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princeandreis · 6 years

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great comet -- explained!

so I was talking to @viennaleia who just recently started listening to great comet, and I remembered how hard it was for me to figure out what was going on. it involved a lot of googling, re-listening, genius lyrics, and wikipedia summaries. a mostly enjoyable but rather difficult process. so I decided I’d make an easy summary for those of you who are as confused about great comet as we all were when we started out!

warning: there are obviously hella spoilers ahead for great comet (and war & peace), so read at your own risk!

a few things --

one, this summary goes song-by-song narrating the plot and filling in gaps. great comet is an entirely sung-through show, so you aren’t missing any scenes by listening to the soundtrack.

two, I’m using the Broadway version of the soundtrack to narrate. I’m not sure how different the off-Broadway version is.

three, I’m gonna try to keep this as bare as possible. I love great comet with my whole heart and I could talk about all of the themes and motifs and everything forever, but I’m trying to keep this just as a summary so people have less of a hard time with the plot.

so here we go!! this is gonna be super long so buckle tf up!!

act one

prologue ~ introduces the characters and tells you what you need to know about them. pretty self-explanatory so I’m gonna leave this one here.

pierre ~ he’s so complex that he can’t be summed up in a few words like all the other characters, so he gets his own introductory song. puts pierre’s existential despair on full display.

moscow ~ natasha and sonya, the two cousins/bffs, arrive in moscow to spend time with natasha’s godmother, marya dmitrievna, who is well-respected in society. they’re there to pass the time before their fiances get back from the war (in the book the circumstances are a bit more complicated, but we’ll ignore that for now). natasha talks about how much she misses her fiance, andrey, whose family she’s about to meet for the first time. marya assures her that all she has to do is make sure she gets along with andrey’s sister, and everything will be fine.

the private and intimate life of the house ~ offers the audience a look into how things are at the house of andrey’s family (princess mary and old prince bolkonsky, their father). bolkonsky is abusive and manipulative, which has left mary feeling like she’s the only one who can take care of him. she expresses her loneliness, and she and her father discuss natasha, who is coming shortly for tea. bolkonsky shows off his crazies.

natasha & bolkonskys ~ natasha arrives for tea, and it’s awkward. I mean awkward. natasha and mary immediately hate each other, but try to mask it with cold politeness. bolkonsky shows off his crazies, pt 2, and is super rude to natasha. she leaves in tears, leaving mary feeling horrible.

no one else ~ natasha sings about her love for andrey, begging him to come home. it’s beautiful and sad and fantastic. she just really loves him, dude

the opera ~ marya takes natasha and sonya to the opera, which is natasha’s grand moment of coming out in society. she’s wearing a more revealing dress for the first time, since she’s now considered a woman. she is flattered and bewildered by the attention she receives for her beauty. helene and dolokhov come in together, and it’s revealed that she’s cheating on pierre (her husband, who’s not there) with dolokhov. the opera begins, and natasha doesn’t understand it. she becomes kind of intoxicated (idk this part’s super weird sghjfdkhsdjfmv) by the lights and the crowd. anatole enters in the middle of the opera, and natasha is captivated by his looks. the opera continues, and anatole and natasha ogle each other from their seats and it’s weird. the opera concludes and anatole enters natasha’s box.

natasha & anatole ~ natasha and anatole get to know each other a little. and by that I mean anatole is super thirsty and natasha doesn’t know what to do about it. she is frightened of how much attraction there is between them. anatole asks her to come to a ball that’s happening at his house soon, but she doesn’t give him a straight answer.

the duel ~ anatole greets pierre, his friend, and invites him to go to the club with him and dolokhov. pierre accepts. they go to the club, where a raucous party is happening. pierre drinks a bunch and talks about his alcoholism and sadness. anatole tells his sister helene (whom he’s probably sleeping with on the side OOF) and his friend dolokhov about how thirsty he is for natasha. he knows she’s engaged, but doesn’t care. it also turns out that anatole is also married, but it’s a secret to everyone except pierre, dolokhov, and helene. dolokhov taunts pierre about how he’s sleeping with pierre’s wife and everyone knows it. pierre drunkenly challenges him to a duel (for honor reasons and whatnot). dolokhov agrees, because he’s a bitch and a “crazy good shot.” pierre shoots dolokhov, but he doesn’t really mean it and regrets it right away. he stands straight up, fully ready to die, but dolokhov misses, and is taken away to be cared for. pierre is declared the winner. anatole asks helene to get natasha to come to their party, and she agrees. he helps the inebriated pierre get home.

dust & ashes ~ pierre reflects on his brush with death, and regrets how much of his life he’s wasted looking for truth in places he’d never find it. he also talks about love and stuff and it’s full of cool themes. it’s drunken existential crisis 101, but he decides he’s ready to change and live a better life. inspiring af 10/10.

sunday morning ~ natasha and sonya light a candle in front of a mirror and look into it, which is a russian fortune-telling tradition. natasha thinks she sees andrey lying down, and is frightened because she doesn’t know what that means. she reflects on what has happened with anatole, and wonders if she’s being unfaithful to andrey because of her confused feelings. marya leaves to confront prince bolkonsky about how rude he was to natasha. helene shows up while natasha is in her room trying on dresses.

