#DID YOU KNOW: anatole is a pretty ok shot. i was there

[thalassous]

"i believe, we have to kill this guy, citizen kuragin." "damn!"

or, war and peace as well as les miserables happen at literally the same time interval.

[ ID: A halfbody, coloured drawing of Enjolras standing partially in front of Anatole Kuragin. Enjolras is on the left, he holds a pocket watch in his right hand and a gun in his left. He looks troubled. Anatole is on his right, and he lifts his head above his left hand while looking pleased. Enjolras says, "Je crois, nous devons tuer cette homme, Citoyen Kuragin." Anatole responds with, "Zut!" The background is plain grey END ID. ]

[i-want-anatoles-coat]

In no particular order, here are my thoughts!

The bar on stage moves! Very fun - lots of swinging around on the bar while it spins during balaga

Helene is fabulous

Pierre is amazing - onstage the whole time reading and 'sleeping' and reacting

I got a table seat right on the stage!!! Very exciting to be so close to the performance

Actors singing directing to me! So fun! At one point I had a little back & forth with one of the actors & they saw me marking their dance moves later in the show and winked at me

Consensual kiss between natasha and anatole during their first meeting at the opera! Makes anatole less hate-able

Pierre falling on the ground dramatically SO many times felt very in character. Just constantly drunk and stumbling around

This Pierre was 100% teenage Josh Groban I swear - voice was very strong in some points and weaker in others

I know im used to Lucas' Anatole, but this Anatole was very weak. I did like his frequent hoppy hops tho!

Balaga was awesome - the pink hat and eyeshadow were amazing. There was a long bit of silence in Balaga when they went around and did funny things with the audience before starting up again

Natasha and Sonya were very good, Marya I didn't think had enough texture to her voice. It all sounded pretty, but you didn't get as much emotion from her vocally

Andrey was good as old Bolkonsky, but I didn't like him as much as Andrey because he kinda just stood there and sang. You didn't see his emotions through either his face or body movements

Pierre was SO expressive with his body and hands I really liked that

I liked that Natasha hugged Pierre before leaving the room at the very end of the show 🥰

Mary was very good - lots of good little facial expressions when with her father and Natasha. especially with Natasha when they were going back and forth at their little table

Pierre phrased a few things oddly while singing that threw me off a bit. I knew it wasn't going to sound like the cast recording but his phrasing choices felt off / didn't make sense some times

There were a few moments when they got off from the music but they recovered. There were also a few times when I heard the orchestra mess up, mostly the pianist.

I love the fact that I've listened to the cast recording so much that I know what the instrumental parts are supposed to be in every song 🤣

It was fun being so up close to the actors and seeing all their little expressions

Pierre played accordion and piano, Dolokhov played violin. Other than that the orchestra was up in the "balcony" area being stationary

I liked Dolokhov a lot. He could've been a Pierre too. I liked that he was in a sling during Letters and I think 1 other song after being shot and then he got rid of it. Helped show the passage of time & remind the audience that he was shot

I really liked the opera because 2 of the costumes were very cool. Idk how to describe it - one was like a black and red tree-shaped dress, all spiraled but not solid; and the other was a black and red body suit with strips of something solid that poofed out from the clothes. The 2 opera dancers were ok - the girl was a better dancer than the boy. They didn't make it as weird sounding as the original which disappointed me. I wanted to hear the off-putting screeches

There were no flashing lights which was nice

Anatole didn't say "the club" the same way as Lucas does (the Lucas version always makes me laugh) but he did a little gesture for it. And then in Find Anatole, Pierre did the same gesture and kinda mocked how Anatole said club which was really funny

Anatole didn't have a flowy coat :(

I'm not gonna lie this Pierre stole the show I really liked how he embodied the character and some of his choices I honestly preferred over Josh Groban's performance

I saw a production of The Great Comet in November and took a whole bunch of notes which I forgot to post. But now I have a Great Comet sideblog so you get my nonsensical post-show rambling 😁

[andryushas]

Great Comet Things

I got to see Great Comet on Sunday and it was absolutely amazing. The whole cast was amazing and the show is so artistic and surreal. Below is a bunch of things I noticed that were either very cool, unexpected or both. Warning, it’s very very long:

ACT I

The show doesn't actually start with Pierre singing. He comes out with his accordion then you hear Natasha yelp a really sad "No!" then run on stage with Andrei at her heals. They have a moment, and she looks really sad and he looks Very in Love and takes a necklace off his neck and puts it on her. She grasps at it and he runs out the door behind Pierre, representing the war

Prologue is actually really funny. Like it's sort of funny on the recording but the way people move and act w their faces makes it very comic. 

