Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

Creative Team

Director

Thomas Jacobsen

Music Director
Patrick Russell

Choreographer
LilaAnn White

Dance Captain
Faith Fausone

Dramaturgs

Lou Divine, Rosa Olson

Scenic Design

Lisa Scott

Assistant Scenic Design

Sheridan Cornett

Properties Coordinator

Scott Boyle

Costume Design

Moriah Babinski

Assistant Costume Design

Morgan Ryals, Jennika Bunney

Makeup/Hair Design

Caitlin Quinn

Assistant Makeup/Hair Design

Emmi Dunkin

Lighting Design

Samantha Brown

Sound Design

Jon Brophy

Technical Director

Scott Boyle

Stage Manager

Jordyn Rodriguez

Assistant Stage Managers

Cora Mandrodt, Courtney Schreiber

Cast

PIERRE (+piano)

Aaron Dumalag

NATASHA
Mackenzie Ammon

SONYA (+violin)
Cindy Hansen

MARYA
Olivia Nelson

ANATOLE (+guitar)
Tanner Longshore

HÉLÈNE
Misha Suarez

DOLOKHOV (+guitar & viola)
John Toven

BALAGA/OPERA SINGER/SERVANT (+accordion)
Ryan Armstrong

PRINCESS MARY/OPERA SINGER/MAIDSERVANT
Kaitlyn Callahan

BOLKONSKY/ANDREY
Erik Rasmussen

ENSEMBLE

Figensia Alcenat

Deklan Boren

Sylvia Cabak

Shea Callaghan (+violin)

Sandi Flahn

Jordan Kueng

Jonathan Lake

Courtney Larson (Opera Dancer)

Mackenzie Moe

Cadence Neste (+guitar)

Kylee Paar

Emerson Spencer (+guitar & Opera Dancer)

Irie Unity

Kate Warmka

UNDERSTUDIES

Deklan Boren (Balaga, Servant,Opera Singer, Bolkonsky & Andrey)

Courtney Larson (Natasha, Princess Mary,Opera Singer & Maidservant)

Sophia Nelson (Sonya, Marya & Hélène)

Jack Nitti (Pierre, Anatole & Dolokhov)

Band
Piano & Conductor
Patrick Russell

Oboe & English Horn
Madeline Miller

Clarinet & Bass Clarinet
Jessica Polacheck

Accordion & Keyboards
Elizabeth Brophy

Viola
Eliza Wilson

Cello
Toko Nakajima

Guitar
Cory Clay

Bass
Gregg Ciurleo

Drums
Matthew Groom

Cast & Creative Team

Director's Note

“And this bright star...
...seems suddenly to have stopped, like an arrow piercing the earth.
Stopped for me.”

Throughout history, we have always looked to the skies for help or answers to what is happening here on the ground.  In Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, we meet Pierre while he is in the middle of an existential crisis, struggling with age-old questions, like “why are we here?” and “what is my purpose?”.

Musical theatre is the perfect vehicle to explore thoughts like these. It has the ability to move you unlike anything else and to highlight intimate moments that are buried amidst the spectacle.  It can bring out small stories that live inside larger ones, that help us see something about ourselves in our current times.  So what better way to bring to life a 70 page slice of Tolstoy’s nearly 1500 page epic, War and Peace?  Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 is a short story full of hope, love and longing, that reminds us that despite the chaos and hardships of life, connection is our savior.  And that connection might be in the most unlikely of places. 

When we meet Pierre, he has given up hope of a fresh start, and finding peace and purpose amidst the mess of life.  When we meet Natasha, her life is full of hope and promise, but a series of bad choices quickly changes that.  While these characters might be several centuries old, their struggles, hardships, and bad choices are all extremely relatable to us today.

And then Pierre says, referring to the comet, that it “seems suddenly to have stopped”, as if saying that it represents that it’s stopping for all of us, as if it sees and notices our struggles, and is therefore attempting to offer some comfort.  And what better message for all of us in these times.

“It seems to me, that this comet feels me
Feels my softened and uplifted soul
And my newly melted heart now blossoming
Into a new life.”

Pierre and Natasha may only meet each other at the end of our show, but their journey together is just starting... Spoiler alert: they eventually end up together in Tolstoy’s novel. :-)

Dramaturg's Note

“There’s a war going on out there somewhere.” 

