NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 Previews- Page 10

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 10/29/16 at 12:40pm

Saw the show last weekend and was thrilled to see how brilliantly they adapted the theatre for this show. I was in the front mezz, fourth row, the furthest seat over on house left. I could see everything perfectly and, because the stage is lifted so high, and with the stairs on both sides, I felt just as much a part of the action. During intermission, I walked down the aisle in the orchestra to get a sense for that view, and I honestly would choose anywhere in the front mezz over orchestra. They were wonderful seats.

I had seen the show 3 times previous (once in the tent in the Meatpacking district, twice in Midtown) and was extremely happy to see how well it translated. This is one of my favorite shows I've ever experienced and the Broadway production did not disappoint.

I thought Groban was fantastic (and the new song is gorgeous and powerful). I saw many in the audience wearing Josh Groban t-shirts and I am so happy that people who may not have otherwise seen this show (or a show like it) are getting exposed to it.

For me, Benton was a little disappointing. While I thought her comedic moments were spot on, I thought Soo's balance between Natasha's naiveté and her desire to be seen by others in a certain way created a real genuineness and conflict within her that I was missing from Benton. Benton certainly was not bad, and I may not have known I was missing anything had she been the only one I had seen in the role, but her performance really solidified just how nuanced and full Soo's Natasha was.

The only complaint I have is that I hope, during preview periods, they find moments of stillness. I think, in an attempt to recreate the immersive quality of the original production(s), and to make sure the audience members onstage aren't left without a view of some action for too long (without craning their necks), Chavkin seems to have created almost non-stop movement that I thought took away some of the emotion of a few scenes, particularly the final scene between Pierre and Natasha. Their movement in that, for me, made that beautiful scene lose a little bit of the gravity it had before - where, before, the contrast of all of the movement throughout the show to the stillness of this scene made it feel grounded, weighted, and gave that moment the importance that it holds. I felt the same way a bit in the opera scene when Anatole comes into Natasha's box. I wish Natasha remained more in one place in that moment to enhance the tension of feeling cornered in that moment. In the same respect, I think they can find a couple more moments where two people who are in the same room together/speaking to each other, can be close to each other for a longer period of time.

However, the show is still wonderful. I am thrilled that a show of this style is currently playing in a commercial run on Broadway. It's exciting, to me, to see such non-traditional (in terms of Broadway) musicals getting produced on the Great White Way and makes me excited to see what kind of mix of styles "mainstream" musicals will be in the future. I will certainly be back to the show again!

[HSky]

Posted: 10/29/16 at 1:18pm

I'm not sure what their coat policy will be as it gets colder (at ART they had coat racks in the lobby - if I'm not mistaken, the onstage access corridor at the Imperial uses part of the area that normally houses the coat check?) but I was able to bring my purse onstage and the guy next to me had a messenger bag. Terrence Mann and family were in the first row banquette the night I went and initially had small backpacks with them but gave them to someone to put into storage prior to the show beginning - but weren't precluded from initially having them.

The banquette seating was quite roomy, not tight at all. I also liked having one of the tables next to me.

[schubox]

Posted: 10/29/16 at 4:55pm

aaaaaa15 said: "How were the banquettes in terms of space/room between you and the people next to you and overall comfort?"

I'm a pretty big dude with broad shoulders and the banquettes were by far the most comfortable I've been at a show. I actually thought there was a third seat next to my gf, but it was just two. Very roomy and comfortable 

[schubox]

Posted: 10/29/16 at 5:50pm

Hariku said: "To anyone who has done the onstage seating --

Can you bring your stuff (coats, bags, etc.) with you to your seats, or do they have lockers or require checking these items?

 

"

My gf had her purse and a sweater and just put it in the floor. I think you'll be fine as long as you don't have a ton of stuff 

 

[jennab113]

Posted: 10/29/16 at 7:34pm

I put my purse under the table and had my sweater on the back of my chair for the first half and then under the table for the second half (my choice). A lot of people had coats on the back of their chair. 

[Steve C.]

Posted: 10/29/16 at 9:07pm

I saw GC on Wednesday and if you have any interest (or remote interest or not interested) in seeing this show you must go! Get to the Imperial now! I have never been as enveloped or entertained by such an eye-popping and thrilling musical performance. This show will never tour like this; GC has a cast and ensemble that is amazingly talented; you will be dazzled by the lighting and set design. Rich reds, glittering golds and costumes appropriately opulent and/or peasant like. I had listened to portions of the score and liked it. I was aware of it's previous productions but I had no idea how grand and theatrical it was going to be.

