Eclectic and exhilarating, Columbia Musical Theatre Society’s production of Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 entertained with Russian flair.

From April 24 to 25, Columbia Musical Theatre Society (CMTS) put on Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 at the Glicker-Milstein Theater. When I attended closing night, the theatre was packed for this hotly-anticipated production, and a crowd of hopeful stand-by’s hovered outside the door.

Written by David Mallory, Great Comet adapts a section from Volume II, Part V of Leo Tolstoy’s formidable War and Peace. Yet far from being a strict meditation on the meaning of life, Great Comet enlivens that novel’s profound themes and Russian sensibility with Broadway sparkle. Billed as an “electropop opera,” the musical is colorful and slightly chaotic in its fusion of Tolstoy, electropop, and self-aware humor. The CMTS production was directed by SJ Lee (CC ‘28), music directed by Abi Hart (CC ‘26) and Eshan Kabir (CC ‘27), choreographed by Cora Selzer (CC ‘28) and Victoria Gonzalez (CC ‘27), produced by Deborah Oyewole (CC ‘27) and Talia Benson (BC ‘28), stage-managed by Ally Stancavage (GS ‘27) and Elie Keller (CC ‘27), and technical directed by Sophie Mertzel (BC ‘28).

Our heroine is Natasha Rostova (Pritikaa Biswas, CC ‘29), a beautiful and sheltered young woman betrothed to Prince Andrey (Henry Nuñez, CC ‘27), who is fighting the war against Napoleon. She arrives in the bustling capital of Moscow with her cousin Sonya (Ariana Bañez, BC ‘27), where she stays with her godmother Marya (Leticia Gorberg Valdetaro, BC ‘27). Soon seduced by the wickedly charming Anatole (Liza Grimes, CC ‘29), Natasha is swept up into a whirlwind of high society gossip and scandal. Characters such as the rogue-ish Dolokhov (Stella Turowsky-Ganci, CC ‘28), Anatole’s friend; the mad Prince Bolkonsky (Drew Kelly, CC ‘26), Andrey’s father; and Mary Bolkonsky (Carrie Crespino, BC ‘26), Andrey’s sister, enter Natasha’s world with drama and flair.

Meanwhile, the depressed and listless gentleman, Pierre (Jason Shim, CC ‘29), grapples with his habitual drinking. He is unhappily married to the dashing Helene (Karen Awaida, CC ‘29), and he spends his days without love or purpose.

Many characters flit in and out of the play, filling out a magnificent ensemble of dancers, roving musicians, and vivid side characters. Indeed, Great Comet shines most when it focuses on the wild talent of its cast as a whole instead of the slightly one-note Natasha and Pierre. As the two leads, Biswas and Shim both gave magnificent vocal performances and made a sweet pairing on stage; their story was deeply moving and ended with a tender note of redemption. Yet in both of their yearning, character-defining ballads, I found myself wishing to return to the excitement and complexity of the characters around them.

Cast standouts include Grimes as the unscrupulous Anatole. Armed with an expressive voice, Grimes sauntered on the stage with bravura, even strolling up the aisle to chat with a madly grinning audience member. He deftly balanced Anatole’s infatuation and insincerity, capturing the character’s outlandish personality with self-aware wit. Another cast standout was Bañez as Natasha’s sweet and courageous cousin, Sonya. Bañez’s tender performance soared in her powerhouse rendition of “Sonya Alone,” where she imbued the song with fierceness and raw emotion.

Highlights of the production included elaborate costumes by Rebecca Carter (CC ‘27), Natalie Jones (BC ‘29), and Amelia Reichert (GS ‘27), which brought 19th century Russia to exquisite life. Dynamic lighting by Calixto Herrera (CC ‘26) and Anamika Seth (CC ‘27) also helped set the mood and tone for each scene of the play, casting the characters in expressive colors that helped distinguish settings from each other.

Despite the high society Russian melodrama baked into the show’s script, this truly was a play about community. Riotous scenes at bars, with characters dancing passionately like there was no tomorrow, captured a sense of collective despair and the richness of finding people to share it with. One of the best dance scenes included a farewell party to Anatole as he prepared to elope with Natasha, wherein the entire cast sprung around the theater, trading instruments and laughter in a night of wild fun. Cheering abounded, as did drinks, perhaps paying homage to the sublime Russian proverb, “Vodka is our enemy, so we’ll consume it.” Even after the play ended and cast members gave their final bows, folksy dance music like that from the farewell party played on, and the entire audience began clapping in tune. We became a part of the dancing and the tragedy, the pettiness and the redemption. With a boisterous and diverse spirit, Great Comet invited all of us to celebrate the profound stories captured by our miniscule lives.

Photo via CMTS Instagram