‘It’s a story about finding yourself’

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“Now elbows in and sit up straight and do not slurp the stroganoff.”

“I never asked for stroganoff!”

“She said that like a Romanov.”

Those are a few lines from “Learn to Do It,” a song you’ll hear if you attend the Ovation Playhouse production of “Anastasia,” set for July 20-21 and July 26-28 at the Dallas Middle School auditorium.

In one of the musical’s lighter scenes, characters Dmitry and Vlad are working on what they believe will be the ultimate con job. They’re teaching Anya, a young woman of modest means, to act as if she were part of the Russian royal family, all with the hope that a royal grandmother, who lives in Paris, will accept her as the long-lost Anastasia and give them a reward.

But, could Anya actually be the real Anastasia? Could she miraculously have survived the 1918 murder of everyone else in her family?

Either way, Skylar Marcen of Scranton, who plays the title character, sees her as a princess — but not a helpless one.

“People are relying on her, instead of her relying on other people,” Marcen said. “I enjoy that about her. She’s brave, hard-working and adventurous, and passionate about wanting to find out who she is.”

With all those qualities, how can Dmitry help falling in love with Anastasia?

In a way, the character Gleb also finds her attractive, even though he’s been ordered to kill her.

“His dad died following orders,” said John Toussaint, who portrays Gleb. “Do I follow in his shoes?”

“I wouldn’t call (Gleb) a villain,” the actor said. “You kind of get it, why he thinks the way he does. His points are all valid. You kind of get it even though you know it’s wrong.”

“Anastasia” is filled with music and dancing, from a Russian folk dance to a ballet to what director Mike Marone calls “a crazy Parisian dance.”

There’s a tinge of sadness, too, as audiences realize the human cost of the Russian Revolution.

“Whenever I’m on stage, it’s time to start crying,” said Jessica Woolnough of Wilkes-Barre, who plays Anastasia’s grandmother. “I’m a sad old woman, whose family has been wiped out.”

Except for Anastasia. Maybe.

“At its heart it’s a story about finding yourself and what’s important to you,” Marone said. “I personally connect with it and I think the audiences will, too.”

Performances are set for July 2-21 and July 26-28 at the Dallas Middle School, 2020 Conyngham Ave., Dallas, with curtain time at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are available in advance through ovation.ticketleap.com and at the door. For information call 570-846-0707.

All tickets for children 12 and younger will be pay what you wish.