Great Comet of 1812 at ART- Page 3

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 6:42am

That does sound like involvement, indeed.  I could see him as Pierre, actually...but a very different Pierre.

 

This would be great in the Helen Hayes, methinks. (And Circle in the Square, but hopefully that won't be available for awhile.)

 

[Junior Babcock]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 7:49am

I saw it last night, too. I'm not a theater professional - have seen 200 or so shows on and off B'way, but whatever - I was trendsfixed by the total experience. I was seated in the third row of the orchestra but i felt enveloped in the action as if I were on the stage. Most of the cast were amazingly interactive with the audience, including eye contact and singing directly to - and sitting down beside - many seated in the on-stage and in orchestra seats. The score is mesmerizing and enchanting. I agree with whosever observed that the on-stage audience seemed a bit crowded in. From the third row of the orchestra, however, it felt to me as if I had the best seat in the house. Much of the action took place in the aisles directly below and beside me. Cafe tables, placed in the seats - and lighted by table lamps - only added to the atmosphere. A total theater experience. Curiously uplifting in spite of the fact that the show is basically a Franco-Russian soap opera with a philosophical ending. One piece of advice: pay attention to the program notes  BEFORE the show begins. The "family tree" is there for a good reason. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 9:11am

"This would be great in the Helen Hayes, methinks. (And Circle in the Square, but hopefully that won't be available for awhile.)"

 

It's funny, I totally understand your instinct to think of smaller houses like the Hayes, but as it already is, they will probably have to scale the stage DOWN from what it is now to fit into a Broadway house. They might actually want to go for a more medium/large house if they want to have the stage-space they need. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 9:20am

^Good point, indeed, but I just can't imagine this show FEELING the same way it  does, it a big house.  A huge part of the charm is the immersion.  (But what the heck do I know?)

[Kad]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 4:10pm

I think an issue for this in any Broadway house is the fact that those in the mezz will be significantly left out, and possibly miss a great deal.

[aimeric]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 5:55pm

Everyone here's already made great points, and it seems like several of us were at the same performance last night.  I should preface my comments by saying again that I saw the show three times in NYC, so I'm pretty familiar with the Kazino staging and the original lyrics/music.  So I can't help but compare this version to that one, and if anyone else who saw it in NYC is curious about the changes made for this version, I can address those.  Please forgive me, because I already know this is all going to come out long-winded, because there's so much to say!

I saw the show twice this weekend, on Friday night and on Saturday night.  When I saw it on Friday, we were sitting in the last row of the center section of the normal proscenium theater seating, right in front of the lighting(?) booth.  On Saturday we were sitting onstage, in the right sunken pit.  Both seats were great, for different reasons.  In a way, the show is actually now two different shows, depending on where you're sitting.  There's always been that debate between those who prefer to see a show from up close, to see the actors' expressions and feel like part of the action, and those who prefer to see a show from farther back, say, the front mezz, in order to get a better view of the overall stage picture.  On Friday I saw the latter show, and it was amazing.  On Saturday I saw the former show, and it was also amazing.  The major overall difference in the staging is that it's actually quite symmetrical in some ways, centered on a main island where musical director Or Matias and Pierre sit with the piano, drums, keyboards, and bass (this island had formerly been positioned on the side of Kazino), and the grand entrance/exit door (previously set at one end of Kazino) was centered on the back wall of the stage, over that main island.  This meant that lots of important stage moments occurred at center stage, whether upstage or downstage.  So if you're going to sit in the proscenium seating, the center section is definitely preferable to get the full lighting and stage effects.  There were moments I saw perfectly on Friday night that I missed on Saturday because of sight lines, but the atmosphere in the onstage seating is so electric that it makes up for any missed views, and the actors make it great since they're all so earnest and comfortable making contact with the audience onstage.

 

Overall, I thought this staging was an excellent adaptation to the inevitable challenges of a proscenium set-up.  They did their best to scatter the (much larger) ensemble throughout the theater, not only in the aisles but also on top of long, narrow ledges they had built on top of some of the rows of seating.  There were three of these platforms in the audience: two shorter ones about a third of the way up each side section, and one longer one along the back of the center section of seating.  Even in the back row of the proscenium seating, I felt included in the action, so that's a good sign.  But as Kad says, I did wonder how I would feel if I were seated in a mezz section of a Broadway house...

 

As for the cast, they're on the whole excellent.  The newcomers are all doing beautifully up there, and seem well integrated with the old hands.  Denee Benton is so sweet and charming, and though I did think Philippa Soo had a stronger belt at the top of her range, I really thought Denee acted the hell out of the role, especially her final scene, perhaps even better than Philippa's acting.  Scott Stangland is quite a good Pierre, with a burly physicality and a constantly pathetic and harried look that really helps his characterization.  I liked him on Friday, but I thought he was absolutely killing it on Saturday.  He's got a beautiful voice when he has to transition to the gentler singing sections towards the end of the show, which is always something I think is pretty important for a Pierre to get right.  The ensemble is on fire up there, as always.  Nick Choksi (Dolokhov) and the musical director Or Matias alone are so full of energy they could be a Red Bull commercial: they just look like they're having the time of their lives up there.  Paul Pinto (Balaga) and Gelsey Bell (Mary Bolkonsky) are still working their asses off in about five different roles each, and the Preparations/Balaga sequence in Act II has been extended and enhanced into a straight-up showstopper.  Grace McLean (Marya Dmitrievna) was as amazing as she's always been in this show, and she seemed to be really popular with the audience.  I'm still in awe at her ability to shriek out those lines show after show without blowing out her voice!

