Josh Groban and Denée Benton Set to Make Broadway Debuts in Great Comet
(© Chad Batka)
Dave Malloy's Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 opens tonight at the Imperial Theatre. Directed by Rachel Chavkin, performances began October 18. Josh Groban and Denée Benton, who star in the production's title roles, both make their Broadway debuts.
Inspired by a small section of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, The Great Comet was originally commissioned and developed at Ars Nova, in New York, where it had its world premiere in fall 2012, and was transferred to a custom-built venue in the Meatpacking District for summer 2013. The show and the entire venue was transferred to the Theater District where it continued its run into spring 2014. It played a pre-Broadway engagement in 2015 at American Repertory Theater in Massachusetts.
In addition to Groban and Benton, the cast features Brittain Ashford as Sonya, Gelsey Bell as Princess Mary, Nicholas Belton as Bolonsky/Andrey, Nick Choksi as Dolokhov, Amber Gray as Helene, Grace McLean as Marya D., Paul Pinto as Balaga, Lucas Steele as Anatole, and Scott Stangland as the standby for Pierre.
The ensemble includes Sumayya Ali, Courtney Bassett, Josh Canfield, Ken Clark, Erica Dorfler, Lulu Fall, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Nick Gaswirth, Alex Gibson, Billy Joe Kiessling, Mary Spencer Knapp, Reed Luplau, Brandt Martinez, Andrew Mayer, Azudi Onyejekwe, Pearl Rhein, Heath Saunders, Ani Taj, Cathryn Wake, Katrina Yaukey, and Lauren Zakrin.
The Great Comet creative team features choreography by Sam Pinkleton, set design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Tony Award winner Paloma Young, lighting design by Bradley King, sound design by Nicholas Pope, music supervision by Sonny Paladino, and musical direction by Or Matias.
