Is the Great Comet really that confusing

[Hellob]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 5:49pm

I was there today and was my third time. Each time during intermission I have a lot of people sitting around me who are utterly confused and I end up spending the entire time explaining what's going on. I don't think it's hard to follow and I never even looked at the family tree thing before the first time. I mean, the opening number explains it and I feel like each character reintroduced themselves later. What gives?

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 5:52pm

I thought the same thing.  I don't recall people being so confused when I saw the show Off-Broadway.  The story is pretty straightforward.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 5:59pm

To put it simply, this is the difference between the Broadway and off-Broadway crowd.

This is NOT TO SAY that Broadway audiences are dumb, stupid or naive. But you throw a very downtown-y, Off-Broadway production into a relatively large house and attach a major music star, you're gonna get a few audience members who aren't regular theatre-goers. And this show, for non-theatregoers can definitely be a little too quick, in my opinion. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:12pm

Agree 100%. They simply are not used to paying that close attention. In fact, I suspect if you gave fans at one of his concerts a test on the lyrics, most would fail. (And this in large part is why I don't think the show survives without him.)

Updated On: 1/4/17 at 06:12 PM

[Hellob]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:13pm

I think the different characters who are related but different races, the opera "show within a show" and things that happen in different locations even though the actors are near the other is the cause for most of the confusion plus the Helene/Anatole subtext.

[hork]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:13pm

It couldn't be less confusing. But there must have been a lot of confused audience members during the off-Broadway run, hence the character map and the repeated exhortations to keep it open during the show. I can't believe that anyone is confused, especially with the opening number that was written expressly to avoid confusion.

[Hellob]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:14pm

HogansHero said: "Agree 100%. They simply are not used to paying that close attention. In fact, I suspect if you gave fans at one of his concerts a test on the lyrics, most would fail. (And this in large part is why I don't think the show survives without him.)

 

"

I think it might be better without him. I like him bc of the show but it's not for the regular JG fan. It's for a totally different crowd.

[Theatricality]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:31pm

"This is all in your program, you are at the opera. Gonna have to study up a little bit if you wanna keep with the plot"

 

For me, I didn't find it hard to understand the show at all. I did look at the family tree and read the plot description in the Playbill before the show started, as some of the cast members held up signs suggesting to do so, however, I don't think it's hard to follow at all regardless of "studying up a little bit."

Updated On: 1/4/17 at 06:31 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:37pm

Hellob said: "the different characters who are related but different races" 

 

I disagree. Maybe in a more naturalistic piece of theatre, but not in a show like this. But even still, in this scenario, wouldn't the audience member have to have already heard that they are related, then chosen to ignore that information due to the racial difference? If the text does a good enough job making it clear that 2 characters are related, the race element shouldn't enter into it. Unless the audience member makes the conscious decision to disregard that bit of information, and assume they can't be related because they are of different races. 

If you want to make an argument that the show doesn't make the family relationships clear enough on its own, that's fine. But it's not like an audience member would ever say "The program, the opening number, and 4 characters all have said Anatole and Helene are siblings, but I'm still confused because she's Black." Give audiences a bit more credit than that! 

 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 6:42pm

Well, if we're all encountering many more people than usual who find it confusing, then it's reasonable to conclude that it is indeed more confusing than the typical Broadway musical. We'd have to quantify it and subject it to statistical analysis, but in principle the fact that lots of people find it confusing could support an objective conclusion about the matter.

Subjectively, I also find this puzzling. It actually seems rather more explicit than most musicals about its story, even going the "meta" route when necessary (e.g. the song "Letters". I didn't find it confusing at all.

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 7:55pm

Hellob said: "I think it might be better without him. I like him bc of the show but it's not for the regular JG fan. It's for a totally different crowd."

I sat with two Grobanites who shelled out for two premium seats in the recessed onstage area. They had no idea what the show even was, but loved him. And they enjoyed themselves immensely and wanted to see it again, so...

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 7:56pm

I think you all missed my point, sans Hogan. You're all theater people, of COURSE you were able to follow along, attend to every detailed lyric and show element, and spend time discussing/thinking about the details of the plot. 

The non-average theatergoer and/or Josh Groban fan did not do those things. They probably exited the theatre, picked up their car from the garage across the street or hopped on their train and moved on. It's a confusing show and plot. The producers know that. The cast knows that. That's why they have the opening number and the family tree. But it doesn't mean everyone is going to immediately latch on for the ride and understand every minute of it. 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 8:05pm

GreasedLightning said: "I think you all missed my point, sans Hogan."