As the opening line of Great Comet, these words provide both context for  the plot and a sense of its stakes. The characters are living under the threat  of Napoleon’s invasion, a violent reality that will eventually catch up to them.  For the audience, this line is poignant as well. It reminds us of the many active  wars currently raging across the globe. However, despite the fact that it is  an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Dave Malloy’s musical is not  really about war. Rather, the war informs the world that the characters are  navigating. Like the characters, the audience must set aside the heavy burden  of awareness, and fall blissfully into the arms of escapism. 

Great Comet focuses narrowly on the seemingly petty issues faced by its  titular characters: Natasha and Pierre. As members of high society, they  believe “the war can’t touch them,” and instead prioritize personal gain  and the search for peace within themselves. Centering on Natasha and her  naive obsession with love, the musical demonstrates how she refuses to  see the truth of what’s in front of her. She pushes away the outside world,  and when the reality of her choices fail to meet her expectations she is left  feeling alone and ruined. Similarly, Pierre isolates himself, choosing alcohol  and introspection, unable to face reality. Though he acknowledges the war,  he fixates on the value of his own existence, eventually discovering that true  peace and purpose must come from within. 

In this electro-pop opera, Dave Malloy brings the beauty of Tolstoy’s words to  a wide audience. Almost every line in the show comes directly from War and  Peace, which is why characters often narrate their feelings and actions. Our  production confronts audiences directly, allowing them intimate insight into a  world that may seem very different from our own. However, if we look closely  we might see that the plights of modern audiences are indeed identical to  those faced by the characters. Though the 19th-century characters may  get lost in books and operas rather than smart phones and TV, our current  society also suffers from an epidemic of listlessness, as we are bombarded  with ways to escape: drugs, alcohol, sex, and technology. Despite its highly  stylized form and language, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 may  be more relevant than you’d expect, if you open yourself up to it. 

To learn more about the play, its characters, themes, and historical context visit The Great Comet Dramaturgy Information website

Production Crew
Scene Shop Supervisor

Katie Hashem

Shift Crew

Kaitlee Fluegel

Scenic Design Faculty Advisor

Curtis Phillips

Wardrobe Supervisor
Kade Gau

Dressers

Erin Christoferson, Kirstyn Saulsbury

Makeup/Hair

Celeste Lee, Zeva Anserson

Costume/Makeup Design Faculty Advisor

Caitlin Quinn

Costume Shop Supervisor

Laura Piotrowski

Light Board Operator
Jacob Steen

Follow Spot Operators
Gabriel Mann, Jordan Fields

Audio Engineer

Oliva Zastrow

Audi System Engineer/A2

Andrew Segal

Stagecraft Practicum Instructor

Nick Wright

Scenery/Props Construction Crew

Ash Barsoom, Sam Brown, Jordan Fields, Jay Kray, Gabriel Mann, Cooper Mccalister, Heidi Mintz, Zawadi Mwabury, August Ringlien, Jannette Schmitt, Courtney Shreiber, Andrew Segal, Emerson Spencer, Oliver Swimeley

Costume Practicum Instructor

Alice Shafer

Costume Construction Crew 

Moriah Babinski, Jesse Bakken, Jennika Bunney, Cody Burgoon, Maryn Cruser*, Emmalyn Danielson, Ro Feitl*, Kade Gau*, Alexandra Glenn, Zoe Griese, Kimberly Hodgman, Luke Hiland, Cora Manrodt, Rosa Olson, Gavin Orson, Erik Rasmussen, August Ringlien, Morgan Ryals*, Kirstyn Saulsbury, Percy Schmit, John Toven

Lighting/Sound/Media Design Faculty Advisor

Jon Brophy

Light & Sound Crew
Deklan Boren, Billy Booth, Kaitlyn Callahan, Maggie Clark, Maryn Cruser, Lou Divine, Zsofi Eastvold, Sandi Flahn, Elizabeth Jensen, Cadence Neste, Gavin Orson, Elsa Persson, Izzy Roy, Jennette Schmitt, Misha Suarez, Emma Wylie

Dramaturgy Faculty Advisor 

Jenna Soleo-Shanks

*Indicates College Work/study

Acknowledgments

Nick Gossen and the Duluth Playhouse

Other Information