joblovv

[tenebris-lux]

In the musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, there’s a song called “The Abduction”. Most of the song takes place at a tavern where there’s kind of a bachelor party going on for a guy about to elope with a girl. There’s a pretty long instrumental break during the song, and for most of that part, there’s choreographed dance segment. But then it devolves into chaos. That is what the writer of the play, Dave Malloy, calls this segment. I’ll let him tell the rest:

“…to this day I really don’t know everything that happens in this moment, but some of my favorite bits include: Natasha breaking a painting (of a troika) over Balaga’s head; Marya D. and Hélène making out; Andrey and Azudi Onyejekwe having a fully choreographed fist fight; Mary doing some sort of bizarre elf warrior attack on violinist Billy Joe Kiessling, using his bow as a sword; Pearl Rhein and Summaya Ali throwing pages of War & Peace from the balcony; Heath Saunders taking his wild hair down in an existential rage; Nick Gaswirth tearing his shirt; and dear sweet Sonya cowering in fear, in the corner of the house right mezz.”

This is so funny to me, because a lot of those names mentioned are characters who wouldn’t be at the bachelor party, they’re just there as extras and are adding to the chaos with some OOC actions. But for some reason, in my head, the image of a couple people throwing War & Peace pages around so they’re raining on the audience … that’s what kills me.

And it sounds really funny on the soundtrack. Lots of cheering, some chatter, and a couple shrieks. It sounds like a complete madhouse. And then the chaos stops when Pierre finally joins the party and starts singing.

[b-plot-butch]

Thanks so much for the tag, @tickldpnk8!! :D (I would LOVE to see your art if you feel comfortable sharing it, by the way 👀👀)

Currently reading: relistening to the audiobook of Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis as my nighttime sleep story

Favorite color: blue! But I’m a huge fan of colors in general. Have been on a bit of deep-purple-and-green kick. It’s such a lush, wonderful combination

Last song: “Blossoms” by The Amazing Devil! Also, highly recommend Denée Benton and Azudi Onyejekwe’s cover of “Like a Star” by Corinne Bailey Rae; it’s absolutely lovely

Last movie: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. I enjoyed it MASSIVELY

Sweet/spicy/savory: hmm, I gotta say savory. I like sweet a lot too, don’t get me wrong, but not too sweet

Currently working on: MY SMALL MOUNTAIN OF CALIENNE FICS MWAHAHA. I’ve got a primarily Lucienne-centric hurt/comfort fic that just passed 2,000 words and I’m very pleased with how it’s coming along; an accidental baby acquisition fic; a short thing about Lucienne, her library, and the section there devoted to works that Calliope has inspired; and a sort of overview fic about Lucienne and Calliope together as they heal and support each other through those processes. Oh, also, hypothetically I’m finishing up a T4T Jonmartin Magnus Archives fic. It literally only needs one paragraph to complete the draft but that last paragraph is a monster xD.

Tagging: @lucienne-thee-librarian, @dubiousdisco, and anyone else who wants to!!

[larryland]

REVIEW: "Lempicka" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival

REVIEW: “Lempicka” at the Williamstown Theatre Festival

[plutotothepleiades]

i present: comet cast being cute: the wallpaper

[ratcarney]

