Masquers announce ‘Anastasia’ cast
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 months, 2 weeks AGO
The Masquers Theater is about to begin rehearsals for “Anastasia: The Musical,” which opens in October.
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Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 13, 2026 3:00 AM
SOAP LAKE — The Masquers Theater has announced its cast for “Anastasia: The Musical,” which will open in October.
Emma-Jean Wydur will play Anya, a young woman with amnesia who may or may not be the youngest daughter of the Russian Tsar Nicholas Romanov II, who was executed with his family in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Ben McLain will appear as the con artist Dmitry, and Jeremy Hansen will play Vlad, an exiled Russian aristocrat. Alec Lobe will be the Bolshevik general Gleb. Christie McLain will be the Dowager Empress, the grandmother of the real Anastasia, and Auti Kirk will be her lady-in-waiting, the Countess Lily. Other members of the Romanov family round out the ensemble.
The cast comes from communities both inside and outside Grant County, from as far away as Ellensburg and Nespelem; Masquers Publicity Representative Darryl Pheasant wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald.
The story is adapted from the 1997 Disney animated feature; some but not all the songs and characters carry over from film to play, according to the Broadway production’s official website.
Rehearsals will begin Aug. 24, according to the Masquers website. “Anastasia: the Musical” will run for 12 shows from Oct. 16 to Nov. 8, Pheasant wrote.
More information is available at www.masquers.com.
Anastasia: The Musical cast
Anya: Emma-Jean Wydur
Dmitry: Ben McLain
Vlad: Jeremy Hansen
Gleb: Alec Lobe
Lily: Auti Kirk
Dowager Empress: Christie McLain
Romanov Family & Ensemble:
Katherine Heston
Carlee Howard
Nola Kirk
Paige Perkins
Henry Silva
Erin Smithgall
Jessica Stredwick
Grant Te Velde
Ensemble Roles:
Clifford Bresee
Kody Campbell
Clark Dalton
Emma Galloway
Michaela Greely
Clara Kirk
Connor Leasher
Kelliann Lusk
Sherry Joski
Darryl Pheasant
Alicia Lynn Lasley Pineda
Justin Thompson
Natalie Vieira
Leia Watkins
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