Marya is a little terrifying. She plays "strict yet Kind" out to the audience like, "yes, I'm KiNd!!! Believe me, That's an order!!"

Anatole is actually really funny. I had totally been imagining him as this impossibly smooth figure and He Isn't. Like yes, he's very smooth at times but he is also totally used for comedy sometimes and is severely melodramatic. 

Oak's Pierre is really dimensional. He's very subdued and gentle but there's also a roughness to his voice when he gets really disgusted in himself or in the world and he moves really smoothly and naturally between Pierre's gruffer, darker side, and the cute awkward warmness which he also does wonderfully.

Denée's Natasha reads really well as this young girl who has always been loved and appreciated and is now really struggling for the first time with her happiness and she's really bold and a little self absorbed and this really brings out the changes which I will get back to later

Courtney Bassett was wonderful as Mary!! She's plays her really sweet and shy but also clashes really well w Natasha. 

Private and Intimate is really intense but can also get very funny. Nicholas Belton is hilarious but his Bolkonsky has a lot to him I guess? He moves really slowly and he does the fragile thing really well for a dude who is like Bolting down the aisles as Andrei. I'm very scared of old prince Bolkonsky. 

The Lighting in No One Else  oh my go d. The song is so beautiful but the visuals. The falling snow. It's heartrending. Ahhhh.

Marya Dmitrievna is the best ever. I love her. 

The Opera is Funky as hell. Paul Pinto is a firecracker. What a cool dude.

I didn't expect Anatole to actually get that excited about Natasha. I sort of read it as pure manipulation (it's still manipulative don't get me wrong) but he really does adore her. He really cares about whether or not she likes him and he fawns over her.

The Duel is intense as fuck. Amber Gray walked passed me at some point (i can't remember if it was during the duel or not but) she is a goddess, damn it. I love her.

Nick Choksi plays the sociopathic Dolokhov you get in the book better in person than I would've guessed 

Pierre does this thing when he gets shot where he ducks and stays ducking for a long time bc he thinks he's a dead man and there's a long silence.  And then he looks up like “oh!” and Oak made the cutest face ever when he realized he won the duel.

Ok I didn't like dust and ashes when I heard it on the soundtrack and saw it at the Tony's but the way Oak does it is an absolute show stopper. It blew me away. I love it. It's now one of my favorite songs in the show. Pierre is sitting in his Hole or whatever. The sad hole. And he just. Opens himself up and it's great. There was at least a full minute of applause for him. 

SUUUUUNDAY MORNING TIME FOR CHURCH

I love sunday morning but i do miss Sonya’s part from the off broadway soundtrack

When Helene comes in during Charming, Natasha is dressed in nothing but her corset  and a tiny little underskirt and it makes her so vulnerable and frightened its an interesting dynamic. Amber Gray is a powerhouse of an actress and a singer and I love her. She has the coolest cloak too.

There’s this thing in Charming where Helene rips Natasha’s necklace from Andrei off and Natasha looks so guilty and upset about it. It really breaks the excitement from the yay, dresses part. She tosses it into Pierre’s depression hole and it landed in his book. Pierre picked it up and looked hilariously confused.

The ball is at least 80% same sex couples which was pretty cool. The ending is beautiful but it gets really chilling as the act draws to a close.

ACT II

Letters was bomb af. I’m gonna note again that I love Okieriete Onaodowan. After saying that he wrote the letter, Dolokhov crouches really malevolently watching what he orchestrated unfolds.

When they pass the love letter to Natasha, the audience has to pass it across the aisle but the girl didn’t know what to do when it got to the end, so Denee leaned really desperately with her arm reached out waving sweetly and asking for the letter until she got it

INGRID MICHAELSON IS A REALLY AMAZING ACTRESS AND SHE WRECKED ME

Preparations is a bop. Nick Choksi is a gift.

There’s a bit at the beginning where Anatole is carrying a big ol bag and he looks like he plans to walk up the stairs with it but then WHOOPS ANDREI IS SITTING ON SAID STAIRS. Anatole does absolutely nothing in acknowledging this- he simply sees he’ll need to take the other stairs and walk away.

I LOVE PAUL PINTO OK

There’s that one post about struggling to keep your sleeves rolled being gay culture and...Lucas Steele took a really long time to get his sleeves rolled up. I snorted.

