Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 (Imperial Theatre) by Dave Malloy, adapted from War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Having loved this Ars Nova production in its pop-up, dinner theater incarnation in the Meat Packing district several years ago (starring a pre-Hamilton Phillipa Soo as Natasha), there was no doubt that I was going to a new production starring Josh Grobin.  The fact that Mr. Grobin was out sick the night we went caused me to hesitate, but I am so glad that we decided to proceed.  Scott Stangland did a marvelous job as Pierre and another of the reasons that I couldn’t see Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown enough times,  Amber Gray, reprised her wonderfully wicked role as Helene.

The Imperial Theatre has been ingeniously turned into a sumptuous Russian nightclub by Mimi Lien which is complemented gorgeously by the out-of-this-world costumes designed by Paloma Young.  If you are lucky enough to get the on-stage seating, you are not only in the midst of the action, but you can take in what happens in the mezzanine.  At our little table, surrounded on all sides by actors and music, I was propositioned by an old Russian Prince, handed a bottle of vodka and passed a love letter by a man who is not my husband.  Nothing could be more fun to a theater lover than being part of the action.

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet has all of the elements of a good Russian novel; the noble hero; the beautiful heroine led horribly astray by the handsome rogue; the dreamer; the drinker(s); the dilettante; the true hearted good friend.  All of this is wrapped in wonderfully original music.  I doubt that Natasha, Pierre will get the kind of buzz that Hamilton has, so deservedly, received, but it is just as unique, just as wonderful, just as dazzling.  What it isn’t, is just as hummable.