Great Comet/War and Peace fun facts

[CorkySt.Clair]

Posted: 7/20/17 at 9:04pm

Ok-to preface this, I am a giant nerd. Therefore, before listening to a musical based off a classic novel, I absolutely must read said novel. I don't know how many other Comet fans have read War and Peace (disclaimer: I'm nowhere near done, I just finished volume 2, part 5), but here are some interesting facts about the characters and such that can't be gleaned from the show alone. 

-Andrey Bolkonsky has been a main character for much of the book, following him mostly through the war. Natasha isn't his first love...

-Also, technically Andrey was abroad for his health (apparently bad, only vaguely alluded to) rather than fighting in Volume 2 , Part 5 (Comet part, by the way). 

-Natasha's older brother Nikolay (Sonya's betrothed, as referenced in "Moscow" has also been a very prominent character  

-Pierre and Hélène's marriage was mainly orchestrated by Hélène's father, who wanted in on the fortune Pierre inherited after his father died. Pierre was only convinced by her physical beauty and felt it hollow from the start  

-"Boris and Julie", mentioned in the Opera, are sorta-main characters in the book. Boris is a friend of the Rostovs' and Natasha's childhood beau, while Julie is a correspondent of Princess Mary. 

-At least in the Briggs translation (2006, I believe), Mary is called Marya. 

-Marya D. was in probably one scene before the Comet section. 

-Dolokhov's affair and the Duel actually took place before the other events of the show. 

-And, probably over half the text in the show is verbatim or slightly modified from the book itself. 

[scripps]

Posted: 7/21/17 at 11:29am

I must be an even bigger nerd since I read War and Peace several summers ago for fun. I actually turned down tickets to The Great Comet when it was at Ars Nova, because the show's focus was on dumpy Pierre and Natasha's melodrama and not Andrei (Dolokov is a close second). Very happy to report that I did finally see the show last month before Groban left, and the Russian lit nerd inside me was surprised and delighted that Dolokhov and the duel was weaved into the show. It has also inspired me to read the recent Napoleon bio by Andrew Roberts. Enjoy finishing War and Peace!

 

[schubox]

Posted: 7/21/17 at 12:15pm

The BBC miniseries from last year with Paul Dano and Lily James is quite good as well 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/21/17 at 12:22pm

^I loved that.

[eugenia2]

Posted: 7/21/17 at 12:25pm

if you want the short version, there is a $2 ebook.  definitely worth the read.

"Dave Malloy here presents the stunning twenty-two chapter selection from Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace that formed the basis of his hit Broadway sensation"

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XVWCQ2Q

[Kad]

Posted: 7/21/17 at 12:34pm

If I recall correctly, Natasha's father- Count Ilya Rostov- is present in Moscow during the section that Comet adapts, having taken both Natasha and Sonya there and also staying with Marya D.