Kyla Stone as Anastasia. Anastasia the national tour runs from March 9 to March 13 at the Kravis Center. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
Since her first lead role as Belle in Beauty and the Beast in elementary school, Kyla Stone was destined to be a princess. Years later, she would step into a real life fairytale of her own, playing Grand Duchess Anastasia on the Anastasia National Tour.
Kyla Stone as Belle in elementary school. //Photo: Instagram.
Stone remembers submitting a self tape for the role of Anastasia, where she sang “Journey to the Past” and “In My Dreams” in the call back. Then, she was asked to perform two scenes. One of them being the emotional scene with the Dowager.
“I remember opening that email and going 'ok they want to see if I can act,” she said.
Gerri Weagraff (Dowager Empress) and Kyla Stone (Anya) in The North American Tour of ANASTASIA.// Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
Although her final callback was supposed to be in person, Kyla was performing in Sweeney Todd in Ithaca so she auditioned on Zoom and booked the role.
Regarding auditions, she advises to see it as an opportunity and have fun. She notes that while preparation is your best friend, it's important to give yourself room to find something new while performing and not be married to all of your choices.
Her favorite song to perform changes every week. Stone said at the moment she loves to perform “Learn To Do It” with Bryan Seastrom and Sam McLellan who play Vlad and Dmitry.
“We get massive fits of the giggles and it’s the one part of the show that Bryan gets to improv. He adds some wacky things and we never know what he’s going to say,” she said.
Kyla Stone (Anya) and Sam McLellan (Dmitry) in the North American Tour of ANASTASIA. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
Stone said performing the starring role is a gift and one of the greatest honors of her career.
“Being the first Black Anastasia is already one step in hopefully the right direction of changing the narrative and giving more people opportunities," she said.
While she is focusing on living her dream and being present in the moment, she also takes mental snapshots to hold on to and share with her family.
She credits Christy Altomare, who played Anastasia on Broadway, for building the mantle in originating Anya and making it accessible to a wide variety of fans and lovers of the movie.
“It’s a show that not only young women or people who identify as women can relate to but really any young person. There’s something so universal about holding on to hope and finding yourself. That’s really the greatest part about playing this role and getting to carry on the tradition of doing it,” she said.
The most difficult stretch to perform during the two hour and a half show is known as St. Petersburg at night. Stone refers to the scene where Dmitry and Anastasia have a fight with the guards. McLellan directly begins singing “My Petersburg” and Stone performs “Once Upon A December” right after.
“That stretch is the actor’s test of how much stamina and power you can have especially because there is no break to be like ‘oh I need a little water,” she said.
Sam McLellan as Dmitry and Kyla Stone as Anastasia before "Once Upon a December."// Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
Stone recalls watching Anastasia the movie with her sister for the first time as a kid. She describes it as full of history, rich and vibrant. Her most vivid memory is watching "Once Upon a December."
“She’s unapologetically herself which is so fun to play on stage. There’s not many shows where the female lead is like: `I'm going to stand in my power and say my peace and you're all going to listen,” she said.
Stone incorporates her own sassiness and strength into the character. There is little differentiation between Anya, the character, and herself. In fact, some nights she notices it while saying a certain line and dials back on the line delivery if it’s too intense for the moment in the story.
She enjoys exploring where Anya and Kyla meet in the journey of finding the character’s strength.
“By the end of the show is probably the most Kyla that she is in her whole journey. Hopefully by the end, she has as much strength as I do,” she said.
Kyla Stone (Anya) in the National Tour of ANASTASIA - Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
Her favorite quality Anya possesses is her ability to allow people to be vulnerable and their authentic selves. Stone pointed out that Anastasia prompts people in an articulate way. She sits and listens to people open up, especially Dmitry, causing a change in him as well as Gleb, the military general, according to Stone.
She believes Anya’s message of joy and courage is universal and guides so many people.
If Stone were to meet her character in real life, she would love to know more about the family dynamic Anastasia had growing up in a big family. She would also ask how many pranks Anastasia pulled because she was such a trickster. A tradition the cast likes to keep alive through surprise silly-string ambushes.
“Everybody sort of described that she had this light and air to her and I’d like to see if she knew that about herself or if she just walked around and didn’t know how magnificent she was,” Stone said.
Last November, Kyla performed at the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade. Meeting
Phantom of the Opera’s Hugh Panaro the same day was a full circle moment. Stone recalls watching the musical at five years old and knowing that theater was her passion.
The Anastasia fans or “Fantasias” as they’re called, are a highlight of the experience for her.
Stone remembers the first day when the casting announcement came out, her and Sam were doing a table reading and work.
“I remember looking over at Sam and we both went this is happening. The thing that surprised me the most is how loving and kind everyone is. That’s something we sort of assume exists in the world, but it’s so rare to be face to face with it every single day and hear how much the show means to people,” she said.
In fact, Kyla recounts that a fan recently got a tattoo of her handwriting yesterday.
The experience of portraying the Grand Duchess has her five- year- old theater fangirl heart jumping over the moon every day.
Kyla Stone as Anya performing "Once Upon a December."//Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
Throughout the tour, she’s learned a new aspect of the character and power in herself every night while performing the show.
“Every time that obviously Gleb asks ‘for the last time who are you?’ Every time that I stand up to say I am the Grand Duchess. Every part of my past and everything that I’ve gone through aligns and I go this is who I am and I’m proud of it,” she said.
She attended Chapman University and graduated with a BFA in Theater Performance. Acting is a major aspect of musical theater according to Stone as well as being able to convey a story through song.
A lesson Kyla continues to apply from college especially during the first act of the show is that breath is your best friend. She takes her time to ground herself with breathing exercises and to be present.
Her advice for young theater performers is that whether you go into theater school or not, for anyone who has that dream, passion and drive it’s never too late to achieve your dream.
Referencing Mulan’s words, Kyla also advises students to cheer for others and that people’s success is not another’s failure since “a flower just keeps blooming.”
The cast of Anastasia the National Tour. /Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
As for the main message Stone takes away from Anastasia it's the idea of one step at a time from “Journey to the Past."
“The future is daunting enough and if you just take it one step at a time, then everything will work out the way it’s supposed to,” she said.
Sam McLellan (Dmitry) and Kyla Stone (Anya) in the North American Tour of ANASTASIA. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
Tickets for Anastasia the National Tour can be purchased at www.kravis.org and start at $54.
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