loyal comrades
And our fav'rite color's red
DMITRY:
Now, everyone is equal
Professors push the brooms
DMITRY & ENSEMBLE:
Two dozen total strangers
Live in two small rooms
You hold a revolution
And here's the price you pay
Thank goodness for the gossip
MEN:
Spazibo za slukhi!
TOWNSPEOPLE:
Thank goodness for the gossip
That gets us through the day
Hey!
Have you heard?
There's a rumor in St. Petersburg
Have you heard
What they're saying on the street?
MAN:
Although the Tsar did not survive
One daughter may be still alive
TOWNSPEOPLE:
The Princess Anastasia
MAN:
But please do not repeat
TOWNSPEOPLE:
It's a rumor
A legend
A mystery
Something whispered in an alleyway
Or through a crack
It's a rumor
That's part of our history
WOMAN:
They say her royal grandmama
Will pay a royal sum
TOWNSPEOPLE:
To someone who can bring the princess back
VLAD (spoken):
Dimitry, they've closed another border,
We should've gotten out of Russia while we still could!
(sung)
St. Petersburg was lovely
When royalty was in
I called myself a count
As though I'd always been
I hobnobbed with the royals
But then a change of luck-
The Tsar was dead
The royals fled
And comrade, now we're stuck!
DMITRY (spoken):
Vlad! I've been thinking about the Princess Anastasia.
VLAD (spoken):
Oh, not you too, Dmitry!
DMITRY:
It's the rumor
The legend
The mystery
It's the Princess Anastasia
Who will help us fly
You and I, friend
Will go down in history
We'll find a girl to play the part
And teach her what to say
Dress her up and take her to Paree
VLAD:
Imagine the reward
Her dear old grandmama would pay
BOTH:
Who else could pull it off but you and me?
ANYA (spoken):
No!
GLEB (spoken):
It was a truck backfiring, comrade, that's all it was
Those days are over, neighbor against neighbor
There's nothing to be afraid of anymore...
You're shaking... There's a tea shop just steps from here, let me-
ANYA (spoken):
Thank you
GLEB (spoken):
What's your hurry?
ANYA (spoken):
I can't lose this job,
They're not easy to come by...
But thank you
GLEB (spoken):
I´'m here everyday
MAN:
A ruble for this painting
It's a Romanov, I swear!
MAN 2:
Count Yusupov's pajamas, comrade
Buy the pair!
MAN 3:
I found this in a palace
Initialed with an "A"
It could be Anastasia's
Now what would someone pay?
DMITRY (spoken):
We need something of hers to show the old lady!
How much is that music box?
SALESMAN (spoken):
Ah... the music box, it's genuine Romanov
I could never part with it!
DMITRY (spoken):
Two cans of beans, comrade?
SALESMAN (spoken):
Done.
DMITRY (spoken):
Do you believe in fairytales, Vlad?
VLAD (spoken):
Once upon a time, I did.
DMITRY (spoken):
We're going to create a fairytale the whole world will believe!
(sung)
Now it's risky
But not more than usual
We'll need papers
We'll need tickets
We'll need nerves of steel
VLAD:
Yes it's risky
A lot more than usual
DMITRY:
We'll try to cross the border
With our princess and our plot
VLAD:
Hopefully disaster won't ensue
DMITRY:
With luck it all goes smoothly
VLAD:
And with luck we won't be shot
BOTH:
Who else could pull it off
But me and you
DMITRY (VLAD):
We'll be rich (We'll be rich)
We'll be out (We'll be out)
BOTH:
And St. Petersburg will have some more to talk about
TOWNSPEOPLE:
I heard it from a person
Assured me it was absolutely true
Sshh!
Have you heard?
There's a rumor in St. Petersburg
Have you heard
Comrade, what do you suppose?
VLAD:
A fascinating mystery
DMITRY:
The biggest con in history
DMITRY, VLAD & TOWNSPEOPLE:
The Princess Anastasia
Alive or dead
Who knows?
Sshh!
In My Dreams
ANYA:
They said I was found by the side of a road
There were tracks all around, it had recently snowed
In the darkness and cold with the wind in the trees
A girl with no name, and no memories but these
Rain against a window, sheets upon a bed
Terrifying nurses whispering overhead
"Call the child Anya, give the child a hat"
I don't know a thing before that
Traveling the back roads, sleeping in the wood
Taking what I needed, working when I could
Keeping up my courage, foolish as it seems
At night all alone in my dreams
In my dreams shadows call
There's a light at the end of a hall
Then my dreams fade away
But I know it all will come back
One day
I dream of a city beyond all compare
Is it Paris? Paris...