I have very few words to describe the next few songs so i’ll sorta skip forward a little and just...trust me when I say they’re amazing

Seeing Pierre kick Anatole’s bitch ass is a ton of fun but its much less fun the way its staged because thats when natasha poisons herself and its painful

Natasha Very Ill was so tense and painful

One of the nice things Natasha sings about Andrei in act one becomes a letter to him which we see him open and read. He looks kind of lovestruck and then scared and he tucks the letter away, running off with the ribbon still in his hand. He comes on with this ribbon in his hand a bunch of times, and once, when he looks really beat up and scared, he has the ribbon tied around his gun. The last time he brings this ribbon on stage is in Pierre and Andrey, where its been returned around the parcel of Natasha’s letters.

GOD I love Nicholas Belton’ Andrei. There’s so much pain he’s trying to hide and it’s just being pressed down and hardening into rage. He’s really rough and a bit frightening but its so clearly from a place of sadness. His “No, I am well,” is almost pitifully unconvincing. The scene is so heavy. I could go on about this song forever. He does something on “never speak of that again” where he lashes out and sort of throws his hand out at Pierre’s chest and Pierre looks genuinely frightened by him. He’s really sympathetic even though he’s so cold. In three minutes he captures SO much of Andrei Bolkonsky

In Pierre and Natasha, Denee is completely transformed. She holds the railing and sways likes hse’s falling and walks like each step is over broken glass. Seeing her liveliness shatter is so utterly tragic. She’s brilliant.

Oak’s Pierre is so kind and good hearted. He was really crying during Pierre and Natasha, and it was so full of love. When he did the confession, he worked up so much courage to say it, and he was still sniffling from crying and there was such love in his voice that it richened and softened beautifully. It was so tender and beautiful.

THE ENSEMBLE SINGING IN THE FINALE. Their voices weave a whole sky of stars. Pierre coming to an understanding is illuminated by their soft moonlit voices. The whole moment is as clear as crystal and it is a perfectly executed awakening. It felt deeper and realer than I’d ever imagined.

I was crying a lot

Bonus: Stagedoor

Josh Canfield and Nicholas Belton came out first. I was very awkward but they were both Darlings. Josh photobombed my picture with nicholas belton and nicholas belton was like “oh looks like you’ve got a photobomber” and somehow I didn’t notice until like an hour later

A bunch of really cool ensemble members came out

Nick Choksi came over and he was still wearing his very heavy eyeliner. Someone said “you’re rocking the guyliner” and he looked quite pleased. I told him preparations is like the best song and he was like “hell yeah”

My friend (@levizoe​) told Paul Pinto that his performance was really moving. He thought this was a reference to the show as a whole but I knew. I knew this was about him, Balaga, specifically

Everyone lost it when Oak came out. He had a Harry Potter t-shirt on and was carrying a skateboard. What a cool dude. He’s huge but not as tall as I anticipated. so many muscles. I gave him some are and he was like “Oh this is pretty cool.” then he looked at it and called it kind of amazing and I died. Then he went inside to put it away and all the people who he didn’t get to yet were giving me some serious side eye i felt bad (he came back tho ofc)

Ingrid Michaelson has very pretty eyes and is very nice. She looked so tired tho i felt bad.

IN CONCLUSION I AM DEAD. Sorry for the length of this post. Its such an amazing show. I love them all so much.

[alg8tor]

My Great Comet Experience

I went to the 2:00 matinee on August 30 and sat in the left banquettes

(sorry for the typos) 

Before the show

the outside of the theater was decorated as Cold War bunker and it was horrifying

But as soon as I walked into the theatre it gave a warm and cozy vibe and they played happy Russian music

Right before the show we had an ensemble member (I think Sumaya) come to use to give out dumplings and explain the do and don'ts of the show

And as she was handing out the dumplings she said "You get a dumpling, you get a dumpling, everyone gets a dumpling. Wow I feel like Oprah right now!"  

Then this voice came over the intercom and said "cellphones" then everyone shouted "Neit!"