As for the differences between this production and the previous off-Broadway version, as others have already mentioned above, the main differences are a new solo for Pierre, some rewrites for the beginning of "Sunday Morning," and alterations to the end of "The Duel" to provide a better transition into Pierre's new solo, which comes after the duel.  To be more specific: the new transition after the duel cuts the bits between Anatole and Helene, which are then scattered throughout a few other scenes, and replaces them with a few different lines between Anatole and Helene and some more lines between Anatole and Pierre, before Pierre goes home to reflect on the ****ty state of his life.  To be honest, when I saw the show on Friday, I didn't really see the need for this Pierre solo, since it covers some of the same ground that his intro solo already covers.  But when I saw it for the second time on Saturday, something about it came to life more for me, whether because Scott Stangland was more into it (he was really feeling it Saturday night!), or because I had gotten more used to it once I knew what to expect, or maybe because I was sitting closer and got a better perspective of his acting of the scene, but I liked it more the second time around.  The alterations to "Sunday Morning": they basically cut Sonya's lines from the beginning of the song and replaced them with lines for her that refer to a part in the book where she and Natasha play a game where they look into mirrors and try to see their futures in the mirror.  (This had already been vaguely referenced in "Letters" in the off-Broadway version: "I see nothing but the candle in the mirror / No visions of the future..." so the additions to "Sunday Morning" clarify those lines a bit more.)  From there, "Sunday Morning" then transitions into the remainder of the song, from Natasha's lines, "I suffer more now than before! / The theatre and Anatole..."

In addition to these more substantial changes, there are minor alterations to lyrics and notes scattered throughout the show, notably a number of lines dropped in various parts.  The argument scene between Natasha and Sonya at the top of Act II has a few lines or parts of lines missing, as does "The Private and Intimate Life of the House."  Pierre's verse in "Letters" is slightly altered in notes and lyrics.  When I saw the show on Friday, I wasn't sure if they had just made mistakes in some of these parts, but the second time I saw the show, it became clear that these lines were simply being cut.  Not sure why in most cases, but there must be some reason for the changes that I couldn't figure out.  They bothered me a bit at first, since I'm so familiar with the off-Broadway cast recording and dropping some of these lines seemed to muddle the rhythm of some of these sections.  To give just one example that stood out to me, when Natasha's arguing with Sonya, originally she sings, "I don't know what the reasons are, but there must be reasons! / Sonya, one can't doubt him, one can't, one can't, don't you understand?" which had a lovely rhythm going.  Now it's more simplified, and she sings, "I don't know what the reasons are, but there must be reasons! / Sonya, one can't doubt him, don't you understand?" which sounds more awkward to my ear.  But again, what do I know?  Ultimately, most were minor changes that weren't too bothersome.

 

On Friday we actually had the creatives sitting next to us in our row, Rachel Chavkin and a few others, and they were taking notes, while on Saturday we had Dave Malloy sitting in our section onstage (having a blast, it seemed!), so I imagine we'll see some tweaking as the production keeps developing here at A.R.T.  If there are tweaks needed, they should only really be minor ones, because this thing already plays like a well-oiled machine.  As others have said, the sound design could be improved, but maybe the immersive nature of the piece makes it difficult to perfect?  I was actually really impressed on Friday with how sensitive and sophisticated the microphones were, that in scenes like the finale scenes I could hear even the quietest sounds from my back-row seats.

 

So I guess what I'm saying is...it was beautiful, both days, from both locations.  :)  If you go see this, I really don't think there's a bad seat in the house.  Enjoy!

Updated On: 12/13/15 at 05:55 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 7:06pm

So...did anyone else notice the Hamilton reference that they added? 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 11:04pm

WOW http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/theater/josh-groban-takes-aim-at-his-broadway-dream.html?smid=tw-share

[RW3]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 11:09pm

LizzieCurry said: "WOW http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/theater/josh-groban-takes-aim-at-his-broadway-dream.html?smid=tw-share

 

I know right!!!!!

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 11:13pm

I guessed correctly (him playing Pierre)...I never do that!

 

So excited for this production, those that will get to stay involved and NY!  Is this the first we've heard that this was definitely planning to transfer?

 

( Geez, the ART is on one helluva winning streak!)

