Writers Theatre To Present NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma and Artistic Director Braden Abraham, opens its 2024/25 Season with Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 written by Dave Malloy and directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman with music direction by Matt Deitchman. Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 will run September 5 – October 27, 2024 in the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The Press Opening is Friday, September 13, 2024 at 7:30pm. 

“There’s a war going on somewhere out there, and Andrey isn’t here.” Young and impulsive, Natasha Rostova arrives in Moscow to await the return of her fiancée from the front lines. But when she falls under the spell of the roguish Anatole, family friend Pierre must push through his existential crisis to help Natasha pick up the pieces of her shattered reputation. Based on a scandalous slice of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel War and Peace, this innovative musical spectacle took Broadway by storm with its “electropop opera” score, earning two Tony Awards and 12 Tony nominations. Katie Spelman and Matt Deitchman, the inspired creative team behind WT’s hit production of Once, reunite to bring this modern spin on a literary classic to Chicago for the first time. 

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com 

“We are opening our season with the first Chicago production of one of the most thrilling original musicals of the last twenty years. Its engine is the timeless humanity of Tolstoy, and the contemporary genius of Dave Malloy is the rocket fuel that makes it go. This will be a high-octane experience for our audiences in the uniquely immersive environment at Writers, where they will be up close with some of Chicago’s finest actors,” comments Artistic Director Braden Abraham. “The real power of Great Comet for me is in what it says about love. At the heart of the show, love is the force that wakes us up to our own life. We are awake when our attention goes outward towards another. Love can be creative, or destructive and then creative again. It’s a play set in the past with an acute awareness that we are always in the present moment. It’s an invitation to a party, and a toast to the vibrancy of life.”

The cast includes Joseph Anthony Byrd (Anatole), Sophie Grimm (Ensemble, Hélène US/Dance Captain) Rob Lindley (Bolkonsky), Julia Wheeler Lennon (Mary, Sonya US), Will Lidke (Ensemble, Dolokhov US), Evan Tyrone Martin (Pierre), Andrew Mueller (Dolokhov), Aurora Penepacker (Natasha), Maya Rowe (Sonya), Bri Sudia (Hélène), Bethany Thomas (Marya), Jonah D. Winston (Balaga) and Matthew C. Yee (Andrey). The understudies are: Bridget Adams-King, Vasily Deris, Isabel Kaegi, Darryl D’Angelo Jones, Teressa LaGamba, and Juwon Tyrel Perry.

The creative team includes: Katie Spelman (Director and Choreographer), Matt Deitchman (Music Director), Courtney O’Neill (Scenic Designer), Raquel Adorno (Costume Designer), Yael Lubetzky (Lighting Designer), Eric Backus (Sound Designer), Rae Watson (Properties Designer), Charlotte River-Hoster (Conductor/Piano/Associate Music Director), Amber Wuttke (Violence Director), Melissa Foster (Vocal Coach), and Roger Ellis (Associate Director). The stage manager is Miranda Anderson and the assistant stage managers are Natalie Cohen and Lexie Wiley.

Tickets are now on sale at Writers Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; 847-242-6000; www.writerstheatre.org.  

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