Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, written and composed by Dave Malloy, is a musical based on a seventy-page chunk of Leo Tolstoy’s behemoth mas-
terpiece, War and Peace. Natasha is a young woman who, despite her engagement to a man named Andrey, falls in love with the charming and attractive Anatole while her fiancé is away at war. Meanwhile, Andrey’s wealthy, intellectual friend, Pierre, one day realizes, “for no obvious reason,” that he is unhappy with his sedentary life. Natasha and Pierre cross paths when she becomes embroiled in 19th-century Moscow’s upper-crust drama. Malloy’s script and score bring lots of energy and emotion to the story, which Oberlin’s cast and production team has delivered with exquisite artistry, making it an intoxicating theatrical experience.
As the company sings in the prologue to the show, you’re “gonna have to study up a little bit if you wanna keep with the plot.” But though War and Peace may be a “complicated Russian novel” in which “everyone’s got nine different names,” Great Comet is easy enough to follow. It’s also tons of fun.
To start with, the production is visually stunning. It features an incredibly elaborate and lush set, including ornate chandeliers — yes, plural — and an imposing set of double doors from which characters make dramatic entrances and exits. Audience members have the choice of sitting in one of two main seating areas: in the balcony, or at one of two bars at either end of the stage. The production’s lighting and special effects, including an expertly-used fog machine, add to the thrill, especially during the show’s many dance sequences. Be aware that the dance sequence in “The Duel” features strobe lights.
Speaking of the dance sequences, Great Comet uses every square inch of the Irene and Alan Wurtzel Theater to great effect. Actors are not confined to the stage: They run through the aisles and across the balcony, stretching the bounds of the theater to spectacular effect. “Balaga,” one of the first songs in Act II, has actors sliding down poles from the balcony to the mainstage level in the midst of an arresting and indulgent dance sequence that’s “just for fun,” and the show runs nonstop from there.
Earlier in the show is the avant-garde opera performance that Natasha and her family attend, where she first meets Anatole. This show within the show gets going and doesn’t stop visually or musically for ten magical minutes. Haunting technical elements elevate the stunning dance and vocals, which compliment the elegant absurdist costumes. Indeed, throughout the entire show, the costumes transport the audience not to 1800s Russia, but through a sexy, exorbitant visual collage, melding the timelines between the historical plot and the patchwork of modern musical genres Malloy draws on.
While the two casts feature completely separate ensembles, the show is consistent in its specificity, characterization, and explosive energy. Both casts embody their characters beautifully, offering not only delightful theatricality but clarity and guidance through the complicated plot. Conservatory fourth-year Ryan James Sweeney’s portrayal of Pierre’s awkwardness and loneliness is pitch perfect; Conservatory third-year Marvis Stevens brings an intense bitterness to the role that melts over the course of the show. Both Pierres’ renditions of his early solo “Dust and Ashes” stand out as highlights of their respective performances.
Natasha, played by Conservatory third-year Kayla Petersen and Conservatory second-year Samyah Henry, and Sonya, played by Conservatory fourth-year Bebe Moss and Conservatory third-year Maddie O’Brien, have a strong relationship across both casts, full of familial love and tension, grounding the show in its generous emotional core.
On the other hand, Conservatory third-year Jake Van Eycken and Conservatory fourth-year Tobias Yeung’s exaggerated characterizations of Bolkonsky work to tremendous comedic effect. Amid countless exemplary vocal performances, both Conservatory fourth-year Reece Henrick and Conservatory third-year Rebecca Kenjesky bring fire to Marya’s intense solo “In My House,” and Anatole, played by Conservatory third-year Nic Rhew and Conservatory fourth-year Elliot Block, not only woos Natasha but also the entire audience with impeccable vocal work, especially the sustained, high C#5 at the end of “Pierre and Anatole.”
The debut production of the new Music Theater program has set the bar high. If this is the standard to which Music Theater productions are held, the future of the program is luminous.
