Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (or simply The Great Comet) is a sung-through musical adaptation of a 70-page segment from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel War and Peace. The show was written by composer, lyricist, playwright, orchestrator Dave Malloy and originally directed by Rachel Chavkin. It is based on Volume II, Part V of Tolstoy's novel, focusing on Natasha's romance with Anatole and Pierre's search for meaning in his life.
The musical originally ran at the Ars Nova in 2012, followed by 2013 stagings in both the Meatpacking District and the Theater District of Manhattan, a 2014 Spanish-language staging in Quito, Ecuador, and a 2015 remounting at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Great Comet premiered on Broadway in November 2016 at the Imperial Theatre, and closed in September 2017.
The original Off-Broadway production of the show had Phillipa Soo and Dave Malloy playing the roles of Natasha Rostova and Pierre Bezukhov respectively. Once the show was taken to Broadway, Denée Benton and Josh Groban made their Broadway debuts in the roles of Natasha and Pierre.
The musical received positive reviews, particularly for Phillipa Soo, Denée Benton, and Josh Groban's leading performances, as well as for the production's score, direction, and scenic design. The show was nominated for 12 awards – the highest number of nominations in the season – for the 2017 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical for Benton, Best Actor in a Musical for Groban, Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Lucas Steele, and Best Direction of a Musical for Chavkin. It won two awards: Best Scenic Design for Mimi Lien and Best Lighting Design in a Musical for Bradley King.
Synopsis
Act I The musical starts in 1812, Moscow, Russia, by introducing the characters ("Prologue"). The audience is then introduced to Pierre Bezukhov, a depressed, unhappily married man who feels he is wasting his life ("Pierre"). He is a good friend of Andrey Bolkonsky, who is away fighting in the war. Andrey has recently become engaged to Natasha Rostova. Natasha and her cousin, Sonya Rostova, arrive in Moscow to visit Natasha's godmother, Marya Dmitrievna, and wait for Andrey to come home ("Moscow"). Natasha is to meet her future in-laws, Andrey's sister, the lonely Mary Bolkonskaya, and his father, the old Prince Bolkonsky, who are trapped in a hateful co-existence ("The Private and Intimate Life of the House"). However, their meeting ends in disaster, as Natasha finds Mary cold and Mary finds Natasha vain, with Bolkonsky behaving bizarrely and dismissing Natasha ("Natasha And Bolkonskys"). Natasha leaves, missing Andrey more than ever, and recalls the time they first met ("No One Else").
The next night, Natasha watches an opera with Sonya and Marya. Natasha catches the eye of Pierre's brother-in-law Anatole Kuragin, a notorious rogue and womaniser ("The Opera"). Anatole visits Natasha in her box to flirt and leaves her with feelings she has never experienced before ("Natasha And Anatole").
Anatole arrives home after the opera and goes out drinking with his friend, Fedya Dolokhov, and Pierre. They are met by Hélène Bezukhova, the unfaithfully promiscuous wife of Pierre and shamelessly suggestive sister of Anatole. Anatole lusts for Natasha, although it is revealed he is already married. Hélène flirts with Dolokhov, who taunts Pierre by raising a toast to "married women and their lovers". A drunk Pierre finds Dolokhov's behaviour insulting and challenges him to a duel. Pierre accidentally wounds Dolokhov, and Dolokhov, despite being a renowned crack shot, miraculously misses him. Before they all leave, Anatole asks Hélène to invite Natasha to a ball that evening, and she agrees ("The Duel"). They leave Pierre, who reflects on his near-death experience and realizes that despite wasting his life, he wishes to live and find love ("Dust And Ashes").
The next morning, as Natasha prepares for church, she is confused about her feelings for Anatole at the opera and questions whether they mean she has betrayed Andrey, fearing that something may prevent them from being together ("Sunday Morning"). Later that day, Hélène visits Natasha and invites her to the ball, praising her beauty, and Natasha agrees to attend. Hélène privately revels in the scandalous idea of her brother and Natasha getting together ("Charming").
That night at the ball, Natasha is met by Anatole, and they dance. Anatole professes his love to Natasha, who tries to tell him that she is already engaged. Ignoring this, Anatole kisses Natasha, leading her to fall in love with him in return ("The Ball").
Act II After his duel with Dolokhov, Pierre begins studying to search for enlightenment. Natasha is further torn between her feelings for both Andrey and Anatole ("Letters"). Sonya discovers letters between Natasha and Anatole, learning of their relationship. She confronts Natasha and desperately explains her distrust of Anatole, but Natasha bursts out in anger at her and leaves. Natasha writes to Mary and breaks off her engagement with Andrey ("Sonya And Natasha"). Alone, Sonya reflects on her love for her cousin and her determination to save her, even if it means losing her closest friend ("Sonya Alone").
That evening, Anatole and Dolokhov prepare for the former's elopement with Natasha. Dolokhov attempts to change Anatole's mind, but is unsuccessful ("Preparations"). Balaga, their troika driver, arrives to take them to Natasha's house, where they will retrieve her before departing ("Balaga"). However, when they arrive at Natasha's house, their plan is thwarted at the last moment by Marya, who has discovered the plot ("The Abduction").
