Theatergoers hoping to see Josh Groban in his Broadway debut are in luck, as the multi-platinum recording artist announced this week that he will be extending his contract in the hit Broadway show Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Groban is now set to remain in the show, which opened Nov. 14, through July 2, 2017.
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 is based on a 70-page slice of Tolstoy's epic War and Peace that centers on the two title characters and the twisting romantic plot that ensues. The musical, which is directed by Rachel Chavkin and features book, music, and lyrics by Dave Malloy, began off-Broadway in 2012 before returning to New York City in 2013, and its iteration on the Great White Way has kept up with the immersive charms present in the show's smaller-scale iterations. The Broadway production transforms the Imperial Theatre into a Russian supper club, immersing audiences in a world that extends far past the proscenium stage.
Much like the show's previous production, Great Comet's Broadway debut has been met with rapturous praise. In the New York Times, theater critic Charles Isherwood - who notes he prefers the show to Hamilton - writes that the musical "remains a witty, inventive enchantment from rousing start to mournful finish. It is both the most innovative and the best new musical to open on Broadway since Hamilton, and an inspiring sign that the commercial theater can continue to make room for the new."
Other critics have described the show as a "musically lush and visually opulent production" (Variety); "a celebration and a cause for it" (Time Out New York); and a show that "feels thrillingly unlike anything else on Broadway" (The Guardian).
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 is now playing at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway, and tickets for The Great Comet start at just $60, while some of the priciest seats are priced at $189.
Last week, Josh Groban earned his first No. 1 in nine years on Billboard's Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart with his version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Previously, his rendition of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" led for three weeks beginning Dec. 22, 2007.
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