Valley View students will be performing the musical “Anastasia” the evening of Friday, Feb. 27 and a matinee and evening performance on Saturday, Feb. 28.

A cast of 18 students, eight crew members, and a set of musicians will perform under the leadership of first-time director Miranda Rousey.

Rousey, who has served as the choreographer for the past five productions, stepped in to fill the open director position. “I didn’t want to see this program die, especially when we have the best actors around. I knew I could do it with the guidance of (former director) Dawn Gunter.”

Anastasia is a musical based on the 1997 animated film and the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. The story follows Anya, an orphan in 1920s Paris, as she seeks to discover if she is the lost Russian princess. “Anastasia is a great musical—I’m surprised how many people don’t know about it,” Rousey said.

“I am hoping we can continue to build this program,” Rousey said in an interview. “We had several graduate last year, so many of our students are new, and some even moved from crew to cast. And this year we will be graduating half our cast.”

“The kids have been amazing, memorizing lines for multiple parts. Some kids have 4-5 roles to play,” she noted.

As in past years, the production will take place in the school auditorium in Germantown, although this year the building is being used by Germantown Christian School. Valley Performing Arts has taken over the unused third floor for dressing rooms and a newly organized costume storage area, which took over the old library.

Costumer Joy Lauver, who has been part of productions since her own girls were in school 20 years ago, shops year-round for interesting pieces and fabrics.

“You don’t always know how the costumes will develop until you see it on stage and then you just know,” Lauver said. “I love to see the kids bloom on stage and just say, ‘wow, look at them.’”

Pieces from Valley View’s extensive costume collection have been rented to other schools for productions and shared with Brookville Community Theater. The costumes, props and accessories include feathered headpieces from last year’s performance of “Seussical” back to early performances of “Grease” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

The production is also supported by light designer Kenall Peters, who has been lighting productions at the school in Germantown since he was a student in the 60s. The students are also led by vocal director Joseph Barnett and set designer Emily Powell.

Valley View Performing Arts Facilities

With the transition to the new schools, Valley View no longer has an auditorium available for its performing arts. The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, which helped fund Valley View’s construction, refuses to fund auditoriums in schools, citing the cost. Schools like Eaton and Oakwood have used levy funds and community donations to create their own performing arts spaces.

The Valley View Performing Arts Committee, an independent nonprofit chaired by retired teacher and director Dawn Gunter, is working with the district to develop an events center on the school campus. The group has raised funds to create a building plan and rendering, and will soon be launching a capital campaign.

Tickets for the Feb. 27-28 shows of Anastasia are on sale on the Valley View website.

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