A beautiful river, a bridge by a square
And I hear a voice whisper
"I'll meet you right there in Paris"
Paris...
You don't know what it's like
Not to know who you are
To have lived in the shadows
And travelled this far
I've seen flashes of fire
Heard the echo of screams
But I still have this faith
In the truth of my dreams!
In my dreams it's all real
And my heart has so much to reveal
And my dreams seem to say
"Don't be afraid to go on
Don't give up hope, come what may"
I know it all will come back
One day!
Learn to Do It
ANYA:
How do you become the person you've forgotten you ever were?
VLAD:
Take a deep breath. Close your eyes, and imagine another time, another world
(sung)
You were born in a palace by the sea
DMITRY:
A palace by the sea
ANYA:
Could it be?
VLAD:
Yes, it's so
You rode horseback when you were only three
ANYA (spoken):
Horseback riding? Me?
DMITRY:
Horse's name?
VLAD:
Romeo
You threw tantrums and terrorized the cook!
Ha! How the palace shook!
DMITRY (spoken):
Charming child
VLAD:
Wrote the book
But you'd behave when you father gave that look
DMITRY:
Imagine how it was
Your long forgotten past
VLAD & DMITRY:
We've lots and lots to teach you and the time is going fast
VLAD (spoken):
Let's see you walk. Head up! Regal bearing!
(sung)
Now, shoulders back and stand up tall
And do not walk, but try to float
ANYA:
I feel a little foolish
Am I floating?
DMITRY:
Like a sinking boat!
VLAD:
You give a bow
ANYA:
What happens now?
VLAD:
Your hand receives a kiss!
VLAD & DMITRY:
Most of all remember this:
VLAD:
If I can learn to do it
You can learn to do it
DMITRY:
Something in you knows it
VLAD & DMITRY:
There's nothing to it!
VLAD:
Follow in my footsteps
Shoe by shoe!
VLAD & DMITRY:
You can learn to do it too!
(spoken)
ANYA:
You're the ones who don't stand straight!
DMITRY:
It's all his years of bowing and kowtowing in court.
VLAD:
Bowing is a sign of respect.
DMITRY:
I bowed to someone once.
VLAD:
There! You admit it!
DMITRY:
I was a boy; I didn't know any better. That was the first and last time!
Where did you learn to do that?
VLAD:
I didn't teach you. She's a natural! Be seated, young lady!
(sung)
DMITRY:
Now, elbows in and sit up straight
And do not slurp the stroganoff!
ANYA (spoken):
I never cared for stroganoff!
VLAD:
She said that like a Romanov!
DMITRY:
The Samovar
VLAD:
The caviar
ANYA:
Dessert and then goodnight?
VLAD & DMITRY:
Not until you get this right!
VLAD:
If I can learn to do it
DMITRY:
If he can learn to do it
VLAD:
You can learn to do it!
DMITRY:
You can learn to do it
VLAD:
Pull yourself together
VLAD & DMITRY:
And you'll pull through it!
VLAD:
Tell yourself it's easy
VLAD & DMITRY:
And it's true!
You can learn to do it, too!
(spoken)
VLAD:
Who is your great-grandmother?
ANYA:
Queen Victoria
VLAD:
Great-great grandmother?
ANYA:
Uh- Princess Victoria of Saxe-Colburg-Saalfeld
VLAD:
Your best friend is?
ANYA:
My little brother, Alexei
DMITRY:
Wrong! Your best friend?
ANYA:
I know who my best friend is!
DMITRY:
What a temper!
ANYA:
I don't like being contradicted!
DMITRY:
That makes two of us!
VLAD:
Continuing on...
(sung)
ANYA:
I've had it, and I hate you both
I'm sorry that we ever met
I'm hungry, I'm frightened
And I'm only human, don't forget!
I don't remember anything
Get out and let me be!
VLAD:
Anya, darling, look at me
We're all frightened
Well, slightly, now and then
Shall we start again?
Take a breath, count to ten
You have courage
And strength you barely know
So blow that little nose
And dry those pretty eyes
A princess like your majesty
Can do this if she tries!
Ready?
DMITRY (spoken):
Set
ANYA (spoken):
Go!
