Josh Groban is headed to Broadway in 2016.
He’ll play Pierre in the new musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. While this will mark the Broadway debut for the show, the production has already had a very well-reviewed off-Broadway run and is currently playing, sans Groban, at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass.
Groban will be making his Broadway debut in the show, slated to open next fall. “For a first time doing it, I wanted it to be something that was a little less expected, and I wanted it to be a show and a character that forced me to get a little bit out of my comfort zone and do something that people haven’t seen before,” Groban explained to The New York Times. “To have the opportunity and freedom to take off the hat of ‘me,’ and to dive into a character, is something I think will be very freeing, and very fun.”
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The production is an immersive pop opera-style retelling of a bit of Tolstoy’s War & Peace. Dave Malloy, the show’s creator who originated the role of Pierre, is adding a new tune for Pierre, “Dust and Ashes,” for this production, per the Times.
Get a feel for things and listen to the opening numbers of the show below.