my experience at the great comet

needless to say, it was fantastic. -i was sitting in the front row of the back mezz and i could see everything and it was incredible. -brad came up to us beforehand and shouted "NYET, NYET, NYET!" at things such as leaving your cellphones on during the performance and talking during the show, etc -then prologue started. and everyone in the audience was so engaged from that point on it was great. we had such a good audience omg -cathryn played her clarinet in my face and it was magical - celia mei rubin's arms are my RELIGION, holy shit??? she's tiny but so fucking strong i love it?? she's incredible -okay fast forward to natasha and the bolkonskys...after mary said "and he looked at her once head to toe" nicholas belton managed to mutter "not in my house" at shoba (who was playing natasha) right before mary continued with the lyric and i dIED -fast forward to the duel: balaga ate sonya out next to the bolkonsky chair, anatole seduces marya, marya whips some poor ensemble member on the top of the stage, and let's not forget the special appearance by all eighteen of josh canfield's abs - everything was fantastic up until in my house - brittain is in the middle of her line and her mic cuts out - cue my heart dropping - then ALL THE SOUND CUTS OUT - and suddenly there's an announcement over a hidden loudspeaker: "EXCUSE US. WE'RE HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. ALL ACTORS PLEASE EXIT THE STAGE." - shoba and grace and brittain are just kind of standing there laughing nervously and eventually grace beckons to shoba and they exit - the audience starts murmuring and everything is quiet - until a man behind me starts singing: "whOOAAOAOAAAOHOAAA" - getting the message, i stand up and shout "HEY! HEY! HEY!" - and the WHOLE AUDIENCE STARTS SINGING THE ABDUCTION - IT WAS INCREDIBLE -EVERYONE STARTED CLAPPING AND SHAKING THEIR EGG SHAKERS AND SINGING - eventually the song died out and everyone started clapping again it was hilarious - scott stangland (pierre), had to stay in the circular pit the whole time, and i'm not sure if he was staying in character or drinking from the wine bottle to cope with the fact that things had gone horribly wrong - then the guitar player next to him started the wave - and since its a circular theatre, the wave extended through the entire imperial - after that ended, heath came out to his spot to loud applause - he grinned and waved as the rest of the cast came out - they weren't getting the okay to continue the show so they just stood there in silence in their spots right before in my house - after a long pause, lucas, who stood on the top of the stairs, called "YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED, RIGHT?" everyone says "yes!" and then grace comes onstage and the audience ROARS - they continued the show and it was terrific anyway, tl/dr: props to the great comet cast retaining their good humor and taking a major technical difficulty in stride.

[they-are-there-upon-his-head]

great comet ensemble appreciation post (and costume references!)

[schpiedehl]

The statements of Azudi Onyejekwe, Comet cast member and personal friend of Dave Malloy and Rachel Chavkin. He has been with the show through every off Broadway run and is currently with the show on Broadway.

[secretlybatman99]

I just saw natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812 yesterday, and it is probably the best show ive ever seen. The leads were amazing, they had amazing voices and they were so engaged the whole show The ensemble was so enthusiastic, and they had so much energy, and they made the show for me, one of them fist bumped me The costumes were so cool, the leads wore more traditional 1800s russian clothing, and the ensemble wore more modern grunge punk clothing The lighting was wild, the chandeliers, and the descending lightbulbs were a really cool way of creating stars The stage and set was so immersive and really convinced you that you were at a wild russian opera The dancing and choreography was insane, there was so much movement especially during 'Balaga' and i felt cold because of how fast the actors were moving around me The band/orchestra were so good, and they wore costumes too, which had this amazing immersive effect. Some of the band were running around dancing with the actors. Musicians were playing woodwind instruments while running around. Holy crap. Other notable things include: Lucas steele winked at me Denee and gelsey were sitting 1 foot away from me during 'natasha & the bolkonskys' An ensemble member fist bumped me Marya and helene made out at one point 'preparations' thru 'abduction' were a fucking jam 'Dust and ashes' was beautiful, thank god for josh groban Lucas was playing violin at one point Nick choksi's (dolokhov) understudy azudi onyejekwe, was really hot, and i love him

[starchildrenofdustand-ashes]

The Great Comet closes Tomorrow

Who’s gonna cry with me?

[michaelchallpics]

Michael C. Hall and Azudi Onyejekwe at the “Great Comet” stagedoor.

[mangomemos]

old azudi drawing!!

[thediaryofatheatrekid]

Understudy Love: Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Original Broadway Production) 

Former Understudies:

Erica Dorfler- Hélène (u/s), Marya D. (u/s)

[dreamcastingbroadway]

Dream(re)casting Broadway: HAMILTON

“I am the one thing in life I can control; I am inimitable, I am an original.”

Dreamcasting Broadway: Hamilton: An American Musical

Jason Tam as Alexander Hamilton

Joaquina Kalukango as Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

Dimitri Joseph Moise as Aaron Burr

Rebecca Naomi Jones as Angelica Schuyler

Alan H. Green as George Washington

Matt Sax as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson

Julio Chavez as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison

Rohit Gopal as John Laurens/Phillip Hamilton

Samantha Pauly as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds

Aaron Tveit as King George III

Noah Kieserman as Man 1 (Charles Lee), King George III u/s

Aaron Alcaraz as Man 2 (Samuel Seabury), Laurens/Phillip u/s, King George III u/s

