They’re most often seen these days dancing and singing up and down the ramps and stairways of the reconfigured Imperial Theater, but the cast and creator of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 stopped by the Billboard on Broadway Tonys video series for a more intimate performance of three songs from their highly unorthodox new musical.
The Comet (as it's known in abbreviated form) is based on a small chunk of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, and though traditional Russian musical influences make their way into composer Dave Malloy’s score, the rollicking songs also blend electro-pop, R & B, folk and other contemporary sounds. “The genres seem to cover a lot of different bases,” says Brittain Ashford, who plays Sonya, Natasha’s good-hearted cousin. “There’s a little something for everyone.” “It’s really unlike anything I’ve ever heard,” adds Lucas Steele, who plays the caddish Anatole.