charming ~ helene uses her charms and flattery (and a fair amount of bad logic) to convince natasha to come to the party at the kuragins’ (her and anatole’s) house. natasha agrees to attend.

the ball ~ natasha and anatole dance together, and anatole tells her he loves her. she resists his advances initially, but he puts a lot of pressure on her and kisses her. she admits she loves him, too, and they promise their love to each other.

act two

letters ~ people write letters. pierre writes to andrey at the war, updating him on life in moscow. he reveals that dolokhov will recover from his gunshot wound, and discusses natasha’s arrival in town. (if you didn’t know, pierre is super in love with natasha, who’s an old family friend, but he doesn��t really know that himself yet.) pierre talks about how he’s done a lot of reading as he searches for the meaning of life, and he’s used that study to do some funky math to “prove” that he’s meant to kill napoleon (yes, that napoleon. pierre really hates napoleon). natasha struggles to write a letter to andrey explaining what’s happened. she receives a letter from princess mary, who still feels awful about what happened between them and wants to try to be friends. natasha has no idea how to answer. anatole sends a love letter to natasha (which was written by dolokhov). he asks her to elope with him, and she agrees. she falls asleep with his love letter in her hand.

sonya & natasha ~ sonya finds and reads anatole’s love letter, and figures out what’s going on. she tries to convince natasha that what she’s doing is a terrible idea, and not just for her sake. sonya worries also for the sake of their family’s honor and wellbeing, since a scandal like this would ruin them. natasha doesn’t listen, and scorns her cousin’s advice, even telling sonya she hates her. she writes a letter in response to princess mary, telling her that things are over between her and andrey.

sonya alone ~ sonya resolves to protect natasha from ruin at all costs, even though natasha is extremely upset with her. she watches her cousin become distant and dreamy, and figures out that natasha has some kind of plan in mind with anatole. she misses natasha’s friendship, and will do everything she possibly can to keep her from harm.

preparations ~ anatole runs into pierre, and tells him he’s running off to get married. pierre, not knowing who he’s talking about, teases him since he’s already married. anatole and dolokhov prepare for anatole to abduct natasha, carry her off to poland, and marry her. dolokhov tries to convince anatole it’s a stupid idea, but anatole won’t listen and he relents. balaga, the driver they hired, arrives.

balaga ~ this is a fun song that’s just kind of a break from plot. it explains how balaga is a longtime friend of anatole and dolokhov’s, and is an absolutely insane driver who loves drinking (especially while he drives).

the abduction ~ anatole throws his “bachelor party,” so to speak -- it’s his last hurrah before eloping with natasha. pierre joins in, still unaware what exactly is taking place or who anatole’s running away with. the party sets out for natasha’s house, where anatole’s plan is set in motion. a maid leads him into the house to collect natasha, but he is stopped by marya. he and dolokhov make their chaotic escape.

in my house ~ marya scolds natasha for her actions, and sonya tries to comfort her. natasha throws a temper tantrum, and refuses to admit she or anatole did anything wrong. she goes back to waiting for him at her window.

a call to pierre ~ marya sends an urgent letter to pierre, begging him to visit her. she explains the situation, and he’s infuriated. he reveals that anatole is already married. marya asks him to send anatole away from moscow, and he accepts.

find anatole ~ pierre rushes around moscow trying to find anatole. he enters a club, where patrons are gossiping about the elopement. pierre shuts down the rumors, preserving natasha’s honor. natasha is told that anatole is married, and she is destroyed by the news. pierre returns home, where helene is with her brother. pierre insists on speaking to him alone, to which he agrees.

pierre & anatole ~ pierre confronts anatole about what he has done, threatens him, and demands any letters he has from natasha. (onstage, natasha poisons herself.) he then tells anatole that he must stay out of moscow forever. anatole leaves for petersburg.

natasha very ill ~ sonya reflects by herself. natasha has poisoned herself and is safe now, but is still very sick. andrey is due to return, and tensions in the house run high.

pierre & andrey ~ andrey returns, reunites with his old friend pierre, and they discuss what has happened with natasha in his absence. he has heard the rumor that she wanted to elope with anatole. andrey tells pierre that even though he knows it would be the right thing to forgive natasha and ask for her hand again, he just can’t do it. he leaves pierre with all the letters natasha had written him.

pierre & natasha ~ pierre visits natasha to return the letters. he fully intends to despise her for her foolishness, but his heart is broken by her childishly pitiable state. he does his best to comfort her, even though she despises herself for what has happened. he tells her that were he not a better man -- and unmarried -- he would propose to her right then and there. grateful, natasha gives him a loving glance and leaves the room in tears of relief.

the great comet of 1812 ~ getting into his sleigh, pierre reflects on all that has happened. something has radically changed within him because of the way natasha looked at him, and he feels hope for the future. he sees the great comet of 1812 in the sky. this specific comet is supposed to be an omen for terrible tragedy, but for pierre it symbolizes joy and new life. the show ends with a sense of peace, hope, and love.

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