Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece War and Peace is not where I would go if looking for a work of literature to make into a snappy, funny, charming and luxe musical, but luckily it was where Dave Malloy went, taking a 70 page segment of part 8 into a wonderful musical evening: Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 . And now aptly the named Writer’s Theatre in suburban Glencoe has produced an absolute Faberge gem of an evening with this musical.
Director and choreographer Katie Spelman has assembled a glittering and talented cast: Natasha, played by the angelic voiced Aurora Penepacker, and the somber and philosophical Pierre, played with moving gravitas by Evan Tyrone Martin, are surrounded by a dynamic ensemble playing the aristocracy of several interwoven friends and families in Imperial Russia. As with most Tolstoy works, it gets confusing as the opening self referential number admits and tries to sort out. Lets just say Countess Natasha is a romantic teen, betrothed to a soldier away fighting in the Napoleonic Wars and her well heeled family sends her and her cousin Sonya (the upstanding Maya Rowe) to stay with her Moscovite Godmother Marya (played by Bethany Thomas in what would have been a show stopping performance if everyone else wasn’t so good!) . Pierre’s brother in law, the cad Anatole (another bravura performance in the form of Joseph Anthony Byrd) decides to seduce Countess Natasha. Much drama ensues, though not nearly as much as in the book. But you will revel in every moment: the on stage orchestra is part of the luxuriousness of the atmosphere and the singing is superb making it a magical musical experience.
From the extravagant velvet curtain to the exquisitely painted floor, Courtney O’Neill’s set design puts you right into the lap of Russian luxury, with a sweeping staircase that makes for grand entrances.. And then the textures and fabrics of the period costumes by Raquel Adorno are astoundingly lovely.
Spelman powers this ensemble through the complexities of Malloy’s adaptation as they cleverly speak about themselves as they sing to each other shattering the theatrical convention that you should show, not tell. This reworking of the form while staying true to Tolstoy is a delicious and not too arduous intellectual tickler. Malloy’s score has ample use of leitmotifs, and the evening is filled with singable songs including some standouts: “Balaga” is a wonderful romp, and “Dust and Ashes” will ever make me cry and I expect to hear it covered far and wide. The finale defies the form because it is a beautiful ballad instead of a big finish– a contemplative song about that comet which is heretofore unmentioned, but it sends this story out into the world linking us together as the show ends. Tolstoy was concerned with philosophy as much as literature and that comes through in this musical. It is a wonderful modern musical and while still faithful to mostly 19th century Tolstoy. And Writers had done a miraculous job of producing a top notch show that will have you departing the theater craving caviar, blini and vodka!
This show is truly terrific. Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 is running Wednesdays through Sundays through October 27th at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe, IL. For tickets and information go to :https://www.writerstheatre.org/natasha-pierre-and-the-great-comet-of-1812
Photo by Liz Lauren
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