Natasha, Pierre, Comet 1812 REACT Part Three
Added 2025-06-03 14:07:36 +0000 UTCPAIN. That section was worse than when I taught intro level violin x.x
Comments
8:16 I almost forgot - I can't remember if Josh Groban ever did this, but when Dave Malloy, the show's creator, played Pierre, he would respond to Natasha calling him "stout" by glaring at her from the pit and playing the accordion a bit more aggressively 😆
berha
2025-06-04 23:04:11 +0000 UTCRegarding the opera scene, Leo Tolstoy (the author of the novel War and Peace, the source material for this show) was not a fan of opera and its association with wealthy people. He saw it as insincere and liked poking fun at it. The irony of course is that this whole show itself is a kind of pop opera. So the opera within an opera is kind of a parody of opera as viewed by Natasha/Tolstoy. The audience laughs after that scene not only because of how bizarre the parody is, but also because the spotlight immediately shifts to Natasha with a very bewildered expression on her face 😆
berha
2025-06-04 22:22:13 +0000 UTC7:34 This is Helene, Anatole’s sister and Pierre’s wife. Dolokhov is her lover; he was introduced just before this part. The opera attendees: “Helene and Dolokhov arm in arm, Pierre the cuckold sits at home, the poor man.” Pierre: “No, I am enjoying myself at home this evening!” Regarding Natasha's behavior, keep in mind that she is young (per the Prologue) and very sheltered, thus naive. She is not used to experiencing this kind of sexual attraction from others and towards another. She describes her love for Andrey in a more romantic way, compared to Anatole where she imagines him grabbing and kissing her. She is troubled and confused about what these feelings mean. In early versions of this show, there was a song after this scene called Natasha Lost where she expounds further on these feelings and her internal conflict (it's on the 2013 cast album, sung by Phillipa Soo). It was cut during Broadway previews to improve pacing and dramatic flow. This is not an excuse for Natasha's behavior; just some context as an explanation.
berha
2025-06-04 22:11:25 +0000 UTCI don't understand the comparison with Hamilton. They are very diferente. The Premier of Natasha was 2012 and Hamilton was on 2015. Phillipa Soo was the first Natasha. Lin-Manuel Miranda was so impressed by her performance that he offered her the role of Eliza.
LeaYola
2025-06-03 23:51:41 +0000 UTC