We were also in the professional recording of the show so we had the OG cast

Prologue

I was absolutely breathe-taken and I still couldn't believe I was actually there

Right before the first accordion note Natasha let out the most heart wrenching "no" when Andrey left

Then this one ensemble member looked at me and then pointed to himself and made an OK sign  

Also when everyone had their own dance move when they said their name

Pierre

I was still breathe-taken

Amber Gray was conducting all women for the "He's charming, he has no sex"

Then for the part "How many men before, good Russian men" a spotlight showed up on all the men

Also when it ended everyone harmonized together and it sounded so good

Moscow

Dave shouted the 'Ras-Dva-Tri' part

When Sonya and Natasha were mocking Marya they made sure she was turned around before singing it

Then when Natasha sings "no one can understand" she kinda puts her hand up to Sonya's face

Also when Sonya and Natasha sang "you'll take us where we must go" they kinda skipped to the other side of the stage

The private and intimate of the house

the song was so so eerie

Nicholas was so funny and for the "powdered wig" part he hits the wig and powder flies everywhere

And he takes such a long pause and just stares at this girl then smiles awkwardly at her before the "but people still like me though"

When Mary came in and sang her part it was soooooo creepy

Then when Mary talks about marrying someone she goes into the audience makes this guy stand up with her and hold her hands

The Bolkonsky goes over this and attempts to kiss her neck but is shaking so much it doesn't happen

Natasha & the Bolkonskys

Denee and Gelsey take these stools and sit right between these tables

The when Bolkonsky sings again he does this weird tongue thing and it's hilarious

No one else

no one else was so beautiful and started to cry as soon as I heard the piano notes

The lighting was so beautiful and blue too and these lightbulbs around the theater and they were supposed to be the stars and they looked so pretty

When the "we were angels once" part comes up Denee looks at this woman she just mouthes "I do" to her and it's so sweet

Then Andrey comes on the stage and snow is falling on him and he's reading one of Natasha's letters then he walks and she tries to run after him and it's so heartbreaking

The opera/Natasha & Anatole

I don't know if the "Natasha smooth your gown" part is supposed to insult her or something but I think so

When Dolokhov gets introduced he does this March thing then makes a girl in the audience kiss his hand after his kissed hers

When Helene is introduced she spins and twirls around a lot

When the opera ends Natasha's and Sonya's faces are priceless

Like Natasha is surprised and Sonya is confused

Then when Lucas comes in OML

The lights come up behind him and and mist pours out and it's such a rockstar entrance then on every beat he turns his head a different way to show it off

He also kissed these two ladies' cheeks

Then the opera starts up again and there's this soldier who has on a tattered and ripped uniform and two of the singers are pulling red ribbons from him and then I noticed it was Andrey and Natasha makes eye contact with and seems so frightened

When Anatole goes to talk to Natasha and walks past a mirror but then walks back to check himself out again then set himself up in a pose for Nat

The duel

OKAY OKAY the duel is my fav song so when it started I was so so happy

When Anatole says "club" he does this little sway thing and it's great

Then Nick comes in and him and Lucas do this little dance mirroring each other

Then the strobe lights come on and everything is wild

Grace came in wearing the kinkiest thing I have ever seen

Then Lucas sang the "never mind about that now" part and this ensemble guy did a really cool cartwheel

Then when Anatole says the duck line he mimes a duck and so cute

When Nick sings the "here's to the health of married women" part he does this dance and it's so crazy

Then the duel happens and Amber looks so scared for Pierre leading up to it and it kinda lets you know she does care about him

When Dolokhov shoots Pierre, Dave stands there after the shot goes off then turns around and pats himself down

Then when Anatole is about to help Dolokhov offstage, Nick stands up and pushes his off him then stomps offstage like a child and I loved that so much

Then Anatole is about to leave he mimes a finger gun at Pierre

Dust and ashes

Before the song starts Pierre walks so slowly to the piano then slams down his glass of vodka (it's real alcohol too)    on the table

Then the piano notes start and it's quiet in the room the you could hear a pin drop

When the harmonies come in all of the cast lines up in the mezzanine

When the song is over it has such a long applause and I thought I was going to cry just because of the applause

Dave was fantastic in that song btw

Sunday morning

Not a lot stuff stood out to me

But this one where Natasha is looking in the mirror Pierre is standing behind and staring into the mirror too

Then when Brittain sings "you'll see a coffin or a man" Natasha looks to her and is horrified

The knock at the door is also a cowbell

Charming

amber is amazing for starters

Just the way she moves around the stage is amazing

Throughout the song Natasha wears Helene's coat and looks adorable in it

When amber hit the high the note I got goosebumps

At the very very end Amber starts to sway in her dress and Denee copies her and it's so cute

The applause was pretty long for charming too

The ball

Not a lot of crazy things happened

But there were these cute gay couples dancing together and dancing in general was the bomb.com

When Anatole grabs Nat's hand and she says he's hurting her he lets go of her hand immediately and puts his hands up like he's surrendering

When Denee sings "I will love you Anatole" it was so beautiful and sounded amazing

