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As BroadwayWorld reported earlier today, full casting has been announced for the new musical THE GREAT COMET, featuring the Broadway debuts of 18 cast and creative team members including Josh Groban as 'Pierre' and Denée Benton as 'Natasha.' Created by Dave Malloy (Preludes, Ghost Quartet) and directed by Rachel Chavkin (Small Mouth Sounds, Preludes) - also making their Broadway debuts - THE GREAT COMET will blaze intoBroadway's Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street) beginning in the first week of October with opening night set for Monday, November 14, 2016.
To get you acquainted with the cast, we're bringing you some of their past performances below!
JOSH GROBAN (Pierre). Possessing one of the most outstanding and instantly recognizable voices in music, singer, songwriter, and actor Josh Groban has entertained fans across the globe with his multi-platinum albums and DVDs (over 35 million sold worldwide), electrifying live performances, and comedic film and television appearances. The 35-year-old Los Angeles native is the only artist who has had two albums appear on the Top 20 Best-Selling Albums list of the past decade, according toBillboard. He has appeared in the feature films Crazy, Stupid, Love, Coffee Town, and Muppets Most Wanted, as well as on CBS' Life In Pieces, NBC's The Office, FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and CBS' The Crazy Ones. Groban has released seven studio albums, 2001's self-titled double-platinum debut, 2003's multi-platinum Closer, 2006's double-platinum Awake, 2007's quadruple-platinum Grammy-nominated Noel, 2010's platinum Illuminations, and 2013's All That Echoes, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, giving Groban his first No. 1 debut and third chart-topper. The album earned Groban some of his best reviews to date. In April 2015, Groban released Stages, a collection of some of the greatest songs from musical theater. The album was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In February 2016 Groban released a CD/DVD package, entitled Stages Live, featuring performances recorded at the historic Los Angeles Theater in downtown L.A. for his all-new PBS special Josh Groban: Stages Live. In July, he will embark on an extensive North American tour to support Stages, entitled "Josh Groban: On Stage." An active arts education philanthropist and advocate, Groban is a member of Americans for the Arts Artists Committee and Groban's Find Your Light Foundation helps enrich the lives of young people through arts, education, and cultural awareness.
DENÉE BENTON (Natasha) played the role of 'Natasha' in The Great Comet at A.R.T. She starred as 'Nabulungi' in the West End and US National Tour of The Book of Mormon. Her regional credits include Annie, Sunset Boulevard, and Fiddler on the Roof at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. She recently joined season two of Lifetime's new hit television series Unreal as Ruby and is currently shooting in Vancouver. She is a 2014 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
BRITTAIN ASHFORD (Sonya) will make her Broadway debut in The Great Comet in the role she originated at Ars Nova and received a Lucile Lortel nomination for during its run at Kazino. She's also appeared in Dave Malloy's Ghost Quartet (Bushwick Starr, The Heath, Curran: Under Construction, A.R.T.) and fronts her own band, Prairie Empire.
GELSEY BELL (Princess Mary), is a singer, songwriter, and scholar. Described by the New York Times as a "winning soprano" and the "future of experimental vocalism," her multi-disciplinary work has been presented internationally. She is a member of thingNY and Varispeed, and Dave Malloy's Ghost Quartet, and has a PhD from NYU in performance studies. www.gelseybell.com
NICHOLAS BELTON (Bolkonsky/Andrey) Broadway: Hair. Tours: Wicked (Chicago), Evita, Hair. Off-Broadway: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Kazino & A.R.T.), My Life With Albertine(Playwrights Horizons), See Rock City & Other Destinations (Transport Group). Regional: Long Wharf, Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, PCLO, Idaho Shakes. Check out Nick's food & health sanctuary:ForageAndFree.com
NICK CHOKSI (Dolokhov). Off Broadway: Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Ars Nova/Kazino/A.R.T.; D Deb Debbie Deborah, Clubbed Thumb; Brooklynite!, Vineyard; Bunty Berman Presents, New Group (Lortel Nomination); Invasion!, The Flea; Annie Baker's Practice, The Atlantic; Rajiv Joseph's Huck and Holden, Cherry Lane Theatre; Christopher Durang's Triple Trouble with Love, 59E59 Theater; A Food Odyssey, Invisible Dog (also composed). Regional: Love's Labor's Lost, RSC/Shakespeare Theater D.C.; Wind In The Willows, Two River. Film/TV: The Passing Season (upcoming), Home, Violet & Daisy, "Happyish", "Royal Pains", "L&O:CI", "The Sopranos", "The Electric Company", "One Life To Life" (recurring). Training: Juilliard. Band: Those Lost Boys. www.nickchoksi.com
AMBER GRAY (Helene) has appeared in Natasha Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 (Kazino, Ars Nova), Hadestown (NYTW), Iphigenia in Aulis (CSC), Oklahoma! (Bard SummerScape), An Octoroon (TFANA, Soho Rep, P.S.122), The TEAM's Mission Drift (London's National, P.S.122's COIL, Edinburgh's Traverse, etc), and ongoing with Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping. M.F.A: NYU Graduate Acting
GRACE McLEAN (Marya D). Off Broadway: Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Kazino; Brooklynite, Vineyard Theatre; Bedbugs!!!, Arclight; The World is Round, BAM; Sleep No More, The McKittrick Hotel; Twelve Ophelias, Woodshed Collective. Regional: Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, A.R.T.; Pump Boys and Dinettes, Weston Playhouse; La MaMa Cantata, Spoleto, Italy; Zagreb, Croatia; Belgrade, Serbia; From The Fire (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011, MTM Best New Musical); The Last Goodbye, Williamstown Theater Festival. Grace McLean & Them Apples performed in both the 2015 and 2016 Lincoln Center American Songbook seasons and in April 2015 traveled to Pakistan on a US State Department sponsored tour. Original music available on iTunes. www.gracemclean.com
PAUL PINTO (Balaga) is a composer, writer and performer. He's a founder of experimental music ensembles thingNY and Varispeed. An album of his poetic compositions, minis/Trajectories is set to be released in September, and he's writing a psychedelic new electronic opera called Thomas Paine in Violence for the HERE Art Center. pfpinto.com
SCOTT STANGLAND (Pierre standby) is a New York-based actor and musician. Select theatre: Once, the Musical (Broadway); Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (A.R.T.); The Wheel(Steppenwolf Theatre). Select TV/film: Crisis, Chicago Fire (NBC), Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (TNT); Contagion, and End of the Tour. Scott received his MFA from The Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University. Scott also plays in the band Youth in a Roman Field.
LUCAS STEELE (Anatole) Broadway: The Threepenny Opera. Off-Broadway: has originated numerous leading roles including Myths and Hymns at Prospect Theater Company, The Kid at The New Group, and Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 for which he received a Lucille Lortel award for his portrayal of Anatole Kuragin.
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