Marya scolds Natasha, who then reveals to Marya and Sonya that she broke off her engagement with Andrey and reaffirms her love for Anatole, whom she still believes is unmarried. Natasha screams at Marya and Sonya, bursting into tears as she waits all night for Anatole ("In My House"). Marya calls on Pierre in the middle of the night and explains the situation to him, begging him to handle the crisis. Pierre tells Marya that Anatole is already married ("A Call to Pierre"). Pierre, outraged, searches Moscow for Anatole while Marya and Sonya tell a grief-stricken Natasha that Anatole is already married. Pierre eventually finds Anatole at Hélène's house ("Find Anatole"). Pierre, close to violence, orders Anatole to leave Moscow and burn all his correspondence with Natasha. A terrified Anatole agrees, but manages to squeeze travelling money out of Pierre in the process ("Pierre And Anatole"). Natasha attempts to take her own life by poisoning herself with arsenic, but lives ("Natasha Very Ill").
The next day, Andrey returns home from the war and is disoriented about the refusal of marriage he received from Natasha, which he asks Pierre about. Pierre explains the scandal to him and pleads with him to be compassionate, but Andrey is unable to forgive Natasha and cold-heartedly tells Pierre that he will not ask for her hand in marriage again ("Pierre And Andrey"). Pierre visits a shattered Natasha, meeting her for the first time, and comforts her. During their conversation, he expresses that if he were the best man on Earth and were free, he would gladly marry her, giving her hope ("Pierre And Natasha"). After their meeting, Pierre experiences a moment of enlightenment as he watches the Great Comet of 1812 soar across the night sky ("The Great Comet Of 1812").
Music The score, written and orchestrated by Malloy, merges Russian folk and classical music with indie rock and EDM influences. The piece, described by Malloy as an "electropop opera," is sung-through, with just one line of spoken dialogue coming in Pierre and Natasha's only scene together.Clarke, David. "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Original Cast Recording) is Astonishingly Complex", Broadway World, December 22, 2013, accessed April 7, 2014 On stage, nearly all of the actors play musical instruments, augmenting the show's orchestra. Pierre plays the accordion briefly and plays large sections of the score on the orchestra's piano.
The libretto contains many passages taken word-for-word from Aylmer and Louise Maude's 1922 translation of Tolstoy's novel.Original Cast Recording [CD booklet]. New York: Sh-k-boom Records.
Musical numbers
Act I
Act II
Note: An aria for Natasha, "Natasha Lost", was cut during the Broadway production but is included on the original cast recording between numbers 8 ("Natasha & Anatole") and 9 ("The Duel"). "Dust and Ashes" was added for the A.R.T. production. In 2020, Malloy released a song titled "Epilogue", a solo for Pierre after the finale that wasn't a part of the original musical.
Productions
Off-Off-Broadway
Ars Nova The musical premiered on October 16, 2012, at Ars Nova. Directed by Rachel Chavkin the show was staged as an immersive production, with action happening around and among the audience. The set designed by Mimi Lien and lights by Bradley King transformed Ars Nova into a Russian supper club. The creative team was completed by Paloma Young as costume designer, Matt Hubbs as sound designer, and Dave Malloy as musical director. The cast included Malloy as Pierre, Phillipa Soo as Natasha, Lucas Steele as Anatole, Amber Gray as Hélène, Brittain Ashford as Sonya, Manik Choksi as Dolokhov, Gelsey Bell as Mary, Amelia Workman as Marya, Blake DeLong as Andrey/Old Prince Bolkonsky and Paul Pinto (who also served as associate music director) as Balaga. The show was the first production of Ars Nova to ever transfer to Broadway.
Off-Broadway
Kazino On May 16, 2013, the show opened in the Meatpacking District at Kazino, a temporary structure designed as an opulent Russian club, where the immersive production was staged, again by the same creative team. The cast reprised their roles, except Choksi, now replaced by Ian Lassiter (who temporarily took over the role for a month after which Choksi returned), and Workman, replaced by Grace McLean. Malloy left the cast on June 21 and was temporarily replaced by Luke Holloway. David Abeles then took over the role of Pierre on July 9, 2013. The show closed on September 1, 2013.
The show opened for a 14-week limited engagement starting on September 24, 2013, at the Kazino and moved to the Theater District, with the final cast of the previous production: Bell was replaced by Shaina Taub (Katrina Yaukey later took over the role from Taub on February 4) and Ashkon Davaran replaced Pinto. On December 10, 2013, the two-disc cast recording was released. The show was extended and ran until March 2, 2014.
American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) The team behind the original production remounted the show at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with performances beginning December 6, 2015, and running to January 3, 2016. Now expanded to a proscenium stage, the set put some of the audience onstage. Scott Stangland took over the role of Pierre, Denée Benton starred as Natasha, Lilli Cooper portrayed Hélène, and Nicholas Belton played Andrey/Old Prince Bolkonsky. The rest of the cast reprised their roles.
Broadway