The Great Comet

The Great Comet

Splurged last night and got myself a nosebleed ticket to see "The Great Comet" on Broadway.

The full name: "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812"

It is a musical adaptation of a part of Leo Tolstoy's WAR AND PEACE.

So I've been semi-obsessed with getting to see HAMILTON on Broadway for a while now. I've been listening to the soundtrack for a while and it's... good. Real good. Tickets are super sold-out and crazy expensive.

So, some friends of mine went to see "Great Comet" recently and raved over it. And the ads feature a blurb from the New York Times saying it's the best musical to hit Broadway since HAMILTON. So I figured I'd give it a go.

Bottom line: it's an amazing production but... it's no Hamilton.

It's smart. It uses the audience a lot, in different ways, really capitalizing on the live theater visceral aspect unique to a Broadway show. I just wasn't really taken by any of the music. Or the story. It's smart for what it is. It just wasn't personally engaging to me.

Can't get much more nosebleed than the dead-last row. A fine vantage point to see all the action, though physically removed from it. My section was dominated by an obvious suburban high school theater class, and assorted... urban theater goers. Then there were the unique scents of the cheap seats: Jolly Ranchers, mothballs and Chinese takeout.

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Curtains.