Great Comet moved me. And many others.- Page 2

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 6:14pm

Both Great Comet and DEH moved me and I thought they were both fantastic new musicals.  I don't understand why both can't be considered great works and why one MUST be better than the other like there's some kind of ridiculous competition that you've all made up.  Just enjoy that we have so many wonderful new musicals this year.

[bear88]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 6:38pm

When threads get started on Tony nomination days, that's what tends to happen. (The irony is that any 'rivalry' between enthusiasts of the two shows may be irrelevant, as Come From Away is a decent bet to win the Tony.)

I saw Great Comet and DEH and consecutive nights. I was glad to see both of them. There are certainly some interesting parallels (coping with depression, young leads who make bad mistakes) but the shows are far more different than alike.

I found Great Comet unexpectedly affecting, in part because the critics' reviews had led me to expect something more frivolous. Sure, my wife caught pierogi and we had fun shaking the eggs we got, but the ballads are moving (or seductive, in the case of 'Charming' and the last 20 minutes and conclusion are wonderful. It's not for everyone, and I respect anyone who gave it a chance and didn't like it, but it's a very inventive, visual feast that finds an imaginative way to tell its story. The show isn't perfect, but I liked both the journey and the destination.

Updated On: 5/3/17 at 06:38 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 7:13pm

I am so tired of people having opinions that differ from my own.

[Gensho]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 1:05am

I wouldn't call it soulless, but I had no idea what was going on. It's hard to invest in characters that aren't well presented to you. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 1:29am

There are two types of opinions that people never tire of sharing: love and hate. Why? Because they're strong.  When you feel sort of middle of the road, there isn't much to say.

I love this show, have seen it 4x (twice in Boston, twice in NY) with plans for a 5th with Oak. I was never lost, never lacked connection with tbe characters. Neither did my kids.

While I don't understand hating the piece, that's not my judgement  to make.  Art IS subjective. One of my closest friends nearly always has vastly different opinions on shows than I. We've learned not to go to the theater together...but we still talk about everything. 

Someone else's opinion doesn't validate or diminish my own.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 8:52am

dramamama611 said: "There are two types of opinions that people never tire of sharing: love and hate. Why? Because they're strong.  When you feel sort of middle of the road, there isn't much to say."

The strongest reviews on Amazon are always the 1 and 5 star reviews.

[brian1973]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 8:59am

It moved me...towards the exit signs.

what a smug soulless show, with a tuneless score. It like some high school kids have been let lose in a broadway theatre, and not in a good way. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 9:08am

brian1973 said: "It moved me...towards the exit signs."

Well, if you couldn't sort out how to retrace your steps out of the theater without the exit sign, it would make sense that Tolstoy wouldn't be your thing.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:04am

I have not yet seen DEH, Groundhog Day, or Come from Away.  

So I'm weighing in here not about the rivalry between any of the nominated shows for Tonys.

I loved Great Comet.  It's a grand entertainment that unexpectedly reaches, as icecreambenjamin suggests, remarkable peaks of lyricsm and emotion. Dust and Ashes (which may well be the song of this theatre season) and The Great Comet of 1812, Pierre's Act 1 and Act 2 arias, are emotional tours de force.

From a vast classic novel that as a whole could not easily translate to musical theatre, the show wisely stakes a claim to just a small portion.  That part of War and Peace, contrary to the inexplicable (to me) claims of many, is extremely easy to follow and filled with dramatically vivid social and romantic conflicts.
 
Moreover, as Tolstoi clearly intended, each part of the plot runs in perfect counterpoint.  The fever-dream, wildly pleasurable scenic elements and the vibrant libretto and exciting, very contemporary score perfectly counterpoise Natasha's innocence, vulnerability and erotic coming of age, Pierre's cynicism, world-weariness and dispassion, and the cold, predatory and decadent social whirl both inhabit. 

So I understand much of what you are saying, icecreambenjamin,   But, frankly, I don't see this story as an untimely one.  Far from it.  I see it as spiritual, universal, and eternal.  
 

