“Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” an electropop opera ripped from a slice of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” will be Theatre UAB’s second show this season, with performances Nov. 13-17.
Young and impulsive Natasha Rostova has ventured to Moscow while she waits for the return of her fiancé, Andrey, who is off fighting Napoleon’s French invasion of Russia. In her time among the Russian elite, Natasha finds herself being pursued by the dangerously dashing Anatole and falls under the rogue’s spell. It is up to family friend Pierre, Anatole’s brother-in-law, and friend to Andrey, to pick up the pieces of her shattered reputation.
Theatre UAB is the performance company of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Theatre at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The reason Theatre UAB featured “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” as its second show of the 2024-2025 season, instead of its first? The sing-through show is very challenging, says Kelly Allison, chair of the UAB Department of Theatre.
“It is a deceptively complex production, and it’s entertaining,” Allison said. “They begin singing at the curtain and they do not stop singing till the curtain goes down, and I think it is going to be a unique experience for our audience.”
The play contains mild adult themes. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13-16 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 17, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $25 and $20; $15 for UAB employees and senior citizens; $10 for UAB students. Purchase tickets at AlysStephens.org or call 205-975-2787.
The opera was written by Dave Malloy, with direction by Santiago Sosa, music direction by Carolyn Violi and choreography by Roy Lightner.
While reading Tolstoy’s 1,200-page epic, Malloy was most taken by the philosophical and historical elements of Volume 2, Book 5. He eventually adapted that 70-page section into a musical melodrama, inspired by genres of music from pop, rock, Americana, soul, classical, electronic dance and traditional Russian folk to Broadway standards.
When “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” was produced on Broadway in 2016, the play was nominated for 12 Tony awards — the most nominations of any show that season — including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Featured Actor, Best Direction, Best Lighting Design and Best Scenic Design.
Malloy uses multiple tactics to tell the story of Natasha and Pierre during this uncertain time of war, highlighting themes of loyalty, kindness, betrayal, forgiveness and the meaning of true love, Sosa says.
Students in the production team are assistant music director Cara Parisi of Kansas City, Missouri, and rehearsal assistant Elena Santini of Cumming, Georgia. Stage management is by Juliette Sosa Valle of Granger, Iowa, with assistants Sophia Evangelidis of Manhattan, Kansas, and Jil Ceballos of Jasper, Alabama.
The cast is Charity Bielicki of Huntington Beach, California, as Natasha; Matthew Piper of Corner, Alabama, as Anatole; Ford Beshirs of Huntsville, Alabama, as Pierre; Emma Gibson of Biloxi, Mississippi, as Sonya; Sawyer Luke of Birmingham as Hélène; Sammy Sledd of Huntsville, Alabama, as Marya; Cara Parisi as Princess Mary, Maid and Opera Singer; Edgar Martinez of Scottsboro, Alabama, as Dolokhov; Knox Villemarette of Lafayette, Louisiana, as Andrey, Bolkonsky and understudy for Pierre; and Case Warner of Edwardsville, Illinois, as Balaga, Servant and Opera Singer.
The ensemble includes Aurkheem Jolley of Midfield, Alabama; Devin Towery of New Braunfels, Texas; Olivia Scott of Panama City, Florida; and Ryan Chalmers of Cumming, Georgia; with Brennen Foy of Gardendale, Alabama, in the violin ensemble.
Understudies are Scott, Chalmers and Foy, Monica Velma of Wetumpka, Alabama; Andrew Marbut of Sucúa, Ecuador; Cheslee Duke of Munford, Alabama; KK Murphy of Columbus, Ohio; Kris Brooks of St. Petersburg, Florida; Norah Trench of Birmingham; and Charlie Brownd of Cumming, Georgia.
Lighting design is by Kelly Allison, costume design by Kimberly Schnormeier, props design by Inji Ha, scenic design by Alan Schwanke and sound design by Lance Perl.
Visit the UAB Department of Theatre online at uab.edu/cas/theatre, or call the department at 205-934-3236.