Full casting and an opening date have been set for the upcoming Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.
The production will start previews the first week in October and will open November 14, 2016 at the Imperial Theatre. The Broadway house is currently home to the revival of Les Miserables, which is scheduled to conclude its run in September.
As previously reported, the cast of Natasha will be headed by Grammy nominee Josh Groban, who will be making his Broadway debut as Pierre. The acclaimed singer will be joined by Denée Benton, who will also be making her Broadway debut. Benton will reprise the role of Natasha that she played in the recent engagement of the musical at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge.
Just announced, the rest of cast will consist of the folowing. An asterisk indicates a Broadway debut: Brittain Ashford* as Sonya, Gelsey Bell as Princess Mary, Nicholas Belton as Bolkonsky/Andrey, Nick Choksi* as Dolokhov, Amber Gray* as Helene, Grace McLean* as Marya D, Paul Pinto* as Balaga, Scott Stangland as Pierre (standby) and Lucas Steele as Anatole.
The ensemble includes Sumayya Ali, Courtney Bassett*, Josh Canfield, Ken Clark*, Erica Dorfler, Lulu Fall, Ashley Pérez Flanagan*, Nick Gaswirth, Azudi Onyejekwe, Pearl Rhein*, Heath Saunders*, Katrina Yaukey, and Lauren Zakrin.
Listen to Groban sing part of the opening number below:
"...and Andrey isn't here." @joshgroban and the cast sing through the opening for the first time. #TheCometIsComing pic.twitter.com/CTnC6c2W7Q
— The Great Comet (@GreatCometBway) March 7, 2016
The Great Comet is billed as a “theatrical experience like no other. Malloy’s inspired adaptation of a 70-page slice of War and Peace puts audiences just inches away from Tolstoy’s brash young lovers, as they light up Moscow in an epic tale of romance and passion.”
The show has book, music and lyrics by Dave Malloy and is directed by Rachel Chavkin. Casting is by Stewart/Whitley. The show premiered in New York at Ars Nova Theatre Off-Broadway in 2012, and moved first to a tent in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan in May 2013, and then the tented production moved to a vacant lot in the Times Square theatre district later in 2013. In 2015 the show was restaged at American Repertory Theatre in Boston, expanding the show’s signature intimate staging to a traditional proscenium-style theatre.
The musical will be produced on Broadway by Howard & Janet Kagan and Paula Marie Black.
For more information visit Greatcometbroadway.com.
