No time like one week before closing to review a show, so if you are remotely near the Chicago area¹ I highly encourage you to see Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 at the Writers Theatre.²

Great Comet is based on one part of War and Peace and it is a little confusing if you are unfamiliar with it, so I recommend reading the Wikipedia article about it and/or arriving at the theater early to see the literal PowerPoint presentation they show on the wall prior to the start of the show.

I have nothing but positive things to say about the production, but I want to call out a few small details about this production and also about the musical in general that you may not notice until, ahem, your 50th time³ listing to the soundtrack or watching it live.

Spoilers abound in the rest of this post. But I mean, like, they’re spoilers for a book published almost 200 years ago.

Some notes on the staging

Curtain

There’s a curtain at the back of the stage which comes up (to reveal another curtain) at the start of the opera. But the curtain has a double meaning here: It’s both set dressing for the characters being at the opera, and it’s also symbolizing the start of Natasha’s theatrical romance with Anatole. When Natasha’s dreams are crushed, the curtain comes down. Then, when Natasha sees the possibility of romance again (thanks to Pierre’s confession), the current comes up again. But just a bit.

Helene & “Charming”

Really impressed with the acting that Helene puts into “Charming.” Her jealousy for Natasha’s youth just seethes through the entire song, incredible!

(Overall there was just so much more ACTING that went into all the songs in this production compared to the Original Cast recording, and I was so here for it!)

The heart

Pierre’s jacket has a heart on the back of it. My headcanon originally was that Anatole put it there as a prank several years ago and Pierre never noticed. But I chatted with Anatole’s actor a bit at the stagedoor and he said no way it was him, Anatole doesn’t know how to sew! So my new suspect is Helene! Maybe it was Antaole’s idea, though.

Some notes on the musical

Note, I’ve only read about 200 pages of War and Peace so far, so I have few thoughts that involve much of the actual novel. But I will say that the use of French in this musical is absolutely a nod to the original work.

In my earlier words, “wtf I had no idea you need to know TWO languages [Russian & French] to read War and Peace!!?!”

Peace & War

In War and Peace the scenes shift between “peace” (high society) and “war” (war with Napoleon). I find it interesting that in Great Comet, the scenes shift between society and the club. Which one is the war??

Natasha & Anatole

Natasha is emotionally quite closed off. e.g. in Moscow “Cousin dear I love you, trust no one but you” and then later “No one can understand” and “He loves me only”. Later, in No One Else, “You and I and no one else,” and “Just you and me, it’s our secret”

On the contrary, Anatole is very inclusive in his emotions. In The Duel he goes straight from talking about Natasha to singing about the joys of life with the ensemble. In his words: “All I care for is gaiety and women and there’s no dishonor in that.”

So this interesting because if you told me with no context that these were the two characters in a romance, I’d tell you that it’s a Grumpy/Sunshine trope and he’s supposed to bring her happiness and joy in life. But obviously that’s not what would be happening, he would get fake-married to her (Preparations: “Where an unfrocked priest was to make ’em get wed”), have sex with her, dishonor her in society’s eye, and then presumably leave her.

I don’t have much historical context for this (nor have I read any War and Peace analysis), but this seems like a pretty loud criticism for high society in Moscow.

Natasha & Pierre

For a musical named after them, Natasha and Pierre sure spend little time together - they don’t meet until the last scene, where Pierre says basically “well I’d propose to you if I weren’t already married.” Quality romance lol.⁴ Indeed, Sonya had criticized Natasha about falling for Anatole: “You’ve only known him three days! Natasha, you’re joking!” Meanwhile Natasha knows Pierre for approximately three minutes before the musical ends.

Anyway, in this production both Natasha and Pierre have their own solos looking up into falling snow with joy (Natasha’s is No One Else and Pierre’s is The Great Comet of 1812). Really enjoyed that small detail.

Conclusion

Great Comet is incredible!!! Seeing it live has jumped it into my top 5 musicals (along with Hadestown, Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I’m not sure what else atm. Maybe Les Mis is there.)