VLAD:
Now here's your great Aunt Olga
DMITRY:
How she frolicked on the Volga
ANYA (spoken):
Oh!
VLAD:
Your distant cousin Vanya loved his vodka
DMITRY:
Got it, Anya?
ANYA:
No!
VLAD:
The Duke of Oldenburgh was short!
DMITRY:
Louise of Boden
ANYA:
Had a
DMITRY:
Wart!
VLAD:
Count Sergei
DMITRY:
Wore a feathered hat
VLAD:
I hear he's gotten very fat
ANYA:
And I recall his yellow cat!
VLAD (spoken):
I don't believe we told her that...
ANYA:
If you can learn to do it
I can learn to do it
VLAD:
Saw you and I knew it
ANYA:
I'm glad you knew it
Suddenly I feel like there's a chance
VLAD:
Not until you learn to dance
We have only just begun!
VLAD & DMITRY:
If you can learn to do it
ANYA:
I can learn to do it!
VLAD & DMITRY:
He can learn to do it
ANYA:
You can learn to do it!
VLAD & DMITRY:
Pull yourself together
ANYA, VLAD & DMITRY:
And we'll pull through it!
VLAD:
Tell yourself it's easy
ANYA, VLAD & DMITRY:
And it's true
VLAD & DMITRY:
You can learn to do it
ANYA:
Nothing to it!
ANYA, VLAD & DMITRY:
You can learn to do it...
ANYA (spoken):
The caviar, the stroganoff, the Samovar, the feathered hat, the cousin drank, the duke was short, here a wart and there a cat. The horse's name was Romeo, so tell me something new
VLAD & DMITRY:
Ha!
ANYA, VLAD & DMITRY:
You can learn to do it, too!
The Neva Flows
GLEB:
Be very careful of these rumors that prevail
Be very careful what you say
I was a boy who lived the truth behind the tale
And no one got away
I saw the children as the soldiers closed the gate
The youngest daughter and her pride
My father leaving on the night they met their fate
His pistol by his side
The Neva flows, a new wind blows
And soon it will be spring
The leaves unfold, the Tsar lies cold
A revolution is a simple thing
(spoken)
I heard the shots. I heard the screams. But it's the silence after I remember most
(sung)
The world stopped breathing
And I was no longer a boy
My father shook his head and told me not to ask
My mother said he died of shame
But I believe he did a proud and vital task
And in my father's name
The Neva flows, a new wind blows
And soon it will be spring
The leaves unfold, the Tsar lies cold
Could I have pulled the trigger
If I'd been told?
Be careful what a dream may bring
A revolution is a simple thing
My Petersburg
DMITRY:
I grew up on the sly
In the gutters and the streets of Petersburg
Just a kid on the fly
Getting good at getting by
In Petersburg
I've bartered for a blanket
Stolen for my bread
Learned to take my chances
And use my head
A Russian rat is clever
Clever or he ends up dead
Boils down to
There are some
Who survive
Some who don't
Some give up
Some give in
Me, I won't
Black and blue
Welcome to
My Petersburg
Standing here you can see
From the spires to the piers of Petersburg
I'd be down on that quay
Selling stolen souvenirs of Petersburg
The palaces above
And alleyways below
Funny when a city
Is all you know
How even when you hate it
Something in you loves it so
That's where I learned my stuff
In some rough company
There's a boy growing up
Who was me
All I've been
All I'll be
We can do what we're told
We can go where we're lead
But I learned from my father to see what's ahead
Nothing here to hold me
No one that I owe
Funny how a boy can grow
Funny how a city tells you when it's time to go
Boils down to
There are some
Who have walls
Yet to climb
You and I
On the fly
Just in time
But tonight
There's a sky
And quite a view
Welcome to
My Petersburg!
Once Upon a December
ANYA:
Dancing bears, painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory
ENSEMBLE:
Ahh, ahh
Ahh, aah
Ahh, ahh
Aah, aah
ANYA:
Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory
Far away, long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Things it yearns to remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
Stay, I Pray You
COUNT IPOLITOV:
How can I desert you?
How to tell you why?
Coachmen, hold the horses
Stay, I pray you
Let me have a moment
Let me say goodbye
To bridge and river, forest and waterfall
Orchard, sea, and sky
Harsh and sweet and bitter to leave it all
COUNT IPOLITOV & COMPANY:
I'll bless my homeland till I die
How to break the tie?
