NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 - REVIEW OF 2025 PRODUCTION AT ROYAL ALEXANDRA THEATRE

 Reviewed by James Karas

 Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 closed about a year and a half ago at Crowsnest Theatre, Toronto  but it proved so popular that the Mirvish company has revived it at the Royal Alexandra Theatre for a run to August 25, 2025. Dave Malloy is the composer, librettist and orchestrator as well as a borrower from Tolstoy of a work that has many of the hallmarks of an opera but calling it that may leave a lot of empty seats in the theatre.

The Great Comet, despite its vaunted provenance from War and Peace, involves love stories and complications that require a Family Tree in the program with arrows pointing around eleven photographs of the characters to tell us who is who. The aristocratic Natasha (Hailey Gillis) is engaged to Andrey (Marcus Nance) but falls in love with the playboy Anatole (George Krissa) and plans to elope with him. They are prevented from eloping and depressed Pierre (Evan Buliung) steps in to console Natasha. They both see the Great Comet of 1812 as a sign of good hope but the two and a half hours of the show are over and you will have to read War and Peace for the rest.

In the beginning, Natasha and cousin Sonya (Vanessa Sears) arrive in Moscow to stay with Marya (Louise Pitre), Natasha’s godmother. Marya advises Natasha to visit her future in-laws, Prince Bolkonsky (Marcus Nance again) and his daughter Mary (Heeyun Park). Good reason: they are loaded. Bad result: the Prince is a miserly jerk and the visit is calamitous.  

Hailey Gillis and George Krissa in Natasha, Pierre & 

the Great Comet of 1812. Photo: Dahlia Katz

In the meantime, we need more complications. Anatole and friend Dolokhov (Lawrence Libor) along with Pierre go drinking and meet Helene who happens to be Anatole’s sister and Pierre’s wife. Helene is too chummy with Dolokhov and Pierre  challenges him to a duel. Bang. No one is dead.

We need to unravel things. Elopement thwarted. Natasha takes poison but not enough. Anatole gets his comeuppance and Andrey returns but does not forgive Natasha. She and Pierre see The Great Comet of 1812 and they consider it good news and so do we.

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 is sung through with a rich variety of songs, recitatives and music styles. Some of the songs have a Russian folk song flavour, sung with vigour and accompanied by accordions.

Director Chris Abraham wants to provide us with a fast moving and boisterous program with rich use of audience participation. Actors run up and down the aisles of the theatre. They interact with audience members, including dancing with them. There are audience members on the stage and the actors encourage and lead the audience in applauding the performance and laughing. There are roving guitar, violin, viola, cello and accordion “players”. They show enthusiasm and create enthusiasm in the audience. Abraham does not want the level of audience involvement and excitement to lag or diminish and all the frantic activity is infectious.

It is one hell of a show. The singing is very good and the ensemble acting is outstanding.

Set Designers Julie Fox and Joshua Quinlan provide a two-story set that wraps around the stage. It suggests opulence without overdoing it. The costumes by Ming Wong suggest aristocratic attire and appear appropriate for the nineteenth century Russian setting.

It is a rousing, rip-roaring show that had the audience in the palm of its hand and was given an enthusiastic standing ovation.
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Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy (composer, librettist and orchestrator and borrower from Tolstoy) in a production by Crow’s Theatre and The Musical Stage Company  continues until August 25, 2025, at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. 260 King St. W. Toronto, Ont. www.mirvish.com

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto