#gr8 comet

Natasha, Pierre, y el Gran Cometa de 1812 in Quito Ecuador, 2014

Pierre - Stop you're gonna make me existential crisis right in front of the meat section!

Natasha - It's not complaining, it's reminiscing in an angry sort of way.

Sonya - *hoarse whispering* You're worse than a rom-com. You're a YA novel

Anatole - My feet and I have been dating for seven months now

Helene - Come on, incest is hilarious!

Marya - This kid better watch his step because pretty soon he's gonna get a fist full of fist.

Dolohkov - It's always a sad day when there's less stabbing than expected.

Mary - I feel like your family experiences reality at a higher level than I ever will.

Andrey - I'll break a couple of your ribs very affectionately.

Balaga - LET ME GIVE YOU A WET WILLIE WITH MY TOE!! GET IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!!!!!

Everyone (not just the Broadway tumblr fanbase, I’m also referring to the mainstream media) praised Hamilton for its diversity, and rightfully so. And while Great Comet was not as diverse as Hamilton, its use of racially blind casting should be used as a model for all future productions. Denée Benton, a black woman with natural hair playing a romantic lead of a prominent musical about old Russians, is damn groundbreaking. Oak’s upcoming turn as Pierre proves this commitment to diversity by the show. Yes, Hamilton did this last year, but one show acting in this way does not excuse ignoring others for doing the same.

Everyone praised Hamilton for seamlessly blended together multiple genres of music; again, rightfully so. Great Comet did this to an even greater extent. Dave Malloy’s score beautifully combined seemingly every genre to create a cohesive, genius piece of work. He utilized these different genres to describe his characters so subtly no one realizes he’s doing it. I could take for pages about how his score is a damn masterpiece, but the point lies in that Hamilton was widely praised for doing the very thing Great Comet is being ignored (or even downright criticized) for.

Finally, many praised Lin’s using of an unconventional source material to tell an excellent Broadway musical. But, again, Dave Malloy looking at a tiny sliver of a classic novel and deciding it should be an electropop opera musical? How? He took something so frequently adapted and made it incredibly original in ways many do not realize. It’s quite frustrating to see writers using the War & Peace origins as only an introductory statement instead of the praise it should be.