When everyone is leaving the stage Anatole waits in front of the door and holds out his hand for Nat to grab then they walk into the doors and the doors make the big shutting noise

Also when Anatole and Natasha kissed the cast pulled out these glasses and made this sound with them

Letters

as soon as everyone walked everyone clapped

When someone in the cast didn't have a solo part the my day down and and stomped to beat and it was pretty cool

When Pierre sang about napoleon a picture of him lights up in the corner and Dave points a gun at it

As soon as Denee is done singing "dear princess Mary" the spotlight shines on Gelsey and she struts down the stairs

When Nick sings "A letter which I composed" Natasha sticks her pen and paper in Helene's face

When the Natalie part came up the lights started getting brighter

Lucas holds the first yes for long but last one was just amazing

Natasha & Sonya/ Sonya alone

not a lot happens in N&S

But Sonya tries to hide the letter from Nat but Natasha catches her

At the end when Natasha is yelling and Sonya, Brittain looks so sad

Throughout Sonya alone Natasha never leaves the stage and glances at Sonya sometimes and looks very depressed

Preparations

wowowoowwowow Nick and Lucas are so amazing for starters

When Nick sings he sings with so so much passion

When Dolokhov is telling Anatole this isn't a good idea for the first time Lucas is like shaving in the corner

Then Nick grabs Lucas during "don't ya know" part and pushes him down the stairs on the beat

Balaga/ the abduction

When Paul comes out he like jumps down a flight of stairs

Then everyone else came out with baskets with the egg shakers in them and handed them to people to pass them out and I got the last one in the basket

balaga was so fun but you could tell that a lot of people haven't listened to the cast album before so some of the egg shakers were off but that's ok

Lucas, I swear to god, held the woah note for like 20 sec and got such a big applause

I started singing a bit to the gypsy lovers part and was smiling so much

Right before everyone was about to start dancing again Nick came over to me and handed me his guitar and said "can you hold this for me? It's expensive so don't drop it. Sorry I have to dance byeeeeeee!" And that made me sooooooooo happy

When Dave started singing again everyone liked passed out on the floor

Then when Lucas stopped everyone at the Russian custom part he sat next to this lady and wrapped his arm around her

Someone whistled for Nick when that part came up and that made me laugh a little

And Oml Gelsey hitting those notes were amazing

In my house

as in my house begins the ensemble members look at each other and shake their heads like they're signaling not to mess with Marya

Grace's face was so red throughout the song it was wild

During the "I brought her a glass of lime flower water" she ushered to the servants to bring her those things

And when Natasha threw herself down on the couch she stood still and covered her eyes till the end of Find Anatole

A call to Pierre/ find Anatole

Not a lot happened in these but after Marya said that Anatole was married Natasha grabbed a glass with water and poured this powder in it and drank then started to cough and her eyes got wide and she bolted up the stairs

When Pierre went to the the club the ensemble was standing on the balcony and stairs and just having chit-chat and then they all yelled down to Pierre when it was the is it true part

At on point Anatole was being all loud and Helene yelled to him to shut up and then she sat down and was holding him in her lap

Then when Pierre pushes her away she leans over into this booth and cries then goes to sit and looks so heartbroken

Pierre & Anatole

When Anatole comes in he walks in like there's no problem

When Pierre grabs Anatole though he is frightened

And when he says he'll bash his head in he picks up this book-end

When Anatole goes to leave he looks like a mess and is flinging his suitcase around

When Lucas held the Petersburg note Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh it was so good

Natasha very ill / Pierre & Andrey

Not a lot in NVI but Nick was on stage for the rest of the play just playing the guitar on one of the stairways

The transition between songs gave me life

Throughout P&A Andrey starts to act more and more like his dad and it's so creepy

When Andrey comes in the doors open and the lights flash kinda like Anatole's entrance

At the end Andrey goes to sit in his dad's chair and Mary sees him and is about to give him a hug but he slides past her

Pierre & Natasha

when Natasha came in she looked so different from the beginning and it was so sad

When Natasha "cried" she hardcore sobbed and it was heartbreaking

Like everyone was crying

Before Natasha leaves she touches Pierre's face and looks into his eyes and it's so sad then she walks back up the stairs and has a warm smile on her face

The great comet of 1812

was so beautiful

Everyone was on stage sitting somewhere and singing

When Pierre is unable to find the sleeves he puts his arms right through the sleeves but I was kinda considering about that

When the great comet comes down all the lightbulb in the theater are the stars and this big light comes down and glows

And Dave looks at that and is just smiling when it happened and that made me smile so much