Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
The Great Comet
Music	Dave Malloy
Lyrics	Dave Malloy
Book	Dave Malloy
Basis	War and Peace (novel) by Leo Tolstoy
Productions	2012 Ars Nova 2013 Kazino NYC 2015 American Repertory Theater 2016 Broadway
Awards	2013 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater 2013 Obie Award Best New Musical, 2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Awards

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 is a 2012 musical adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, with music and libretto by Dave Malloy and directed by Rachel Chavkin. It is based on Volume 2, Part 5 of War and Peace, focusing on Natasha's affair with Anatole, and Pierre's search for meaning in his life.^[1]

Synopsis

Act 1

Part I
Moscow, 1812, just before Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and the burning of the city. As the story begins (“Prologue”) we meet “Pierre,” a wealthy aristocrat having an existential crisis, living a slothful life of wine, philosophy and inaction. Meanwhile, the young, newly engaged Natasha Rostova and her cousin Sonya arrive in “Moscow" to stay the winter with Marya D., Natasha’s godmother, while Natasha waits for her fiancé, Andrey, to return from the war. Marya D. tells Natasha that she must visit her future in-laws, the demented, miserly old Prince Bolkonsky and his spinster daughter Mary (“The Private and Intimate Life of the House”), to win their affection and secure the marriage, which is critical to the Rostovs’ status and fortune. However, Natasha’s visit with Mary and Bolkonsky ends in disaster (“Natasha & Bolkonskys”) and she leaves missing Andrey more than ever (“No One Else”).

Part II
The next night Natasha is introduced to decadent Moscow society at “The Opera”; there she meets Anatole, a young officer and notorious rogue (“Natasha & Anatole”). After their interaction Natasha feels confused, and tries to remember her love for Andrey (“Natasha Lost”).

Part III
Anatole, his friend Dolokhov, and Pierre go out drinking; they are met by Hélène (Pierre's wife and Anatole's sister), who taunts Pierre. Anatole declares his intention to have Natasha, although he is already married. Pierre finds his wife's familiarity with Dolokhov offensive and challenges him to a duel, almost getting himself killed ("The Duel"). Afterward, Pierre reflects on his life ("Dust and Ashes"). Natasha and her family go to church ("Sunday Morning"); later, Hélène arrives and invites Natasha to the ball that night ("Charming"), where Anatole seduces Natasha ("The Ball").

Act 2

Part IV
Anatole and Natasha make plans to elope, and Natasha breaks off her engagement with Andrey (“Letters”). Sonya finds out about the plan and realizes it will mean Natasha’s ruin (“Sonya & Natasha”); she determines to stop her at any cost (“Sonya Alone”). That evening Anatole and Dolokhov plan for the elopement (“Preparations”) and call on their trusted troika driver, “Balaga,” to take them to Natasha’s house. However, “The Abduction” is thwarted at the last moment by Marya D.

Part V
After scolding a grief-stricken Natasha (“In My House”), Marya D. sends out “A Call to Pierre,” asking him to help handle the crisis. Pierre kicks Anatole out of Moscow (“Find Anatole”/”Pierre & Anatole”); Natasha poisons herself (“Natasha Very Ill”); Andrey returns. Pierre explains the scandal to him and asks him to be compassionate, but Andrey is unable to forgive (“Pierre & Andrey”). Finally, Pierre visits Natasha (“Pierre & Natasha”). After their meeting, Pierre experiences a moment of enlightenment while seeing “The Great Comet of 1812” in the night sky.^[2]

Music

Malloy's original score (orchestrated by the composer) merges Russian folk and classical music with indie rock and EDM influences. The piece is described by the composer as an "electropop opera" and is through-composed, with exactly one line of spoken dialogue, in Pierre and Natasha's only scene together.^[3]

The libretto features many sections of word-for-word Tolstoy, taken from Aylmer and Louise Maude’s 1922 translation.^[4]

Musical numbers

"No One Else" was added for the Off-Broadway Kazino transfer, replacing a different aria for Natasha, "If He Were Here Now."

Another Natasha aria, "Natasha Lost," was cut from the Broadway production.

"Dust and Ashes" was added for the ART run.

Productions

The piece premiered on October 16, 2012 at Ars Nova. In May 2013, the show transferred to a custom pop-up venue Kazino, initially located in the Meatpacking District. In September 2013, the show and Kazino moved to the Theater District. The production, directed by Rachel Chavkin, was staged immersively in a Russian style dinner club, with the action happening all around the audience.

In September 2014, the show had its South American premiere, at Teatro Parapluie in Quito, Ecuador, in a Spanish language production.

The team behind the original production remounted the show at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts from December 2015 to January 2016. The production opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on November 14, 2016, starring Josh Groban as Pierre and Denée Benton as Natasha, both making their Broadway debuts, with choreography by Sam Pinkleton, sets by Mimi Lien, costumes by Paloma Young, lights by Bradley King, sound by Nicholas Pope and music direction by Or Matias.^[5][6]

Characters

(Lines in quotations are lyrics from the opening song, "Prologue," which introduces the characters^[10]

Original casts

Critical response

The piece was highly received by the New York press; Charles Isherwood in the New York Times called it “a vibrant, transporting new musical," and both Times critics included the show on their Best of the Year lists.^[11] The Times' classical critic, Anthony Tommasini, called it "a breathless, roughish and ravishing quasi-opera. This is a pastiche score of a cavalier sort. Mr. Malloy lifts styles with such abandon, making willful shifts — from punk riffs to agitated Broadway ballads, mock-pompous recitative to gritty Russian folk songs or drinking choruses with klezmer clarinets — that you lose track of what is being appropriated and really don’t care."^[12] Time Out New York gave the piece five out of five stars, and also included it on both critics' Best of lists, stating "this is theater like no other in New York. It grounds you and transports you at once, and leaves you beaming with pleasure.”^[13]

Awards and nominations

Original Off-Broadway production

Sources: TheaterMania^[14] Internet Off-Broadway Database^[15]Village Voice^[16]

Recordings

In 2013 Ghostlight Records released a two-disc original cast album of the entire score.^[18] A new recording of the Broadway cast has been rumored, mostly due to a release of a fully produced recording of "Dust and Ashes", performed by Josh Groban.

References

External links

• Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Internet Broadway Database