Great Comet of 1812 at ART- Page 2

[downhillskier]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 9:38pm

The ART is a wonderful, small, intimate venue. There are no bad seats for any production. We often joke that it's size makes it feel like a small high school auditorium. We love it there! It truely spoils you by the intimacy of it. 

Looking forward to seeing the show for the 1st time next Saturday. Really don't know what to expect. As a subscriber, we received an email offering us the chance to change our seats and be part of the action. We are now in the Banquettes. Glad I read this thread so I can warn my husband to be prepared to be part of the show! We feel fortunate that Diane Paulus has brought such terriffic talent to Cambridge and that we can see so many shows (hopefully) being developed for Broadway close to our home. 

[aimeric]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 9:52pm

Oooh, you guys are getting me so excited to see this later this week...!  I saw it three times at Kazino, and I'm really curious to see how the show works in this bigger venue.  So far, it looks awesome!

 

They also posted some gorgeous official photos of the production on the A.R.T. website today.

 

[Born in a Ditch]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 10:42pm

It is absolutely stunning and special. Lilli Cooper and Grace McLean were standouts but truly everyone was fantastic. I hope this makes the jump to NY.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 10:45pm

So glad to hear these positive first reports. 

 

It occurs to me that the OP should maybe change the thread title to "Great Comet at A.R.T" or something along those lines since that seems to be what this thread is being used for. 

[willep]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 10:47pm

Ah, this is killing me. 

The NY production was one of my all time favorite theatre experiences. What I wouldn't give to see this production. The photos are gorgeous. How hard is it to get there from NYC? :-P

Updated On: 12/8/15 at 10:47 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 10:51pm

My head is spinning in the most wonderful way.

 

I'll start with two Tony negatives, that may actually be related...the sound design is not yet perfect, but it's not a problem in too many places.  A few characters have some diction issues that need to be addressed- but again, it's intermittently.

 

The good, the wonderful: nearly everything else!

 

The set design is gorgeous.  The photos do NOT do it justice. It's opulent and quirky, functional and elaborate. Add to that canvas both Rachel Checkin's masterful blocking and Sam Pinkleton's near perfect choreography, and you have a sight to behold.

 

Not to be ignored is Paloma Young's stunning and eclectic costuming.

 

I do believe my favorite technical aspect was, however, the brilliant lighting by Bradley King.  Just when I didn't think I could be impressed further, something new would take my breath away!

 

So many phenomenal performances, too. I'll stick to my absolute standouts, or I could be here for eternity...first Lilli Cooper (Helene)...amazing in every aspect.  I hadn't seen her do anything since Spring Awakening, but my, she has blossomed into an sophisticated performer.  Her voice was earthy and delicious.

 

Denee Benton (Natasha) brings you on her roller coaster ride without a seatbelt...what a star in the making.  Her final scene was breathtaking.

Scott Stangland & Lucas Steele (Pierre and Anatole) had us eating out of their hands, begging for more.  Charmng. Witty, sympathetic.  Yum.

 

The cast feels such bigger than its twenty four.  Their energy could light up an entire city

 

BRAVO, BRAVA!

 

I hope I can get back to see it while it's still here!

 

Updated On: 12/9/15 at 10:51 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:08pm

willep said: "How hard is it to get there from NYC?"

 

I'm doing it! I'm taking the bus with 2 of my friends to Boston from NYC just to see it. There are lots of bus companies that go between NYC and Boston and it's not too hard to find affordable tickets (and you know I mean it because I'm a student on a limited budget). We're staying the night with a friend and going back Sunday morning. The bus ride is about 4 hours I believe, so it's long but not deadly. 

 

Normally I wouldn't make a trip like this, especially so close to the end of the semester, but after I missed the first NYC production, we're not going to risk the possibility that this won't transfer to Broadway (though I sincerely hope it does!). The three of us worked with Dave Malloy on a new musical this summer, and we want to support him, and also see this amazing show. 

 

Updated On: 12/8/15 at 11:08 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:36pm

I do Boston to NY in one day all the time.  Not bad at all.

[HSky]

Posted: 12/8/15 at 11:47pm

Are there any restrictions for the onstage seating? (e.g. coats, purses, etc?) 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/9/15 at 12:12am

Coats and bulky bags not permitted.  plenty of free, selfcoat hanging in the lobby for all.

 

[ActingDude172]

Posted: 12/9/15 at 1:03am

I was also at tonight's performance and agree with dramamama that sound and diction were the only problems, and they didn't seem to occur until act II (may have been my seating - I switched from rear orch center to mid orch right). Went in with no familiarity with the piece and had a ball. Thrilling to experience and it made me so glad that theatre like this is alive. Hoping for a long and bright future for the production and material.

Very likely going back in the next ten days if I can get a ticket. Putting the cast recording on blast in the mean time. Can't wait.

[The Josh]

Posted: 12/9/15 at 1:57am

I, too, was at the show tonight.  Sound design can still use some work (or maybe I was just sitting too close to the oboe player) but I thought everything else was damn wonderful.  Phenomenal cast, masterful use of the space, stunning lighting design, and a funky, weird score that I can't get out of my head.  Definitely hoping to see this again.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/9/15 at 9:38am

I'm curious: the cast at the ART was pretty racially diverse, and I was just curious if the NY production was as well.  I know that Phillipa Soo was Natasha, but what about the rest of the cast?

 

[Kad]

Posted: 12/9/15 at 9:54am

Yes, the NY cast was also diverse. Phillipa Soo, Amber Grey as Helene, Nick Choksi as Dolokhov, and Paul Pinto as Balaga, as well as much of the ensemble were all actors of color.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 12/10/15 at 1:33pm

Just booked for Jan 3 based upon the early word!  Liked this a lot in NY but somehow think I'll enjoy it more on a second viewing.  

