Natasha, Pierre and Fun Home

[Okiekat]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 11:20am

I know many on this board have praised both "Natasha, Pierre..." and "Fun Home". I saw "Fun Home" 3 times and found the show more enjoyable each time. I'm seeing "Natasha, Pierre..." a second time this weekend.
In my opinion, both shows are brilliant in their own unique way. I've listened to both cast recordings and can't decide which show I enjoyed more. Just wondered what others think.



Updated On: 2/22/14 at 11:20 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 11:44am

I think it's kind of an apples/oranges situation.

I am more partial to Great Comet- and listened to the cast recording every day for about three months. But that's not because I didn't like Fun Home, or liked it less- it's just a different thing. I admire Fun Home, but Great Comet was a more emotionally and artistically fulfilling experience for me, personally.

[After Eight]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 11:52am

I didn't like either, but I would say I disliked Comet far less than the other one, which I found insufferable. Comet had a few decent songs to its credit.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 11:57am

I liked them both equally, although Fun Home might have a slight edge because I was way more familiar with the source material than I was with War & Peace.

[macnyc]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:26pm

I really enjoyed both of these, but Fun Home was for me far and away the most rewarding show. They are both well written, both book and music, and based on interesting and quirky source material. Performances were excellent. For me, though, The Great Comet didn't stay with me. It was very pleasant while I was there, and the setting is marvelous. But for some reason I was always aware that I was sitting in a theater watching a show. Fun Home, on the other hand, engrossed me completely. Even though it was not the "immersive" of the two, I got lost in it, lost track of time, got lost in the story. It really spoke to me. I went back to see it again, and I loved different things about it. It ranks up there as one of my two favorite shows of 2013, the other being the Rylance Twelfth Night. How I miss both of them!



Updated On: 2/22/14 at 12:26 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 4:56pm

I thought NATASHA was just stunning. I liked FUN HOME quite a lot, but I'd easily pick NATASHA between these two. Updated On: 2/22/14 at 04:56 PM

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 5:01pm

I love both as well, so I rather be happy I found two things to love than rank them.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 8:05am

Absolutely. I'm just so grateful to have two absolutely stunning musicals created during this time that I'm not even going to try and dissect which one I like more and why. Both are very different, but both are very brilliant and gorgeous. I'll always cherish walking into the theatre for both shows, not knowing a single thing about them, and just being absolutely blown away. "Ring of Keys" and "No One Else" are/were pure theatrical magic at its simplest and strongest.

[macnyc]

Posted: 2/23/14 at 10:01am

The off Broadway field for best musical would be a lot tougher than Broadway's! You'd have Fun Home, Natasha and Pierre, Here Lies Love, and whatever else for a really competitive lineup! I would much rather vote on those. Drama Desk voters will have an interesting time of it this year. Updated On: 2/23/14 at 10:01 AM

[SayitSomehow]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 9:08am

I think I must have missed something with Great Comet. I felt like I was at a hokey high school musical with a bunch of "I wish I was a Broadway star" wannabes.

The story was simplistic and silly. Half the characters were just screaming and yelling random obscenities. The blonde hair "stud" dude had an awful voice and was more feminine than the lead girl. The music was often barely melodic and not even in that artful Lachuisa way. Barely anyone seemed genuinely talented. The Pierre dude who has the big 11 o clock revelation was barely in the show till the end, and couldn't sing.

I don't know, I'm all for edgy off broadway shows - I LOVED Murder Ballad - but this was comically bad to me.

Fun Home on the other hand struck me as hands down BRILLIANT. To turn that source material into a musical? Bold move. And they pulled it off with flying colors. Heartfelt, complex story portrayed by some of the best voices in NYC. The children were also incredible. "Sex with Joan" was one of the most joyous things I've ever seen on stage. Genius. I can't even begin to put those two shows in the same category.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 9:28am

"Half the characters were just screaming and yelling random obscenities."

Funny, at no time in any of the three performances of GREAT COMET I saw did anything like that happen. Can you describe when in the play this occurred?

[Kad]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 9:31am

I can answer that for them, Roscoe: Never.

There is not a single obscenity in the show.

[macnyc]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 10:02am

Maybe "slut," but that hardly counts as an obscenity.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 10:19am

Ha, Yes, I don’t remember one obscenity in “Natasha”…so, it’s quite odd that that is that poster’s lasting impression of the show.

For me, “Natasha” and “Fun Home” were the two best shows I saw last year (and two musicals that sky-rocketed to being two of my favorite musicals of all time). As with Kad, they are truly apples and oranges. They both speak to me in very different ways. There is a small part of me that leans toward “Natasha,” but I find it impossible to make a concrete decision on which I enjoyed more.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 12:22pm

Yeah, that was an interesting description of the show.

FWIW, for my money NATASHA PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 is one of the finest pieces of theater I've ever experienced -- thrilling, funny, entertaining and deeply moving each time I had the great good fortune to see it. I'm only sorry I won't be able to see it a fourth time.

[LuminousBeing]

Posted: 2/24/14 at 3:22pm

"Fun Home" gave me chills, but "Natasha..." left me cold.

[Okiekat]

Posted: 3/1/14 at 5:58pm

I agree with those who call Natasha, Pierre... "stunning". I'm seeing the show for a 3rd time tonight. I absolutely adore every song and can't stop listening to the OCR. I also realize you can't compare the two shows and I'm thrilled to have seen two outstanding musicals.