Cameron Amandus as Man 3 (George Eacker), Mulligan/Madison u/s

Noah Lieberson as Man 4

Omar Lopez-Cepero as Man 5 (Philip Schuyler/James Reynolds/Doctor), Lafayette/Jefferson u/s, Mulligan/Madison u/s, Laurens/Phillip u/s

Paul HeeSang Miller as Man 6, Burr u/s, Washington u/s, Lafayette/Jefferson u/s

Yesenia Ayala as Woman 1

Daisy Hobbs as Woman 2, Angelica u/s

Ui-Seng Francois as Woman 3 (The Bullet), Peggy/Maria u/s

Alexa De Barr as Woman 4

Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert as Woman 5, Eliza u/s, Angelica u/s, Peggy/Maria u/s

Tamrin Goldberg as Swing

Ericka Hunter as Swing

Nika Lindsay as Swing, Eliza u/s

Azudi Onyejekwe as Swing, Hamilton u/s, Burr u/s

Gus Reed as Swing

Warren Yang as Swing

Heath Saunders as Standby (Hamilton, Lafayette/Jefferson, Laurens/Phillip, King George III)

Jaye Alexander as Standby (Burr, Washington, Mulligan/Madison)

Marina Kondo as Standby (Eliza, Angelica, Peggy/Maria)

[yardofblondegirls]

i don't know how much im attracted to guys

[emeraldskulblaka]

Can you talk about some Great Comet understudies you love?

Yes of course! Thank you so much for sending this one ♡

Honestly, all GC casts so far have been made up of phenomenally talented performers, and I don't say this lightly. A large percentage of people who were part of Great Comet have music careers of their own, or are generally less of a 'typical' Broadway performer.

I'll start with the Natasha understudies - Lauren Zakrin and Shoba Narayan. Gorgeous and nuanced acting from both of them! They embodied Natasha's naivety and showed character development in a clear and distinct manner. I'm aware that it looks like I'm conflating them, but they both had their own version of the character that didn't feel like a rip-off from Pippa's, Denée's or each other's portrayal, and that's VERY rare. I'm a bit sad there's no video of Lauren at all considering she's been involved with GC from the beginning, which makes the fact that I still love her this much from just audios extra special. As for Shoba, I'm so so glad that her performance has been captured and is there for the world to enjoy.

PIERRE. Well, the only one I can talk about is Scott Stangland because the others were principals, and I'm not sure if Nick Gaswirth ever got to go on, Heath Saunders definitely didn't. I've never listened to Luke Holloway. Scott was principal Pierre pre-Broadway and alternate towards the end of the Broadway run, but a standby most of the time. His voice doesn't have the edge that Dave Malloy's has, but isn't as gentle as Josh Groban's either. In my opinion, he has the perfect voice for Pierre because it fits all emotions Pierre goes through. I love his acting as well - he's neither pretending to be an old man, nor is he acting like one. His Pierre is a man who has been told that he is an old man, and he believes he is, but he isn't! He's quite energetic and emotional. Scott lives and breathes the show, it's a joy to watch him.

(The world missed out on Heath Saunders, I bet he would have been phenomenal. Watch this.)

The Anatole understudies had quite some work to do trying to live up to the standard Lucas Steele had set, but did some phenomenal work. Blaine Alden Krauss comes to mind first. He's got quite the range, but sometimes didn't even try to sing the notes as written. His Anatole was more youthful and seemed less serious. His intentions towards Natasha seem to be of a more playful nature, in a way. Blaine also was the one who ran around in a dinosaur costume backstage, right? Iconic.

Azudi Onyejekwe was 'downgraded' to 'just ensemble' eventually, but I'm glad he was kept on the show. I haven't listened to a full recording of him yet, but damn. That voice. Also, no copycat. Josh Canfield might have been closest to Lucas, but you certainly didn't get the same performance. Also, he's so KIND.

I can't say much for the other roles because I simply don't remember much, but shout-out to Courtney Bassett, who understudied Gelsey Bell and Brittain Ashford. Damn. The SKILL. I'm still looking for a full audio of Lulu Fall as Helene, but this performance makes me think I'd have fainted if I'd seen her live xD

[schpiedehl]

The statements of Azudi Onyejekwe, Comet cast member and personal friend of Dave Malloy and Rachel Chavkin. He has been with the show through every off Broadway run and is currently with the show on Broadway.