The Broadway bow of Dave Malloy鈥檚 鈥攊nspired by Tolstoy鈥檚 War and Peace鈥攐fficially opened November 14 at the Imperial Theatre.
Rachel Chavkin directs the immersive musical that transformed the Imperial Theatre into an opulent Russian salon that engulfs the audience.
The Broadway cast is led by as Pierre and Den茅e Benton as Natasha.
Read critics鈥� reviews below.
The Great Comet was commissioned and developed at Ars Nova in NYC, where it had its world premiere in fall 2012 and was soon after transferred to a custom-built venue in the Meatpacking District for the summer of 2013. The show became a hit, and the entire venue was transferred to the theatre district, where it continued its run into the spring of 2014. The musical recently played a limited engagement at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, where its innovative design was expanded to bring the show鈥檚 signature staging to a traditional proscenium-style theatre.
The cast also features Brittain Ashford as Sonya, Gelsey Bell as Princess Mary, Nicholas Belton as Bolkonsky/Andrey, Nick Choksi as Dolokhov, Amber Gray as Helene, Grace McLean as Marya D, Paul Pinto as Balaga, Scott Stangland as Pierre (standby), and Lucas Steele as Anatole. The ensemble includes Sumayya Ali, Courtney Bassett, Josh Canfield, Ken Clark, Erica Dorfler, Lulu Fall, Ashley P茅rez Flanagan, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Nick Gaswirth, Alex Gibson, Billy Joe Kiessling, Mary Spencer Knapp, Reed Luplau, Brandt Martinez, Andrew Mayer, Azudi Onyejekwe, Pearl Rhein, Heath Saunders, Ani Taj, Cathryn Wake, Katrina Yaukey, and Lauren Zakrin.
The Great Comet, according to press notes, is described as 鈥渁 theatrical experience like no other. Malloy鈥檚 inspired adaptation of a 70-page slice of War and Peace puts audiences just inches away from Tolstoy鈥檚 brash young lovers, as they light up Moscow in an epic tale of romance and passion.鈥�
The new musical features choreography by Sam Pinkleton, set design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Tony Award winner , lighting design by Bradley King, sound design by Nicholas Pope, music supervision by Sonny Paladino, musical direction by Or Matias, casting by Stewart/Whitley, and production stage management by Karyn Meek.
The Broadway production is produced by Howard & Janet Kagan and .
Tickets are available via or by visiting the Imperial Theatre box office (249 West 45th Street).
