Anna K. is an immediately accessible and entertaining new musical theater work artfully transposing Anna Karenina’s classic themes of heartbreak, privilege, class, and a search for meaning to contemporary NYC society. In this incarnation, we find Anna as a former actress turned unhappy wife to Karenin’s blue blood NYC mayoral candidate. Vronsky, a Black venture capitalist, comes to NYC after a harrowing stint as a special forces soldier in Afghanistan. His affair with Anna unveils the limits of his access to circles of power and privilege as incidents of racism grow increasingly overt. Levin is a gentleman farmer and philanthropist in love with Kitty, a young woman questioning her goals in life as a socialite turned Karenin’s campaign manager. Lydia and Nikolai, more minor characters in the novel, become major components of the story representing two opposing archetypes of morality and a life well lived. 

Music/lyrics/story by Chris Keup, book by Chris Keup and acclaimed novelist/screenwriter Arthur Phillips (Bloodline, Damages, Tokyo Vice). An additional song each by Jonathan Spottiswoode and Amy Correia