Great Comet in London - Page 2

[schubox]

Posted: 12/17/24 at 7:30pm

bear88 said: "While I loved the Broadway production, my wife enjoyed the West Coast premiere at Shotgun Players, a small theater in Berkeley where Dave Malloy staged several of his earlier shows, even more. It was a very good production, and while it had a certain level of opulence despite budgetary constraints, the intimacy of the show made me realize why people fell in love with it at Ars Nova.

It’s a musical that doesn’t need to be big to work."

I saw it on Broadway, at Berkeley and at the Writer's Theatre in Chicago. I think the Berkeley one was my least favorite, but I still really enjoyed the intimate setting of it

[willep]

Posted: 12/18/24 at 3:38pm

I thought they did really well at expanding it to fill a Broadway theatre, and I went several times during its run, but I would say that seeing it Off Broadway at Kazino was a special experience that is in my top nights of theatre.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/18/24 at 3:51pm

The greatest addition to the Broadway incarnation was its large ensemble with their incredible voices. Those vocal arrangements are incredible and elevated Malloy's score to the heavens. But, imo, the score was already glorious and is just as effective on a smaller scale.

[schubox]

Posted: 12/18/24 at 4:36pm

Kad said: "The greatest addition to the Broadway incarnation was its large ensemble with their incredible voices. Those vocal arrangements are incredible and elevated Malloy's score to the heavens. But, imo, the score was already glorious and is just as effective on a smaller scale."

Yeah the first time the entire ensemble came in during Prologue on Broadway I got full body chills. Also Josh Groban was right next to me when it happened, so that may have helped 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/18/24 at 7:04pm

I saw this tonight and enjoyed it. I remember liking the show on Broadway also but for some reason, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to the cast recording or really thought much about it after leaving the theater 8 years ago. So tonight was kind of like seeing it again for the first time. It’s definitely smaller than I remember it (obviously) and the modern dress/aesthetics didn’t bother me like i think they have others. I definitely get why people are confused with it and/or don’t like it but I enjoyed it enough. Fantastic cast really made for an enjoyable night. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/18/24 at 7:16pm

When I saw the Broadway version, it was cool, and emotionally affecting, but did not seem too concerned with being narratively driven. The sarcastic jokes about how overly-involved the plot is in the Prologue felt like an invitation to engage with it as a piece of modern art, not a narrative arc.

Then, when I saw the Pittsburgh CLO version, their production was less "rule of cool" and more driven by narrative and conventional storytelling, without any revisions to the material. It was fascinating to see how the same text and score could be interpreted in two so different tactics.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 12/23/24 at 1:16pm

I saw the show this afternoon. That's three for three of seeing the hottest tickets in London right now. 

It was really nice to see this musical again after seven and a half years! So...

 

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I love how this musical works in an intimate space like the Donmar, but I really prefer the elegant 19th-century nightclub setting. This literally looked like a 1970s or 1980s club scene instead. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was ok, but it just does not have the same feeling as when this was in New York. 

Also, I did not care for some of the cuts made to the score. Mainly, in the Abduction number, Pierre's moment towards the end has been completely gutted. Also, it's no longer "Goodbye my Gypsy Lovers," it's now "Goodbye my Moonlight Lovers." I tell ya, after spending YEARS listening to the OBC recording, that lyric has stuck with me all those years and to hear it changed kinda threw me off. 

Besides that, THIS CAST IS SHEER PERFECTION! The intimacy of the Donmar really connects performers with the audience. I'll say, making DIRECT eye contact with Jamie Muscato during Prologue was the HIGHLIGHT of my experience. God, that man is HOTTER than EVER!

Those are my thoughts. I know it's hard to get a ticket to this but if you can try with returns, do it. It's totally worth it. I definitely wanna see it again at some point. I'd like to see this transfer to the West End, but I just don't know where exactly. My friend who was with me said that @sohoplace Theatre would be the best option if they wanna keep it intimate. Also, I NEED a cast album but I don't think we will get one as we still have not gotten a Next to Normal cast album. Anything is possible. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 12/24/24 at 2:18pm

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of Who Knows When

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/theater/natasha-pierre-and-the-great-comet-of-1812-london-donmar.html?unlocked_article_code=1.j04.5810.dk0iU3gSveCQ