Great Comet of 1812 at ART — Page 2

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

Lucas Steele, whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?

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.

(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.

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.

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.