It is still in previews, and they make be making minor adjustments but I think its in pretty good shape. The cast and program explain in detail the "story" but whether you've read "War and Peace" or not, (who hasn't?), it's really not convoluted or hard to follow. It does have a "lighting effect" (it's possibly a drunken stupor and/or the Comet flying past) and then the stars and the Comet burn brightly later on. The opera is gorgeously staged and dramatic moments are quite moving.

Josh Groban is fine, Denee Benton is very good but had a few warbles fall, the absolute stand out is Lucas Steele as Anatole. This is a star making performance. People will know his name in a few more weeks. He must be seen; his voice, acrobatics, choreography, acting is unreal. I know he's had some time to perfect this role and he certainly has done that! You will remember Lucas Steele. (My husband is a singer/actor/dancer and when he is speechless, that's something). The ensemble and rest of the cast are unequivocally excellent.

There is the second act "event and celebration" about 15-20 minutes long that must be seen to be believed. I don't even think that seeing this cast and show perform at the parade or at the Tonys would do it justice. Get to the Imperial now!

ps. Lucas Steele! Lucas Steele!  

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 1:22am

Caught it this afternoon, and it is pretty amazing. The onstage seating was phenomenal, since you get to see all of the stuff happening in both the orchestra and up in the mezz/balcony. At one point, nearly the whole cast is lined up across the length of the balcony, and it's hard to believe no one in the orchestra got to even see that powerful visual... of course, anywhere you sit, you will not see something. And even if you can see things, you will be looking elsewhere...

But yeah, it is an amazing show that I would book tickets to ASAP if you're on the fence.

Steve C. forgot one other person who did a spectacular job... whoever made Lucas Steele's tight-tight-tight pants.

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 1:23am

Also, that light bulb nonsense earlier in the thread? I'm not sure what sort of silliness they were expecting, but it was an absolutely perfect moment in the show.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 10:09am

I think Lucas Steele definitely wins "most grown" performance since Ars Nova. I remember thinking he was a little weak in that incarnation but here he is wonderful. I agree that Benton doesn't project the power either vocally or in presence that Phillipa Soo did, but she has a lovely innocent quality that does serve the piece well. I actually thought Josh Groban is a huge asset to the show- he was terrific. The rest of the cast remains excellent with Britain Ashford's "Sonya Alone" as breathtaking here as it was in a 100 seat theatre. I thought Chavkin did an incredible job reimagining the show for a Broadway house.  The story telling is actually a lot cleaner now that there is space in which to tell it without the cast tripping over the audience.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 10:48am

If anyone had the chance to watch it the show had a segment on CBS Sunday morning. http://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/josh-grobans-new-broadway-role/

[breakinglegs]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 1:49pm

I didn't love it. Felt like a lot of style over substance for me. I wasn't moved at all. Felt the same "style over substance" about American Psycho which you guys raved about in here and I also disliked. Great Comet was a miss for me. Wish I could put my finger on what it was. Mostly, it felt long and I was honestly bored by it. 

[UptownScribe]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 8:08pm

schubox said: "I just got out and have pretty mixed feelings. Parts of it were overwhelming in the best way possible. Groban (when he was actually in it) was wonderful.

Some of the sections really drag. And the characters aren't nearly enough to earn some of the emotion they're trying to generate at the end.

But all that being said, I had an amazing time. The highs are so high, it's like nothing else I've ever seen.

The staging and lighting are phenomenal 

 

I agree. I attended the matinee today so I'm still thinking it through, so reading comments on the Message Board is helping me along.

I didn't see this in its other incarnations so it had to stand on its own as a Broadway musical. While I see what they're trying to do it's not a journey I'm interested in much at all. I've read "War and Peace" a couple of times and immediately realized the profound Pierre & Natasha plot in Tolstoy's novel was little represented in the musical. Had it been about unrequited love as one sees in the final two scenes here then it would have the dramatic hook that I could attach to as an audience member

Josh Groban is woefully underused. I get it; that's the way it's written. I'm not a groupie-fan of Groban's; I admire his voice and his discipline with it. Turns out he's giving an actor's performance here that I admired and was moved by. He lumbers like the "corpulent" Pierre, shuffles like a lost soul, and doesn't play any of it for pity. He's the only one in the show whom I felt for and about, and that's the role of Pierre. He plays against type, and that's bold and interesting. The reader's heart is moved by Pierre in the novel.  Without this role the musical would have traveled like water off a duck's back, in my assessment.

