This weekend, Vanderbilt Off Broadway presents (VOB) their mainstage show: Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy, presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. This week, The Amp was invited to preview the production. Purchase tickets for the show here.
A weighty curtain folds back from the facade of Langford Auditorium’s stage. A scene emerges, fresnel lights bathing the velvet drapes and performers in a warm glow. Instantaneously, the audience is confronted with a stoic figure, an accordion in hand(s). As the bellows fan out, the accordion sings to the audience: Welcome to 19th-century Moscow. Bohemian aristocrat Pierre Bezukhov, played by Alex Tomack, begins to belt the song entitled “Prologue.” The company and instrumental ensemble fall into chorus alongside him, introducing the tale of The Great Comet of 1812. It’s a story of infidelity, complicated families, empathy, and plenty of good spirits (liquor and otherwise).
When music director Spencer Bowden first shouts Раз два три! [one, two, three!], the songs begin to spill out like wine from a toppled bottle, steeping the auditorium in a wealth of music and art.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 is a rare gem of contemporary musical theatre: it’s sung through. This is not dissimilar to a traditional opera performance, where even minute moments of dialogue are made melodic. Premiered on Broadway in 2016, The Great Comet became Vanderbilt Off Broadway’s project (presented with Concord Theatricals) just shy of the musical’s decade anniversary. VOB’s casting alone made Dave Malloy’s work stun. Their rendition is a spectacle to behold.

Kate Mason as sweet and doting Natasha Rostova sweeps the audience off of its feet. Her performance of the ballad, “No One Else” — a gentle piece accompanied by a soft, humble waltz and stripped piano lines — is like a prism: Mason’s voice, clear as glass, gives way to cascades of color and emotionality. The poignant love story of the song’s narrative is written across Mason’s face and woven deftly into her singing. There is even a sense of mastery like that in the Broadway original cast recording, where Denée Benton plays Natasha. Mason’s performance, like Benton’s, intentionally falters on a line in the first verse: “I love you, I love you, I love you.” This wavering in clarity is a sonic embodiment of a simple, yet shocking epiphany: I love you. This technique parallel between Mason and Benton serves as a stunning homage to the original recording, and contributes greatly to the heart-wrenching quality of VOB’s take on this scene.
Character Hélène Bezukova is notorious for affairs, intrigue and a turbulent streak. Mezzo-soprano and player Sasha Steenson is perfect for the character, as she’s endowed with this voice cut from leather: her tone is rich and warm, with a raw edge. In her rendition of “Charming,” an Aria for Hélène and Natasha, Steenson’s belt reverberates through the entire theatre, evoking Amy Winehouse’s depth and Andra Day’s power.
Luci Wingo as Sonya Rostova possesses a similar vocal archetype to Mason, with her kind, bright voice. Luci echoes through the audience, distributing chills liberally during her rendition of “Sonya Alone,” a song that vacillates between emotional lows of self-criticism and bittersweet highs of unfettered compassion. As Luci stands in the spotlight, I feel more than hear each word as the song shimmers: “I will stand in the dark for you… / I know you might just throw yourself over / But I won’t let you.”
And of course, is Pierre Bezukhov’s player, Alex Tomack. Months ago, when Tomack was auditioning for the role of Pierre, I sat down in a practice room, boxy and smelling of mold. Beside me, Tomack’s computer was propped open atop an upright piano, and I watched in awe as he burst into song, transformed in his rendition of an excerpt of “Pierre.” At that moment, though knowing little of the casting process, I believed to my core that he was Pierre. From that practice room to now, the stage, he carries the weights of Pierre’s woes in his gritty, resonant belt.

If I were to rhapsodize about this cast unabridged — I mean, the angelic choruses that glitter as the company surrounds the audience in the aisles; the rich and elegant voice of Blythe Bouza, player of Marya Dmitriyevna, as she makes each of her quips into a golden moment — I’d lose my breath. And, I’d be remiss if I did not also congratulate the instrumentalists of this production of The Great Comet. For the duration of my stay in 19th-century Moscow with VOB, I was furiously scribbling notes about the expert execution of technique and mood by the pit ensemble. Violist Libby Meade created beautifully stark contrasts: surging melodies were followed by dark, raspy tremolos over her instrument’s bridge. Saxophonists Marcello Tortoreo and Marudy Murugaverl collaboratively replaced the traditional role of a cellist with a combination of formidable, sultry and chilling countermelodies and rhythms shared between them. In an inconclusive highlights reel, I give you some of the performers’ unparalleled musical moments:
“The Private and Intimate Life of the House” — in which actors Jackson Smith and Shannon Felder dazzle and shock as father and daughter duo — emphasizes the dark low range of the ensemble, using it as the courier of feeling and texture. The pit takes center stage (figuratively) in fulfilling the demands of this song, weaving a tapestry of fear, guilt, and regret that perfectly accompanies the bleak lyricism and menacing crimson lighting.
“The Opera” prompts the pit to display a vast and exquisite array of extended techniques for strings and winds. I adore dense, textural compositions, and VOB’s relatively small pit orchestra eloquently constructed a full-bodied sound capable of evoking The Opera’s ever-shifting moods. They meet the demands to be grounded then airy, gentle then harsh, liltingly tonal then chromatic without wavering, ultimately painting each sonic facet of “The Opera” in full color.
When the spotlight pans to the pit during any musical, it’s an opportunity for the performers to be brilliant. At one point, Molly Dench (oboist) performs a ridiculous range-spanning solo on the English Horn that’s both tumultuous and dexterous. Dench captures the audience’s attention as she transforms her instrument’s sound and character into the aural embodiment of wind. Additionally, in Act 1, Grace Wildermuth and Matthew Oh (double bassist and percussionist respectively) steal the spotlight as they introduce the next song. They create a beatnik-nostalgic, jazz-inspired sparse backing for Hélène’s solo in “Charming.” Their work allows for Steenson to shine, while also demonstrating their grace in performing the accompaniment.

Evidently, there is nothing but praise for VOB in their interstellar production of Natasha, Pierre
& the Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy. For the uninitiated, this is the off-Broadway performance to begin your descent into musical theatre fever. In itself, this work may be a wild ride, but VOB’s talented cast, crew and pit are responsible for bringing this vivacious, thrilling story of old Russia to today. In their capable, creative hands, it becomes a tangible, spectacular work of art. Get your damn tickets.
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