PHOTO CALL: Dana Rowe and John Dempsey's Brother Russia, With John Lescault and Natascia Diaz, Premieres in VA

By Krissie Fullerton
12 Mar 2012

The writers of the musicals The Fix and The Witches of Eastwick, Dana Rowe and John Dempsey, have crafted a new pop-rock musical called Brother Russia, about the life and times of Rasputin, the mystic who mesmerized the czar of Russia. The show's world premiere began March 6 at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, starring Natascia Diaz, John Lescault and more.

Here's how Signature characterizes the show: "In a desolate potato field north of Omsk in southwestern Siberia, a comically fourth-rate Russian theatre troupe sets up its ratty tents and wows the local farmers with rock-fueled adaptations of from great Russian writers such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Tonight, however, the company tosses classic literature aside to showcase the life story of their impresario and star, the seemingly immortal Brother Russia — more commonly known as Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. Yes, that Rasputin: the hypnotic mystic who seduced and ruled the Tsar and Tsarina in the waning days of Imperial Russia."

The cast, in addition to Lescault and Diaz, also includes Doug Kreeger, Amy McWilliams, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Erin Driscoll, Stephen Gregory Smith, Rachel Zampelli, Russell Sunday, Kevin McAllister and Christopher Mueller.

Here's a look at the production:

View the Entire Photo Gallery
Russell Sunday and Amy McWilliams
Photo by Scott Suchman


For more information, please visit www.signature-theatre.org.