Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...None of what Spelman achieves here would have been possible without Courtney O'Neill's set design, perhaps the best set I've ever seen at Writers for the way it manages to be both intimate and grand; it's lush in appearance but never superfluous and is also comedically wicked, if you look hard. O'Neill's work is the ideal match for this show with this particular director and further confirmation that Glencoe has quite the world-class show running in its downtown. If you are in streaking distance, I can't imagine why you would not go."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman with music direction by Matt Deitchman, "Great Comet" is a triumph. Sung through in the style of an opera, the musical feels driven by a radiant, pulsing heartbeat that thrums through the Writers' space until everyone's in the audience is beating in sync."
Daily Herald
- Highly Recommended
"...Its magical moments include a deliciously dissonant duet marking the uneasy meeting between the titular Natasha (Aurora Penepacker) and Mary (Julia Wheeler Lennon), the sister of Natasha's betrothed. There are others: "Dust and Ashes," a soaring expression of existential angst performed with soul-baring intensity by Evan Tyrone Martin as the titular Pierre; the groove-infused epistolary number "Letters" that opens the second act; and what is perhaps the loveliest number, "Sonya Alone," a testament to unwavering loyalty beautifully sung by Maya Rowe."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...By taking this small but compelling section of Tolstoy’s novel into its own world, Malloy has created something that is hopeful, but not naive. Spelman’s sharp direction and the overflowing talent and sheer generosity of the cast lean into that same spirit and create a funny, compelling, and thoughtful show that is sometimes as giddy as a troika ride in the snow, sometimes as dark as a starless (or cometless) night in the middle of a Russian winter—but always infused with a life force that unites all the tangled threads and many names of these characters into one truly memorable theatrical cosmos."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews
- Recommended
"...Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 may sometimes feel slightly lengthy and about 30 minutes too long; however, the play, lasting two hours and twenty minutes with an intermission, gradually captivates with its quirky humor and fantastic songs."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Writers Theatre in Glencoe, under the direction of Katie Spellman, who also handled the choreography is now presenting this 12 time Tony nominated musical on their Nichols stage ( this is the larger theater). While most people might think this to be a musical, I truly feel it is more of a "chamber musical" or even a "chamber opera" as there are very few spoken words. One can expect to hear song after song, like an opera , but in English ( not Russian). Spelman has put together a fine cast of performers to take on these roles, Anatole is played by Joseph Anthony Byrd, who truly shows off his vocal range and dexterity in this role. Pierre is played to perfection by Evan Tyrone Martin, and Natasha is deftly handled by Aurora Penepacker."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Writers Theatre is giving this bold piece of musical theatre a far more approachable production. Despite the intricate plot and the difficult Russian character names, this presentation is easy to follow and understand. Still keeping the play immersive, Ms. Spelman's production remains accessible. The cast makes great use of the stairways and aisles throughout the audience. But the space isn't so vast that theatergoers lose track of the characters."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"..."Gonna have to study up a little bit if you wanna keep up with the plot 'cause it's a complicated Russian novel," so says the prologue in Writers Theatre's Chicago premiere of 'Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812'. Don't let the complicated Russian novel part scare you off because Dave Malloy's unique take on Leo Tolstoy's classic 'War & Peace' is anything but a living book report. It's a serious breath of fresh air for musical theatre as a genre."
Third Coast Review
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 began as something quite special, the brainchild of composer, lyricist and playwright Dave Malloy and originally staged in experimental venues off-Broadway (including, apparently, an immersive-and literal-smorgasbord). When it transferred to Broadway in 2016, the production was hailed as the next Hamilton, a bold and modern take on a historical (and unexpected) subject for a musical-in this case, a 70-page snippet from Tolstoy's War and Peace. The production, starring Josh Groban in his Broadway debut, transformed a midtown Manhattan proscenium theater, where audiences arrived through the stage door and joined in the Act I dance rave, among other immersive elements. The show received rave reviews and 12 Tony nominations (winning two), and seemed to be on the trajectory of, well, a comet."
Chicago Theater and Arts
- Highly Recommended
"...The title, "Natasha, Pierre & the Comet of 1812," doesn't offer a clue that this show, taken from a segment of Tolstoy's "War and Peace," is not a play but an operetta. Just don't expect only classical music."
Chicago On Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...The main characters (aside from Courtney O'Neill's mind-blowing set) include, of course, Natasha (an impetuous teenage girl away from home for the first time visiting her pious godmother Marya) and Pierre (a much older "unhappily married" man who can frequently be found pickling himself in a club so he can temporarily forget his life and its problems). In Aurora Penepacker and Evan Tyrone Martin, casting director Katie Galetti has gifted Spelman performers who are not only fascinating but utterly embody their parts. This Natasha both looks and acts like a young girl being seduced by the unknown, while Pierre feels just as exhausted and broken as he ought to."
PicksInSix
- Highly Recommended
"...The Chicago premiere of "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812" is lighting up the Glencoe sky over Writers Theatre in a soaring production directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman with music direction by Matt Deitchman. Spelman has assembled an exceptional ensemble who deliver a flawless performance of Dave Malloy's groundbreaking electropop opera that received a dozen 2017 Tony Award nominations."
Chicago Culture Authority
- Highly Recommended
"...As the plot of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 unfolds via one stellar song after another (even as the libretto nods to the source material by employing direct quotes from the novel and having the characters regularly narrate their actions in the third person), we come to realize that it's all in the service of contemplating, primarily through the eyes of Pierre and Natasha, how we can become so wrapped up in our situational conflicts and desires that we lose the plot when it comes to the deeper meaning of life. Ultimately, Pierre and Natasha get it. Maybe we do, too."
Evanston Roundtable
- Highly Recommended
"...Before I even begin to describe the Writers Theatre production of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, let me say one thing: Just go see it! It's a fantastic production. Get tickets before it sells out."
BroadwayWorld
- Highly Recommended
"...Writers Theatre's production of NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 is inventive, glamorous, and tightly executed - no small feat for Dave Molloy's complex and unique musical. Director Katie Spelman's 13-member ensemble is likewise chock full of powerhouse performers. Particularly when it comes to the vocals, this cast is reaching - and finding - their way to the stars."
NewCity Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...This isn't a musical I would listen to casually. It isn't built for that. Instead, it's meant to be seen. Presented like a rave-adorned Faberge egg, "Great Comet" is an experience one must see to believe."
