The creation of the dazzling Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812—inspired by a 70-page passage from Tolstoy’s War and Peace—is captured in a new 224-page hardcover book to be published November 22 from Sterling Publishing.
The immersive musical written by Dave Malloy and directed by Rachel Chavkin opened on Broadway November 14 to critical raves. Read reviews here.
Edited and compiled by theatre journalist and Playbill contributor Steven Suskin, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 The Journey Of A New Musical To Broadway includes the show’s full script (with annotations by Malloy), as well as behind-the-scenes photos and stories documenting the show’s journey to Broadway.
Also included is a bonus CD featuring five songs. Three of which are from the Off-Broadway production, as well as two new recordings for the Broadway incarnation featuring Josh Groban and a 25-piece orchestra.
The book will retail for $40.00.
The unconventional production, which was also acclaimed Off-Broadway, has completely transformed the Imperial Theatre into an opulent Russian salon that engulfs the audience.
The cast is headed by Groban as Pierre and Denée Benton as Natasha. More about the cast and creative team here.
The Great Comet, according to press notes, is described as “a theatrical experience like no other. Malloy’s inspired adaptation of a 70-page slice of War and Peace puts audiences just inches away from Tolstoy’s brash young lovers, as they light up Moscow in an epic tale of romance and passion.”
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’s signature staging to a traditional proscenium-style theatre.
