“Natasha, Pierre & the Comet of 1812” at Writers Theatre with cast and Evan Tyrone Martin, center, as Pierre. (Photo by Liz Lauren)
4 stars
The title, “Natasha, Pierre & the Comet of 1812,” doesn’t offer a clue that this show, taken from a segment of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” is not a play but an operetta. Just don’t expect only classical music.
Writer/composer Dave Malloy has created a witty, period piece worthy of any opera house but he combines a variety of musical beats including hip-hop. And, instead of hidden in a pit, the orchestra is up high, divided into stage left and right boxes.
Magnificently sung with grand costuming by Raquel Adorno and backed by inspired scenery design by Courtney O’Neill, “Natasha…” looks and sounds like an award winner. The Broadway production won two Tony Awards in 2017.
Aurora Penepacker (left) as Natasha and Evan Tyrone Martin as Pierre. (Photo by Liz Lauren)
Basically, a romantic tale of looking for love (and sometimes sex), the operetta is set in the upper society of Moscow in 1812 where a naive Natasha waits for Andrey (Matthew C. Yee) to whom she is engaged, to return from the Napoleonic Wars.
It starts off with Mary (Julia Wheeler Lennon) trying to care for hers and brother Andrey’s ornery father, Prince Bolkonsky (Rob Lindley).
But wait, there are also some fun and well sung “arias.”
In Act I, a dissolute Pierre (Evan Tyrone Martin) brings the house down with his soaring “Dust and Ashes.” In contrast, in Act II Maya Rowe as Natasha’s friend and cousin Sonya, beautifully sings “Sonya alone.”
Working their magic behind the scenes are director /choreographer Katie Spelman and music director Matt Deitchman, the duo from Writers Theatre’s award winning “Once.”
DETAILS: “Natasha, Pierre & the Comet of 1812,” is at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Ct. Glencoe, now through Oct. 27, 2024. Running time: 2 hours plus one intermission. For tickets and more information visit writerstheatre.org, and call (847 242-6000.
Jodie Jacobs
For more shows visit Theatre in Chicago