Well, we weren't all necessarily responding to you. :) You have a great point, but I was responding to the OP.

 

[pupscotch]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 8:07pm

I agree that there probably wasn't anyone who was confused off-Broadway, because it's a smaller theater and most non-theater people don't know much about off-Broadway theater. That said, one of my friends is not a theater person and went and understood it completely. I don't think it's that confusing, but it could be the balance between getting caught up in the spectacle and following the plot. Some people may be absorbing the experience, others the story.

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 8:18pm

between getting caught up in the spectacle and following the plot. Some people may be absorbing the experience, others the story.

I took my 13 year old sister to see Wicked and she hated it because she didn't understand the plot. My family insisted I take her to Comet because they thought she would like it. I was sure she was going to hate it because she wouldn't get the plot. I was half right. She didn't understand it at all, but she loved it! The lights, dancing, singing, she thought was cool and just went in not expecting to understand just enjoyed the expierience. 

[Hellob]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 8:33pm

JBroadway said: "Hellob said: "the different characters who are related but different races" 

 

I disagree. Maybe in a more naturalistic piece of theatre, but not in a show like this. But even still, in this scenario, wouldn't the audience member have to have already heard that they are related, then chosen to ignore that information due to the racial difference? If the text does a good enough job making it clear that 2 characters are related, the race element shouldn't enter into it. Unless the audience member makes the conscious decision to disregard that bit of information, and assume they can't be related because they are of different races. 

If you want to make an argument that the show doesn't make the family relationships clear enough on its own, that's fine. But it's not like an audience member would ever say "The program, the opening number, and 4 characters all have said Anatole and Helene are siblings, but I'm still confused because she's Black." Give audiences a bit more credit than that! 

 

 

"

Actually, a group of 6 people today were definitely confused by the race difference and despite me saying Helene and Anatole were related they kept saying he was related to Pierre and couldn't comprehend the" black girl" being related to Sonya so there u go.

Updated On: 1/4/17 at 08:33 PM

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 8:35pm

kdogg36 said: "GreasedLightning said: "I think you all missed my point, sans Hogan."

Well, we weren't all necessarily responding to you. :) You have a great point, but I was responding to the OP.

 

 

"

You're right! I apologize for jumping to that conclusion. Sometimes on this board I forget actual, civilized discussions with differing opinions take place. I also agree 100% with your initial post in this thread! 

Updated On: 1/4/17 at 08:35 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 8:45pm

Oh man. Imagine what it's going to be like when the touristy crowd goes to see Jake in Sunday in the Park, lol. 

[ethan231h]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 9:08pm

I think most of the show makes sense, with that said I did find it pretty confusing, all the different people, uncommon names, the show is pretty much all sung-through. 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 9:43pm

It also doesn't help that everyone's got nine different names

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 9:49pm

It's incredible what a repeat showing of Comet did for me in terms of plot digestion. I saw the show at A.R.T. last winter and thought it was sensational enough, even if I admittedly walked out not understanding everything that had happened plot-wise. When I revisited the show on Broadway earlier this season, though, there wasn't a single confusing moment to me. I don't blame people who are initially a bit confused, but I don't think it's a show that requires too much intricate thought to get what's going on.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 9:54pm

GreasedLightning: Your response is perfect. Thanks!

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 10:07pm

I was usually able to keep track of the cast, even if I didn't remember the names. There were times where I lost a bit of plot, usually because I would be lost in the experience of the show, and the spectacle, or trying to remember what the Imperial looked like before the transformation. But I eventually found my way back. 

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 10:21pm

GreasedLightning said: "It also doesn't help that everyone's got nine different names "

Ha! I see what you did there.

 

I didn't find it confusing at all, and I didn't have the benefit of the Playbill (a sad fact of aging is that I increasingly need glasses to read the Playbill, and if frailty's name is "Woman", then surely vanity's name is "man" )

 

I think it will be even more clear the next time I see it, as I bought both the Great Comet Book (which includes an annotated script), a copy of War and Peace, and have the album, and my daughter and I are doing it book-club style. 

Updated On: 1/4/17 at 10:21 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 1/4/17 at 10:39pm

To reiterate, no one has suggested that it defies comprehension. If War and Peace can be comprehended, this can. What's being discussed here (this seems obvious but apparently isn't universally) is whether vast swaths of the non-theatre-going audience leave more confused than they arrived, and whether that condition makes the overall experience less than they would want.