Mandy Patinkin to join THE GREAT COMET as Pierre for 3 week run!- Page 4

[Rainah]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:41pm

bdn223 said: "Hes maybe 10-20 years to old for the role, not 30....

 At the start of War and Peace Natasha is 13 and Pierre is in his early-mid 20s. It should also be noted that life expectancy in 1800s Russia was under 40 years. When Comet begins Natasha is 16/17sh and Pierre is in his late 20s, making Pierre a man in the final quarter of his life. Thus when you cast it considering the main drive of Pierre in Comet is his existential crisis, you should cast it older as it is more in line with a the contemporary "Mid Life crisis" then the crisis someone has when they turn 30, which would be truer on paper, but not in terms of authorial intent."

Life expectantcies were 40 because half your children died before they turned 5, and dramatically skews the results. if you made it to adulthood, it was likely you would live to be old. https://gcanyon.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/life-expectancy-in-the-1800s-not-as-bad-as-reported/
A white man living in the 1800s could expect to live past 60 if he lived past the age of 10.

Regardless, we are not in 19th century Russia. Pierre watches TV, Marya is a dominatrix, and same sex couples dance at the ball. A 64 year old man expressing a desire to wed and love a woman 40 years younger is going to look creepy, however talented he is.

Updated On: 7/26/17 at 12:41 PM

[Messytheatregirl]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:41pm

He's only doing a 3 week run because they already had someone scheduled to come in as Pierre after Oak's run. No one knows who that person is, but I'm sure it will be another stunt casting episode...especially since they weren't willing to extend Mandy's run. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:42pm

froote said: "Um. Well I hope Oak hasn't been forced out, he was doing a great job.

They must have someone big coming in in September I think. Happy if this means the show will be around for a lot longer.

And 900k at 97% capacity isn't a slump at all."

That last is just fake news. At that level we would have to endure 3 more years of bad producing before this recoups. 

[3GamesToLove]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:45pm

schubox said: "It would be great for him to play accordion and piano, it's not necessary for the part. Lucas steele's understudy doesn't play the violin. What else does he play accordion on other than Prologue? And he only plays piano on the beginning of Dustbajd Ashes and Pierre. Also during The Abduction. Having the new band leader play instead isn't a huge deal, especially for three weeks of shows 

 

"

Considering that Oak spent months learning and a lot of people think his delay was due to his mastery of the instruments, this would be absolutely ridiculous.

 

[asimplegal2]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:48pm

Will he have to wear The Fat Suit™??

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:48pm

Patinkin is way too old.
And many seem to be taking the "old man" lyric from Great Comet far too literally.  


 

[schubox]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:49pm

3GamesToLove said: "schubox said: "It would be great for him to play accordion and piano, it's not necessary for the part. Lucas steele's understudy doesn't play the violin. What else does he play accordion on other than Prologue? And he only plays piano on the beginning of Dustbajd Ashes and Pierre. Also during The Abduction. Having the new band leader play instead isn't a huge deal, especially for three weeks of shows 

 

"

Considering that Oak spent months learning and a lot of people think his delay was due to his mastery of the instruments, this would be absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

"

What would be? Patinkin picking it up so quickly or having someone else play them? He's there three weeks and is a big name. Wouldn't shock me at all if he just sings and acts and doesn't play any instruments 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:56pm

Pierre doesn't watch TV. The lyric "hours at my screen" does not refer to electronics; it most likely refers to an ornamental fireplace screen, which lessened the amount of heat generated.

Despite the anachronistic staging, the text of the show itself keeps the world firmly in 1812 in terms of references, etc.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:58pm

Thus when you cast it considering the main drive of Pierre in Comet is his existential crisis, you should cast it older as it is more in line with a the contemporary "Mid Life crisis" then the crisis someone has when they turn 30, which would be truer on paper, but not in terms of authorial intent.

Culturally, you can't make those assumptions.  An existential crisis of a twenty-something Russian man in the early 19th century while his country is at war is hardly in line with a contemporary American middle-aged man's mid-life crisis (not to mention, there are characters a generation older than Pierre throughout the novel).  And even we pretended you could, Patinkin's still too old.  But the stereotypical American mid-life crisis is usually the reverse of Pierre's circumstances.  It is often associated with a desperate attempt to recapture youth rather than a quest for morality and peace.

Natasha is 13 at the beginning of the novel, but Pierre is only described as having finished his studied abroad, which means he's somewhere in the range of 18-22.  Whether referencing "mid-life" or not, he's still probably only 5-10 years older than Natasha, so if you want to put a contemporary American slant on the casting, you need a Natasha who APPEARS mid 40s, at the very least, to make any sense of Patinkin's casting.

[schubox]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:58pm

Kad said: "Pierre doesn't watch TV. The lyric "hours at my screen" does not refer to electronics; it most likely refers to an ornamental fireplace screen, which lessened the amount of heat generated.