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 11:17pm

Man, are they burying the lead with this article... Huge news! Surprised they're able to so explicitly say that Groban will be attached to a production starting in September. Where's it gonna go? 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 11:17pm

This is huge. You'll have to excuse me, but I think this deserves its own thread! 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 9:52am

Is Lilli Cooper no longer in the production or is the website inaccurate? It lists Grace McLean as Helene.

http://americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/natasha-pierre-great-comet-1812

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 10:13am

it's an error

 

Lilli is Helene, Grace McLean is Marya -- looks like they deleted part of a line.

[KCW]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 12:34pm

I don't want to be the one who asks about a bunch of things, but I would be quite happy if I were to get a few questions answered

My first one is how intimate the stool experience is. I am somewhat confused.  Do the actors want to see your expressions if they give you things? Do they give you things? Do you have to talk at all? Were any of you stool viewers uncomfortable (comfort (is the seat itself comfortable) wise and intimacy wise)? was the mood easy to get into?

My second is if they still serve dinner, like what I heard from what happened at the Kazino version. I am a bit picky sometimes.

Thank you all so much.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 12:58pm

KCW said: "Do the actors want to see your expressions if they give you things? Do they give you things? Do you have to talk at all?"

 

None of the audience members had to talk, but one person did have to stand up at one point. They do sometimes give you things. 

 

"My second is if they still serve dinner, like what I heard from what happened at the Kazino version."

 

No, they don't.

 

"

 

[aimeric]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 1:01pm

Re: the intimacy of the onstage seating, some of that depends on A.) your personality, and B.) where exactly you are sitting onstage.  I assume you want to know specifically only about the stool seating?  My theater buddy and I were both seated on stools, and even though they don't have backs, we didn't find them uncomfortable because we had the bar to lean on, and you can turn all around on them to see the whole theatre.  But your physical comfort on the stools might depend on your age or whether you have back issues, etc.

 

The interaction between you and the actors depends a lot on how you handle it!  If you feel uncomfortable making eye contact, etc., no one will force you, but it can be a really interesting experience to have a character singing her heart out to you as if you're her secret diary.  You never have to talk to them, and shouldn't.  They do occasionally give things to people sitting onstage, but I've found that if you just take it and play along, flirt along, or whatever the character would seem to appreciate, both you and the actors have more fun.  But I know people's mileage may vary here.  I am myself an introvert and wondered the first time I saw the show if it would be too "hands-on" for me, but I found that it really isn't that hands-on, and I never felt embarrassed by the actors' "attentions."  Half the time, depending on your exact seat, you may not even receive any "attentions" at all.    So I guess I would say, yeah, I found the mood easy to get into.  But again, your mileage may vary.  If you think you'd be easily embarrassed or overstimulated, you could always try for seats in the first couple rows of the normal proscenium seating, but the atmosphere onstage, despite occasional odd or blocked sight lines, is quite unique.

 

They no longer serve dinner, so you should definitely eat before you come.    They do give everyone a potato pierogi right before the show, and of course they sell alcoholic drinks in the lobby that you can bring to your seat, but no dinner.

 

[KCW]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 1:07pm

Thanks to both of, that clears up my questions. I suppose I have a new one now. Given the slim chance of being given something, would you be expected to keep it? 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 1:14pm

In the opening of act 2, they hand out little sealed letters to many of the audience members, which you are allowed to keep (or at least my friend who was in a stool seat kept hers). Not to be confused with Anatole's letter to Natasha, which they ask the front row of stool seats to pass down to Natasha. 

[aimeric]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 3:16pm

Yep, you're supposed to keep your "love letter," if you get one.  :)  Unless it's the letter for Natasha, of course, in which case you better pass it on, or Helene'll come take it off your hands right quick.    I don't know if you're supposed to keep the Balaga shaker eggs, if you're given one.  You used to be able to keep them at the Kazino version, and I think some people did take theirs home at A.R.T., but I also saw the stage managers going around collecting the ones leftover after the show to reuse, so hm... 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 4:07pm

They do ask for them back, but I'm sure they lose several every performance.

 

I sat in the front row of the traditional seating, which was spectacular, but strange to see all the face of the uncomfortable folks on the "stage" -- many that looked like they'd rather disappear.  Going again next week and will sit onstage with my son...who's never had the opportunity to experience something like this.  

 

 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 7:40pm

Thinking about where it might end, I've a feeling I know where it'll play, and if I'm right, we'll know by the end of the week and it'll be a very unexpected venue. 

[aimeric]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 8:54pm

Hope your son enjoys it as much as you did, dramamama!  I'm already looking forward to bringing (dragging?) my friends and family to the Broadway production!

[yknot]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 9:19pm

Vivian Beaumont?? That sprung to mind when you said unexpected; and I think it could work BEAUTIFULLY in there...

[KCW]

Posted: 12/15/15 at 6:05pm

yknot said: "Vivian Beaumont?? That sprung to mind when you said unexpected; and I think it could work BEAUTIFULLY in there..."

It could work, but the fact of the matter is that The King and I isn't going anywhere soon. Also, the space might not be intimate enough for the preformance. I don't think the vivian is gonna be the theatre, mostly due to the current engagement.