We have shared our tears
And shared our sorrows
Though the scars remain
And tears will never dry
I'll bless my homeland till I die
ANYA:
Never to return
DMITRY:
Finally breaking free
ANYA & DMITRY:
You are all I know
You have raised me
VLAD:
How to turn away?
How to close the door?
ANYA, DMITRY & VLAD:
How to go where I have never gone before?
ALL:
How can I desert you
How to tell you why?
Coachmen, hold the horses
Stay, I pray you
Let me have a moment
Let me say goodbye
COUNT IPOLITOV:
Aah (Ooh)
Aah (Ooh)
ALL:
Harsh and sweet and bitter to leave it all
I'll bless my homeland till I die
ANYA, DMITRY, AND VLAD:
I'll bless my homeland
ANYA AND DMITRY:
I'll bless my homeland
ANYA:
I'll bless my homeland till I die
We'll Go From There
VLAD (spoken):
I hope Lily's happy to see me. Be honest, Vlad Popov, how could she not be?
(sung)
I may have gotten fatter
But maybe that won't matter
Bottom line... I'll win her
We'll do some reminiscing
She'll see what she's been missing
Over wine...
And dinner!
And though I know
I've grown a tiny bit gray
Some women say
I look distinguished this way
I'll bow as if I'm still a frisky young pup
Let's hope that I can straighten up!
If she says no, we'll all lay low
And we'll go from there!
ANYA:
Hands shaking, heart thund'ring
Meet the royal mess
Start smiling, stop wondering
Why did I say yes?
ANYA & DMITRY:
This chance is all I've got
DMITRY:
Keep a grip and take a deep breath
And soon we'll know what's what
Put on our show
Rewards will flow
And we'll go from there!
ANYA:
And we'll go from there!
VLAD:
And we'll go from there!
ANYA, DMITRY, VLAD:
And we'll go from there!
ALL:
Oh, what a lovely ride
And what a lovely day
ANYA, DMITRY, VLAD:
For a totally illegal
ALL:
Lovely getaway!
VLAD:
I may have gotten fatter
But maybe that won't matter
Bottom line...I'll win her
We'll do some reminiscing
She'll see what she's been missing
Over wineAnd dinner
And though I know
I've grown a tiny bit gray
Some women say I look
Distinguished this wayI'll bow as if
I'm still a frisky young pup
Let's hope that I can straighten up
ANYA & DMITRY:
Hands shaking
Heart thundering
Meet the royal mess
Start smiling
Stop wondering
Why did I say
Yes?
This chance
Is all
I've got
Keep a grip and take a deep breath
And soon
We'll know
What's what
VLAD:
But no more doubt
DMITRY:
No time to spare
ANYA:
We're nearly out
ANYA, DMITRY, VLAD:
So let's prepare
ALL:
We're on our way
To who knows where
And we'll go from there!
ANYA, DMITRY, VLAD (spoken):
We'll go from there!
Still
GLEB:
An underhanded girl
An act of desperation
And to my consternation
I let her go
She wants what she can get
Is that a fair depiction?
Does she believe her fiction?
It's hard to know
Is it innocence or guile?
Or nothing but a childish act of will?
She doesn't know she needs you
She willfully misleads you
But still
Still
A son becomes a man at his father's knee
If my father asked questions, well, where would we be?
She's nothing but a child
A waif who needs protection
I feel a strange connection
I can't allow
She said it's all a game
She trembles like a flower
But in her there's a power
I see that now
I am nothing but a man
With nothing but his orders to fulfill
"I'm innocent!" she cries
But then you see her eyes
Then something in them tells you that she absolutely lies
Until your heart replies
"But still..."
Still
Still!
Journey to the Past
ANYA:
Heart don't fail me now
Courage don't desert me
Don't turn back now that we're here
People always say
Life is full of choices
No one ever mentions fear
Or how the world can seem so vast
On a journey to the past
Somewhere down this road
I know someone's waiting
Years of dreams just can't be wrong
Arms will open wide
I'll be safe and wanted
Finally home where I belong
Well, starting now, I'm learning fast
On this journey to the past
Home, love, family
There was once a time, I must have had them too
Home, love, family
I will never be complete until I find you
One step at a time
One hope, then another
Who knows where this road may go?
Back to who I was
On to find my future
Things my heart still needs to know
Yes, let this be a sign
Let this road be mine
Let it lead me to my past
And bring me home at last!