Marilyn Atlas Review

When considering whether or not to attend a performance of Tantrum Theater’s upcoming production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, I understand why a student, faculty, or community member desperate for a good time (after all these are the days of Covid), might think Tolstoy is too “hard” for them (it is not). Let me explain.

In my forward to In the Days of Serfdom, and Other Stories (2002) I write, “Today, it is not always clear why we should study Leo Tolstoy, a privileged nineteenth-century Count who in later life rejected the value of fiction even though he kept on writing it, who lived one way and preached another, a writer most of us can only read in translation. The answer is simple: Tolstoy has much to teach us about nineteenth-century Russia, about how societies transform themselves, about the impact of war, about intimacy and the human heart….”

That said, I recommend that those of you desperate for fun banish all fears of Tolstoy’s War and Peace and rush to buy your tickets to Tantrum Theater’s production of Dave Malloy’s contemporary and prize-winning musical, a delicious slice of Tolstoy’s 1300+ page novel, a charming musical for everybody. Dave Malloy’s modern, pleasurable, translation of a War and Peace segment, successfully captures in miniature themes developed in Tolstoy’s classic novel, and Malloy’s version adds, through song, rhythm, repetition, and voice, new stylistic dimensions to Tolstoy’s work. In this musical that will capture your heart, philosophy and song marry, and pageantry and revolution hold hands. The music is captivating, the language energizing, the pageantry sexy, and theater goers can experience the illness and the cure, and the richness of contemporary musical theater. You will be able to experience Russian/ Napoleonic themes that resonate today while you hear the drum of your own heart beating, dwell in individual and communal possibility, experience love as the poison and the cure, see more than “a candle in a mirror,” and, of course, hang out with a game-changing comet. This musical will leave you remembering what good musical theater was meant to be and why, even in a pandemic, we seek out self and meaning—and find it. Tolstoy might not approve of this musical any more than he approved his own fiction, but you’ll be able to see him in the shadow of the stage curtains, and his eyes, like Natasha’s, Pierre’s, and your eyes, will be shining. The enchantment, humor, and beauty in this musical are yours for the price of a ticket so taste the vodka, smell the perogies, and remember the titillating misery of love. Who could ask for more?