Interview: GREAT COMET OF 1812's Brittain Ashford on Bringing the Show Uptown, Giving Sonya Life Onstage & More!

NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 is now playing in the Broadway Theater District, on West 45th Street between Times Square and 8th Avenue, for a limited run through Monday, December 30th. Since its first production at Ars Novain the fall of 2012, the show has become a sensation, meriting expansion this summer to a 199 seat pop-up supper club built specifically for the production in the Meatpacking District. After playing to packed houses since May, producers Howard & Janet Kagan brought Dave Malloy's acclaimed electropop opera and its opulent custom venue - Kazino - to the heart of the theater district.

Brittain Ashford, who plays Sonya in the production, recently chatted with BroadwayWorld about bringing the show to a new audience uptown. Check out the full interview below!

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The musical is a small piece of a much longer and more complicated story... For those who haven't read 'War and Peace,' how would you describe how Sonya fits into the grand scheme of things?

Sonya of course is Natasha's cousin- she very much dotes on her cousin. I would say that until the second act when everything shifts, her role is to relieve Natasha of the anxiety she feels about waiting for Andrey. Personally, I don't think that their relationship is really solidified until the second act, when everything goes so horribly wrong.

Is there any of Sonya in you?

I think that a lot of people take on attributes of those more human characters in roles. Sonya is very human. Do I see myself in her? Maybe a little bit. Friends and family are very important to me, and if push came to shove I would totally defend their honor.

You have an amazing, haunting song in the second act called 'Sonya Alone.' What has it been like for you to get to stop the show with that every night and to get to sing all of this new material?

It's been really great- I've never really done theatre before, so coming into this was a very different experience from what I'm used to doing. Every now and then I'll sing someone else's music, but more often than not it's a one-time thing, or a recording gig. This so much more involved. It's been so cool to see the development of the piece, essentially from beginning to end. I did the first workshop of the show well over a year ago. The coolest part of being involved has been seeing it grow!

I heard that Dave Molloy wrote your songs with your voice in mind, is that true?

That is true! I was very surprised when he initially told me about the project, I sort of laughed. He invited me out for drinks, and I knew him very well- it wouldn't have been unusual for us to hang out or anything. He said "I have something that I want to talk to you about," and I was like "Uh oh." But he said, "I'm writing this new show that I would like you to do." Musical theatre was not something that I had done before but he was able to persuade me.

Did you read 'War and Peace' before going into all of this?

I started reading the section that the show is based on when we started doing it at Ars Nova. I by no means have read the entire thing. It's kind of fun how the novel unfolds, and people in the cast will talk about in the novel, and they say "Well So-and-so dies! They get what's coming to them!" or "That person ends up doing this!" It's like weird gossip for an alternate universe that we are still a part of. It's so weird to talk about your character in that sense where it doesn't come to light in the story that we are telling.

Do you have a favorite moment in the show or does it change from night to night?

There are certain characters and actors in the show that just slay me. They are SO good. There are so many magical and exciting moments. I love Phillipa [Soo]'s song in the first act. The moment that kills me is when I saw it first, because I'm not on stage when it happens. It's her following the moonlight, and the snow comes down on her. It's just perfect. Everything about that moment- Pippa's voice, Dave's song, the lighting, Rachel's direction. ... It all comes together for this perfect moment. That is one of my favorites.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I love Grace McLean. She has so many of these great, ridiculous, pop-out moments when you're not really expecting her. It never gets tired to me and we've done like 160 shows at this point. I will never grow tired of her saying "You will not enter my house, scoundrel!" It's such a good moment.

You've been involved with the show since it opened at Ars Nova last fall... What has it ben like for you to witness the evolution?

It's been really wonderful to watch the show progress and gain this momentum- and change too. We have some of the same cast from Ars Nova. Obviously new actors bring new life to the role. Going from Ars Nova to Kazino our cast almost doubled- we took on this ensemble. Watching it grow, not just size-wise, but get this additional life and additional moments, that's been really cool to watch the evolution.

The cast album was just released! Have you listened to yourself on it?

I have listened to the final product. We had a little listening event in the space. Part of the time you're actively listening and part of it you're passively listening. But I've listened to the entire thing maybe once. I'm a little bit intimidated to listen to it!

When it was playing in the space on the overhead sound system, people were talking, and then watching their face change when the song changed to them was a really fun experience. But it's a little intimidating! I was talking to a few people and then my song came on and I just froze.

You guys get to perform in an amazing custon venue that allows for the audience to be very much a part of the experience. Have there been any funny moments involving the audience interaction factor?

It's not too often that things get so out of control. In the uptown space, people are there to see theatre- it is very much a theatre crowd. 99% of the time people are willing to engage in the interactive factor of the show. I always just say, "Don't be alarmed if an actor approaches you." Every now and then there is someone who doesn't get it or doesn't want to play into it.

There is a moment when Shaina Taub, who plays Princess Mary, asks for a suitor to stand up and 99% of the time, whoever she picks will. She basically says, "Will you please stand up? I want you to meet my father." And there was a guy one time that was just like " No, no, absolutely not." He would NOT stand up. But by and large they are willing to go for it.

You also perform outside of Kazino in a group called Prairie Empire ...

We are currently a four-piece, and I've been playing under that moniker for probably two years at this point. It changes from time to time based on people's availability, and obviously with this show, my ability to play outside of the show is limited, but we do it! It's sort of folkish in spirit. Luke Holloway, who is in the show, plays the piano and sings with the band as well.

Your voice has such an amazingly unique sound. Who are some of your personal musical influences?

It's hard to say, it's definitely changed over the years. Stylistically, I don't think I've ever really heard an artist and said, "That is what I want to do!" There are a lot of musicians that I think have influenced the way I write music but not necessarily the way that I sing. I grew up in Seattle and I was very much into the indie rock stuff that was happening there in the mid to late 1990's and into the 2000's. I love The Mountain Goats. If you've ever listened to them, the guy's voice has a lot of character to it. They have a very lively way of storytelling, which I think is really cool.

Tickets are now on sale through Telecharge.com. NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 will run through December 30th at its new location. Tickets are priced at $125 with prime and premium seating available for $175 and $237.50, respectively. The playing schedule is as follows: Tuesdays at 8, Wednesdays at 2:30 and 8, Thursdays at 8, Fridays at 8, Saturdays at 2:30 and 8, and Sundays at 3. At evening performances, audiences receive an assortment of Russian snacks at their tables, including the show's signature pierogies. At matinee performances, audiences are treated to a Russian High Tea, complete with tea service and pastries.

The cast of NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 includes: David Abeles as 'Pierre,' Brittain Ashford as 'Sonya,' Blake DeLong as 'Bolkonsky/Andrey,' Amber Gray as 'Hélène,' Nick Choksi as 'Dolokhov', Grace McLean as 'Marya D.,' Ashkon Davaran as 'Balaga,' Phillipa Soo as 'Natasha,' Lucas Steele as 'Anatole.' and Shaina Taub as 'Princess Mary.' The cast also features Catherine Brookman, Josh Canfield, Ken Clark, Lulu Fall, Luke Holloway, Azudi Onyejekwe, Mariand Torres and Lauren Zakrin.

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