Despite the anachronistic staging, the text of the show itself keeps the world firmly in 1812 in terms of references, etc.

 

"

A large portion of the lyrics are lifted straight from the book. And I take the crazy costumes during the club scene as a way to relate how crazy the scene is in today's terms. 

[Rainah]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:58pm

Kad said: "Pierre doesn't watch TV. The lyric "hours at my screen" does not refer to electronics; it most likely refers to an ornamental fireplace screen, which lessened the amount of heat generated.

Despite the anachronistic staging, the text of the show itself keeps the world firmly in 1812 in terms of references, etc."

From the words of Malloy himself
"This is the lyric I get asked about the most. It is indeed an anachronistic reference to computer/phone screens. The show originally had more of that going on—Act 2 was going to start with Pierre watching war footage on TV—but we eventually came to a more delicate anachronistic tone."

[David10086]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:00pm

Check out Rafael Casal's Twitter page...he's being very vocal about Oak's being let go after two weeks. He hints to the fact that the box office didn't improve with Oak.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:02pm

I had planned on seeing this in August when I was in town. I'll pick another show now. Something is rotten over at the Imperial.

[asimplegal2]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:03pm

Kad said: "Pierre doesn't watch TV. The lyric "hours at my screen" does not refer to electronics; it most likely refers to an ornamental fireplace screen, which lessened the amount of heat generated.

Despite the anachronistic staging, the text of the show itself keeps the world firmly in 1812 in terms of references, etc.

 

"

Dave Malloy has stated that this lyric is a reference to modern TV/computer screens, as Pierre's laziness is the old fashioned equivalent as someone spending their whole life watching TV. 

[dianamorales]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:03pm

I really didn't expect to feel like the only person who is absolutely thrilled at this news. I would give anything to see him as Pierre. I think it's flawless casting and he'll sound fantastic, but I'm also concerned about Oak. I've seen lots of discussion and lots of people (Rafael Casal) are immediately making it about race. Let's not forget that we really have no idea why this happened and not point fingers too soon.

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:06pm

I think this is very interesting casting, though I'll have to read a few reviews before I go to see him. Agreed that this could go either way, especially with the age differences between him and Gray and Benton.

As for the Oak thing, it sucks, but I'm sure it's not the first time something like this has happened. 

[adagio]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:07pm

While I agree he's technically too old for the part, I would still jump at the chance to see him perform if I lived anywhere near NYC. I think it's a good fit.


I sincerely hope Great Comet can manage to hold on until I make another trip next year. Don't know what's going on behind the scenes but I absolutely adore this show.

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:09pm

I'm not necessarily opposed to this but? I'm kind of disappointed that Oak isn't doing this for longer. It's certainly kind of weird to see a 64-year old play a romantic role to a girl 40 years younger than him, but I'm willing to overlook it since he is a legend. Plus he isn't doing it for very long either. 

[schubox]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:17pm

DottieD'Luscia said: "I had planned on seeing this in August when I was in town. I'll pick another show now. Something is rotten over at the Imperial.

 

"but 

Why? It's a great show and you could see it with a Broadway legend in the lead 

 

And what's rotten? Most logical explanation is Patinkin wanted to do it but had these dates only. So they push Oak out. That sucks but they're in it to make money and they'll make more money this way 

Updated On: 7/26/17 at 01:17 PM

[ladypresent]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:21pm

Genius casting. Claps to the producers and whoever the Casting Director is. This is brilliant. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:29pm

Hmmmmm......I have tickets for 8/16, and bought them TO see Oak at my kids' request.  So, I'm partially disappointed, and partially ecstatic.     

 

I think he'll play the part wonderfully and can't wait to hear him sing the score.  Do I think he's too old?  Yes.  Do I actually care?  Nope.

 

[leighmiserables]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:32pm

dramamama611 said: "I think he'll play the part wonderfully and can't wait to hear him sing the score.  Do I think he's too old?  Yes.  Do I actually care?  Nope."

My thoughts exactly. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:32pm

Itonlytakesajourney said: "It's certainly kind of weird to see a 64-year old play a romantic role to a girl 40 years younger than him..."

I guess you don't watch many movies. Also, the Natasha/Pierre thing is just barely touched on at the very end, it's not like they are making out and in each other's grill the whole show.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:33pm

Itonlytakesajourney said: "I'm not necessarily opposed to this but? I'm kind of disappointed that Oak isn't doing this for longer. It's certainly kind of weird to see a 64-year old play a romantic role to a girl 40 years younger than him, but I'm willing to overlook it since he is a legend. Plus he isn't doing it for very long either. 

 

"

But there isn't romance between them until the very end....and the romance part of that can be played way down.   Its going to be more noticeable playing agains Helene, his wife.   But she's a gold digger, so it could work.

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:34pm

schubox said: "That sucks but they're in it to make money and they'll make more money this way "

Not if they don't yank Oak's discount codes ASAP...