I know nothing about the Narasha in this production, but I wonder if this did come to NY if Soo (likely out of Hamilton by then) would reprise her role for Broadway.  (Note: fully aware of the many assumptions in that last sentence....)

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/10/15 at 1:53pm

 

Lucas Steele, whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 6:10am

Meaning? 

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 7:54am

 

I’ve always found him completely wrong for the role.  He does terrific work, but it’s akin to casting, like… I don’t know… Tom Hanks as Mick Jagger.

 

The show situates Anatole as having a sort of dashing, hyper-masculine swagger.  Lucas Steele has swagger and looks, but an unavoidably twinky aesthetic.  He’s more delicately pretty than handsome.

 

The way I described it to Kad is that I’ve always thought the actors who have played Dolokhov are the types that would work for me in the Anatole role.  Steele is the one actor in the show who, all four times I saw it, never seemed right to me, despite his considerable charms and talent.

[aimeric]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 10:32am

I get what you're saying re:Lucas Steele, but having read the book, I actually really like the role as written and cast in the musical (and I can't say that for all the characters).  I always imagined Anatole looking like that in the book, almost exactly like Lucas Steele actually (esp. with that over-the-top fauxhawk he had in the last production).  Maybe it's a difference in where people are coming from when they approach the material.  The story here is about a teenage girl falling in love/lust, and I dunno, but back when I was a teenage girl, it seemed like that was exactly the kind of guy that most teen girls thought were "dreamy": the "twink" type.  

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 11:31am

(Thanks for the thorough reply)

 

I did like him, but I can very much see where you're coming from....maybe it worked a little better for me, as I think men (heck look at men's fashion for the time) of that time were more genteel...to be a society man.

 

I thought, overall, the women to be far more interestng (and more impressive in performance) than the men...but I didn't dislike anyone.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 11:36am

I think the piece gives the women far more interesting stuff to work with (even the super supporting roles like Helene or Marya Dimitryevna have outstanding solos like "Charming" and "In My House"- the only male character to get a real solo is Pierre).

[aimeric]

Posted: 12/11/15 at 11:53pm

Will write more tomorrow, because I'm actually seeing the show again tomorrow from a different vantage point, but I did see it tonight, and yes, of course it was amazing.  I'll reserve my thoughts till I see it a second time, but I did just want to add that I happened to see Dave Malloy coming out of the theatre tonight in the company of Josh Groban.  So whoever was wafting around those rumors a few months back of Josh Groban being courted for a potential Broadway production of this show may certainly know what they're talking about...though I still can't imagine what part Josh Groban would be suited for...  Or we may be totally off-base, and maybe Dave Malloy wants Josh Groban as Ishmael for the Moby Dick musical he's working on.   

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/12/15 at 3:50am

I agree about Steele. He just didn't have that enigmatic appeal to me. Something about him. 

[HSky]

Posted: 12/12/15 at 12:10pm

I didn't get to see it in NY but have had the cast recording since its release. Much like Spring Awakening, which I had only listened to and not yet seen until a few weeks ago, I didn't fully connect with it until I finally saw it staged to give context to lyrics, and ended up loving the show.

I was seated in the stage left banquette Wed night and loved the perspective. Other than difficulty seeing around the people at the tables directly in front of me when someone was downstage left (I'm also short, so YMMV), I had a great view of most of the action, regardless of where it was happening in the space. People seated in the pits definitely had more direct interactions but had to turn a lot to catch all of the activity. Maybe it's because I had seen Once the night before, but a few more mirrors sprinkled throughout the artwork might have helped to sneak those glances of other areas.

I didn't have many issues with the sound and thought it was balanced pretty well - the sound of an instrument in my ear couldn't be avoided due my seat, and that was the main cause of any moment where I thought music overshadowed the singer.

As others mentioned, the entire set and lighting are amazingly beautiful. Definitely heed the strobe warnings posted everywhere if you're sensitive to that because of an intense sequence, but that was one of the highlights for me. I've only seen pictures of Kazino, but the staging cleverly incorporated both the house area and stage seamlessly.

Lilli Cooper, Denee Benton, Brittain Ashford, and Scott Stangland were the highlights for me but the entire company sounded great and had so much energy. There were little touches, too, like one of the cast drifting over to point out their location on the family tree in the Playbill during the Prologue, that I loved.

Tickets are very reasonable, and if I wasn't 5 hours away, I'd return to see it again.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 1:15am

Saw it tonight and obviously totally loved it.

 

As others have said, they have a bit of a sound issue, but nothing major. I also found myself wishing that there weren't QUITE as many audience members onstage. It felt just a little too crowded, and from a staging perspective, it wasn't always easy for my eye to go to the person singing because of the mass of bodies around them. 

 

I enjoyed the second act even more than the first. I felt that it had more momentum and energy in general than the first act, which has a bit of a pacing issue IMO. But overall wow, what a brilliant piece of theatre. The cast is pretty strong. Denée Benton as Natasha was the real stand-out for me. The one person I really could not get over was Britain Ashford. I never liked her voice on the cast album, and I liked it significantly less in person. Such a shame as her song is so beautiful. But yeah anyway, this is a really special piece. The only reason I'm focusing on the negatives in this post is because it would be too difficult to list the positives. I sincerely really hope this does go to Broadway.

 

ALSO, Josh Groban was there AGAIN tonight. He was sitting in the 2nd-to-last row with a big binder and a pen on his lap. I don't know what exactly his involvement is, but this can't be a coincidence. Maybe he's considering investing? I don't personally see him in any of the roles, but that's just me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 12/13/15 at 01:15 AM