Again, this is my opinion and taste and that's subjective. At the end I felt as assaulted as I did after seeing "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" because it's bombastic, visually loud like Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" and night-clubby shallow.

Perhaps "Once" and "Hamilton" have spoiled me for musicals. I attend to be told a story through story and music that will bring me to another place by curtain calls. I felt nothing except when Groban sang.

Though she's doing everything right as she's being directed, Denee Benton comes across more as a sweet Disney heroine than a Russian countess who's prevented by her social status to follow her heart. Instead, she follows her hormones which gives the musical its plot at the price of what could have been elegance and empathy.  

 

Updated On: 10/31/16 at 08:08 PM

[TigerBait88]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 8:46pm

Call_me_jorge said: "If anyone had the chance to watch it the show had a segment on CBS Sunday morning. http://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/josh-grobans-new-broadway-role/

 

"

Thanks for this!!! What is that song Groban and the cast are singing at the beginning after the intro? I am an obsessive over the off-broadway recording but haven't seen the show yet and don't recognize that song. I'll be seeing it in January though! Can't wait!

Updated On: 10/30/16 at 08:46 PM

[willep]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 8:58pm

It's part of the Balaga/Abduction sequence.

[TigerBait88]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 9:00pm

willep said: "It's part of the Balaga/Abduction sequence.

 

"

Ah but it's NOT part of any recording right? If it is, I'm a moron ha

[willep]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 9:22pm

Ha, no, you are correct it is not on the recording. I don't recall it being in the off-Broadway version. I believe it is part of the rewrites.

[jennab113]

Posted: 10/31/16 at 7:33am

Call_me_jorge said: "If anyone had the chance to watch it the show had a segment on CBS Sunday morning. http://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/josh-grobans-new-broadway-role/"

I'm sitting at the table in front of Groban when he is singing Dust and Ashes. Fun! I knew they filmed the performance I saw but didn't know what it would be used for. 

[Mr Kelly]

Posted: 11/1/16 at 5:38am

Would you recommend listening to the cast recording beforehand or not?

[willep]

Posted: 11/1/16 at 7:50am

I think it is a difficult cast recording to get through if you haven't seen the show. But I also just personally don't like listening to shows before seeing them.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/1/16 at 9:18am

I'm going to agree, quite a bit, with willep.  I think it works MUCH better in context, it is such a unified show.

 

I'm seeing this next weekend, and can't wait.  Looking forward to how they've changed from the ART.   We're mid way in the orchestra, so it will be a different experience than my previous two times.  

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/1/16 at 9:22am

Mr Kelly said: "Would you recommend listening to the cast recording beforehand or not?"

 

I tried to listen to the cast recording before seeing it, but had a hard time getting through it. However, after seeing the show, I can't stop listening to it!

 

[willep]

Posted: 11/1/16 at 9:38am

Oh yeah, it quickly became (and remains) one of my favorite recordings to listen to after I saw it off Broadway. Which made the rewrites for Broadway a bit jarring to my ears.

[djoko84]

Posted: 11/1/16 at 9:51am

Can everyone help me get a sense of where is the best place to sit? Is it the kind of show to see in the mezzanine and on stage? Or is orchestra great too? I saw Pippin in the mezzanine because everyone was saying that's the best place to see the whole scope of the show so I'm wondering if this show is the same.

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/1/16 at 10:37am

djoko84 said: "Can everyone help me get a sense of where is the best place to sit? Is it the kind of show to see in the mezzanine and on stage? Or is orchestra great too? I saw Pippin in the mezzanine because everyone was saying that's the best place to see the whole scope of the show so I'm wondering if this show is the same."

I sat in the recessed seating area near Pierre's Salon, and highly recommend it there. I saw things from there that you wouldn't see from either the orchestra or the mezzanine (since I saw what happened in both). That said, people in the mezzanine got to watch what I had to twirl around constantly to see, so I'm not sure there is a "best" when it comes to immersive, experiential things.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 11/1/16 at 11:31am

If you want to see everything happening in the theatre, you need to sit either on stage or in the Mezz, There are stage pictures happening in both places and only those two locations have sight lines for everything.  Sitting in the orchestra (especially the rear orchestra) you are going to miss a lot.