In the decades following the execution of Czar Nicholas II and his immediate family in 1918, there was speculation that one of his daughters somehow survived. The play "Anastasia" and its subsequent movie version intrigued audiences in the 1950s, and the current production at Vagabond Players proves that such biographical speculation hasn't lost its ability to make you wonder.

Guy Bolton's English adaptation of Marcelle Maurette's "Anastasia" takes place in Berlin in 1926. Its intrigue-laden plot concerns a money-hungry exiled Russian aristocrat, Prince Bounine (Richard McGraw), and his shady partners, Chernov (Michael B. Zemarel) and Petrovina (Stephanie Ranno), who are eager to find somebody to impersonate Anastasia in order to stake a claim on the Romanov spoils. They think they have the perfect candidate in a troubled young woman residing in a mental hospital, Anna Broun (Beth Weber).

The Vagabond production succeeds primarily because Weber's suitably sullen performance as Anna reinforces the play's all-important ambiguity. Sometimes Anna angrily states she's an imposter and sometimes she sadly says she's really Anastasia.

If her identity remains a matter of conjecture, there's no doubt that her handlers are mercenaries. They hope they can dress Anna up to resemble Anastasia, fill her anxious mind with Romanov-related statistics and anecdotes, and thereby introduce her to the most prestigious of the exiled royals, the late Czar's elderly mother, the Dowager Empress (Celia Rocca).

The most compelling scenes here are between the fragile Anna and the truly regal Dowager Empress. Adding to her impressive record of playing strong-willed women, Rocca emphasizes the old queen's shrewdness as she questions the young lady claiming to be her granddaughter.

The Dowager Empress isn't much nicer to the young members of the nobility catering to her every need, Baroness Livenbaum (Mary Hanson) and Prince Paul (Andrew Macomber II).

Inhabited by several servants and such requisite Russian types as a sleigh driver and a charwoman, Prince Bounine's ritzy Berlin house seems like an appropriate setting for Anastasia's story to play out. The Vagabond set connotes royalty on a budget, which seems apt for both the Romanov and community theater status.

Vagabond veterans will smile at something of an inside joke, because two of the painted portraits of Romanov ancestors are actually vintage paintings of two women who were an integral part of Vagabond Players in the mid-20th century.

Although director Linda Chambers has a solid handle on the pacing and the period, several of the supporting players are hindered by shaky line readings. This detracts a bit from our immersion in the royal intrigue, but not enough to spoil the play's is-she-or-isn't-she premise.

"Anastasia" runs through June 29 at Vagabond Players, at 806 S. Broadway, in Fells Point. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15, with a $2 discount for seniors and students. Call 410-563-9135.

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