Theater Thursday - Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

What: Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

Where: Imperial Theatre
            249 W. 45th St.
            New York,, NY

Who: Teens and Up

Me - Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 was interesting. It was not like any show I have ever seen before. It is based on the book War and Peace. The story is too complicated to explain here, but I would recommend reading a synopsis of the show before you go because it will help you keep better track of what is going on in the show. Otherwise, you will probably be completely lost. However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't the show. It is very unique. There is nothing else like it on Broadway. The theater is completely different. They took out a lot of seats and moved seats around. The audience gets to interact with parts of the show. Even if you are all the way up in the mezzanine, you get to interact with parts of the show. At the beginning of the show, they threw people little boxes of food. It looked like bread and tasted like potatoes. The show was almost all singing. I liked some of the music. There were even a few songs that stuck in my mind after the show. My favorites were Prologue, Letters and Balaga. If you go to the show, pay close attention to Prologue which is the first song because it sets up the whole show. The acting was good. The singing was nice. Josh Groban sings really nice, and he was good. After the show, we were able to get his autograph, and he was nice in person too. One of the actresses in the show, we had seen in a concert of Broadway understudies. Her name was Ashley Perez Flanagan. She played Sonya, Natasha's cousin. She was good too. This is first time, we saw somebody we saw at one of the understudy concerts actually playing the part on Broadway. Even if you don't think you are interested in this show, it is worth it to go just to see how amazing the theater looks.

Mom - Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 is a complicated story based on a portion of the classic novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is also an incredibly amazing theatrical event. From the moment, you step into the completedly renovated theater, you will know that you are witnessing something new and different. There are seats on the stage. There are little tables with lights on them in the mezzanine. Those are just a few of the changes that have been made to the theater, and the changes that have been made to the theater are only a minor portion of the uniqueness of this show. First of all, this is not a show where the action takes place on a stage in front of you. It happens all around you. It is completely immersive. Ensemble members even dance and sing in the mezzanine. If the idea of theater happening all around you sounds headache inducing, and you are worried that you will not know where to look first, don't worry it is not like that. Yes, there are times when it is hard to know where to look first. However, it is not like there are people everywhere at every moment. It is just like any other show in that some moments involve large numbers of people or even the entire cast while other moments only involve a character or two. The show is completely sung. The voices are beautiful. The cast, at least the main characters, mostly sing pretty clearly, however, at times it is hard to understand what they are singing, It helps if you familiarize yourself with the story before you go especially because there are so many characters in the show to keep track of. The first song of the show, Prologue, does a good job of setting up the show so I would recommend paying close attention to that. The songs in the show are mixed. Some are really memorable and will probably stick in your head. Others not so much. This is not a good show for young children because the story line is not appropriate for small children, and they would probably be bored anyway. For older children and adults, however, it is definitely a unique experience that is not to be missed.

For more about Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 or to order tickets visit greatcometbroadway.com,

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Funtivity Friday.
Photo credits: All Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 photos by Chad Batka