Updated On: 5/3/17 at 11:04 AM

[ethan231h]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:07am

DEH is a moving show on so many levels. My gosh the fact that people do not recognize those final scenes in the show as well as the end of act 1 as moving or "helping" to a person is quite sad. I will say that DEH has mentally helped me A LOT

[newintown]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:13am

Here's a different point of view than those thus far expressed - I didn't think much of either show. Didn't hate them, didn't much like them. One struck me as reductive yet solemn, the other as style over substance. I'm actually not rooting for any of the nominated musicals this year.

The four plays, on the other hand...

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:15am

ethan231h said: "DEH is a moving show on so many levels. My gosh the fact that people do not recognize those final scenes in the show as well as the end of act 1 as moving or "helping" to a person is quite sad. I will say that DEH has mentally helped me A LOT

 

I think you might have missed the biting irony of the end of Act 1. 

 

[Kad]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:20am

Well said, Henrik.

I've been a fan of the show since its off-Broadway days and have always found it, ultimately, immensely moving. What begins as a swirling spectacle, occasionally punctuated by very heartfelt arias such as "No One Else," "Sonia Alone," and (from Boston onwards), "Dust and Ashes," eventually gives way to an ending sequence that is touching and beautiful in its simplicity. The huge ensemble, which had been constantly weaving in and around the space like a shoal of tropical fish, suddenly stills, and the varied and large orchestrations reduce to a simple piano and characters speak to each other truthfully for the first time: first Andrey and Pierre, then Pierre and Natasha, and then Pierre to himself.

Although the crisis of the plot is resolved, Pierre and Natasha themselves do not have tidy resolutions. They are simply put on a better track toward happiness and fulfillment, realizing the possibilities that lie ahead. I find something really honest and touching in that.

There is also the smart adaptation going on. Instead of an attempt to cram a sprawling book into a sparknotes 3 hours that distills the complexity to melodramatic emotional beats, Malloy and Chavkin have instead focused on a slim and self-contained segment that they can instead beef up and riff on. Themes and incidents from other parts of the novel are brought in as needed (the duel, for instance occurs much earlier in the novel) and small sequences can be transformed into satisfying arias and production numbers.  

It's one of my favorite musicals of this millennia, and one I can return to again and again.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:24am

Kad said: "Although the crisis of the plot is resolved, Pierre and Natasha themselves do not have tidy resolutions. They are simply put on a better track toward happiness and fulfillment, realizing the possibilities that lie ahead. I find something really honest and touching in that."

Since I am writing a novel with a similar ending, this thread scares me.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:25am

Kad said: "Although the crisis of the plot is resolved, Pierre and Natasha themselves do not have tidy resolutions. They are simply put on a better track toward happiness and fulfillment, realizing the possibilities that lie ahead. I find something really honest and touching in that."

This is extremely well-put.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:46am

Let's see how many more posts you can add to your total post count with the unnecessary affirmations every single time something remotely positive is said about a particular show. Your affinity for COMET has been well established. Just as icecreambenjamin is becoming insufferable about DEH, you are well on your way to the same status Concierge. 

[PaulWom]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 12:03pm

I think the reason a lot of Comet fans, including myself, are frustrated and continue to write about this is because even though it got more nominations than any other show, it is still being treated as if it doesn't have a chance in hell. If there's an excess of Comet love online, I've yet to see it. 

[PaulWom]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 12:08pm

But honestly, what bothers me the most is people who dismiss the show without debating the emotional content. That's the real purpose of this thread- debate. Just like the "Hansen issues" thread. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 12:12pm

Headband, my occasionally affirming others isn't to "add to my total post count;" it's because there's no "like" button on here. If there were, I'd use it. Deeply sorry to have disturbed you so profoundly.

[South Florida]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 3:17pm

This thread has moved me to laughter, well done Hate.  Neither moved me, I liked both, but my hearing isn't the greatest and I couldn't make out the lyrics too well in Comet.

[Johnm2]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 3:24pm

I've never seen a show based on a piece of classic literature be adapted so originally and uniquely to the stage while still telling the story, but making the piece so spectacular to watch and listen to that it transcends the material and makes it into something of its own.  Sort of miraculous and that cast...  so much talent!  If people and voters don't recognize that then not sure what to say.