One of 色色啦’s聽biggest theatre hits is getting a bit of a Swiftie makeover.
When the Dora Award-winning ensemble of 鈥淣atasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812鈥 step onto the stage of the Royal Alexander Theatre this month, they鈥檒l literally be following in the footsteps of the world鈥檚 biggest pop star.
鈥淥ne of the new elements of the design are these video floors you can walk on and we got them from the Taylor Swift Eras tour,鈥 explained director Chris Abraham, who has overseen all the changes to his production of the Dave Malloy work.
Taylor had images of things like clouds and flames flashing under her feet. The videos in “Natasha, Pierre” will be fairly abstract, mostly illumination and shapes.
Not that the show 鈥 a completely sung-through musical based on a 70-page section from Leo Tolstoy鈥檚 massive 19th-century novel 鈥淲ar and Peace鈥 鈥 needs this flashy bit of star power to succeed.
After all, the original Crow鈥檚 Theatre production broke all records as the longest running and most successful show in the company鈥檚 history. It opened right before Christmas 2023 and got extended more than half a dozen times into the spring.
But this element is one of many that Abraham and his design team 鈥 which includes set designers Julie Fox and Joshua Quinlan, who won Doras for their work on the show 鈥 have used in transferring the show from the 200-seat space at Crow鈥檚 to the 1,100-plus-seat Royal Alex.
The original Crow’s Theatre聽staging of “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” was inspired by 19th-century European opera houses and featured boxes where musicians and actors played out scenes.
Dahlia KatzThe original Crow鈥檚 staging was inspired by 19th-century European opera houses, much like the kind the Royal Alex was modelled after. It featured red velvety curtains and elegant chandeliers. As I wrote in my original Star rave review, the production felt 鈥渟imultaneously grand and intimate.鈥
Crow鈥檚 Guloien Theatre doesn鈥檛 feature boxes, but Fox and Quinlan designed and installed them, and they became an integral part of the show where musicians and actors played out scenes, adding physical height and a sense of聽elegance.
Height, elegance and chandeliers are all things, of course, that the Royal Alex already possesses. Coincidentally, the traditional red plush seats of the historic house perfectly match the red curtains from the Crow鈥檚 staging.
鈥淭he first thing we wondered when we found out about the transfer was how we were going to recreate the experience and adventure of being in this world, so audiences wouldn’t feel like there was a gulf between them and the stage,鈥 said Fox, during a walkabout tour of the theatre with its new set.
They鈥檝e achieved that partly by creating what they call balconettes, which wrap around the outside of the theatre鈥檚 proscenium stage and connect the actual boxes on either side of the dress circle with two staircases.
鈥淲e鈥檝e sort of dissolved the fourth wall scenically,鈥 said Fox. 鈥淭he people in the boxes have access to the performers because they’re almost at the same level, which is really unusual in the theatre.鈥
Joshua Quinlan, Chris Abraham and Julie Fox show off the Royal Alexandra set of “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” which includes seats on the stage and balconettes.
Nick Lachance/色色啦 StarQuinlan adds: 鈥淣ormally, a box seat isn鈥檛 an ideal place to see a show from because you’re kind of looking into the wings. In this case, you鈥檝e got a really interesting vantage point for what鈥檚 happening.鈥
And those Taylor Swift light boxes? They鈥檒l add another visual element for people sitting in the balcony to appreciate looking down at the stage.
Abraham, Fox and Quinlan led me to the front of the stage, which feels surprisingly close to the balcony.
It鈥檚 hard to believe, but the width of the Royal Alex stage is smaller than the one at Crow鈥檚.
鈥淲e鈥檝e lost about 10 feet of width,鈥 said Quinlan. Immersive onstage seating, some of which will be released daily as rush tickets, will include one row of plush seats and one row of stools on either side of the main playing area.
One of the signature elements of the Crow鈥檚 staging was a raised square area that, when pushed by actors, revolved, suggesting movement and the passing of time.
鈥淲e had deliberated about automating that revolve, but in the end decided it was better for it to be moved by the performers,鈥 explained Fox. 鈥淚t’s more sensitive to the action and expresses the subjective experience of the whirlwind of things that happen to Natasha (the musical鈥檚 heroine) when she goes to Moscow. It makes the staging more dynamic and keeps the stage picture fresh.鈥
Crow鈥檚 artistic director Abraham recalls seeing the earliest version of Molloy鈥檚 show at the tiny off-Broadway Ars Nova space before it transferred to the massive Imperial Theatre on Broadway.
鈥淚t began in a small venue and then transferred to bigger houses but, at every step of its growth, it never became a show about the location,鈥 said Abraham. 鈥淲hat has always been fundamental was the relationship between the performer and the audience. And we鈥檝e maintained that here.鈥
Designing and directing a production like this is one thing, but how does it feel to be walking on its stages, and ascending and descending its stairs eight times a week?
Left, Divine Brown with Camille Eanga-Selenge, Hailey Gillis and George Krissa in the original “Natasha, Pierre.” Brown says she loves “the intimacy of the audience.”聽
Dahlia Katz鈥淚 love the intimacy of the audience and being able to engage with people at any given moment,鈥 said actor and Juno Award-winning R&B singer Divine Brown, who plays one of the musical鈥檚 two villainous characters, Helene, who鈥檚 married to the hero, Pierre.
鈥淎cting and singing are all storytelling. And this kind of intimacy between actor and audience just elevates the storytelling.鈥
(Besides Brown, cast members Hailey Gillis, Evan Buliung, George Krissa, Louise Pitre, Marcus Nance and Lawrence Libor are returning to the show, joined by new cast member Vanessa Sears.)
Abraham and his designers are used to modifying the sets of their more successful shows for other stages. His production of 鈥淯ncle Vanya鈥 began life as an in-the-round production for Crow鈥檚. But co-set designers Fox and Quinlan modified it for proscenium stagings at Theatre Aquarius and the CAA Theatre. Individually, Fox and Quinlan have adjusted their sets for 鈥淔ifteen Dogs鈥 and 鈥淭he Master Plan鈥 for other spaces.
鈥淵ou have to think how a play can live in a new space in the best way,鈥 said Fox. 鈥淵ou have to exploit all the good things about a particular theatre. 鈥楩ifteen Dogs鈥 took place in an urban environment, for instance, and there was something quasi-industrial about the CAA Theatre space.鈥
Having access to Mirvish subscribers 鈥 who make up the biggest theatre subscription series in the city 鈥 is invaluable. In this tough economic time for the arts, it鈥檚 a great way to build brand recognition.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a dramatic increase in our subscribers and our audiences over the last couple of years, partly because of our extensions in the off-Mirvish season,鈥 said Abraham.
鈥淭he Mirvish audience member has changed a lot, even in the past five years. It’s much younger and more diverse. People go to a Mirvish show to see a show that they don鈥檛 want to miss. It鈥檚 no accident that we鈥檙e programming this show now and following it up with another Dave Malloy piece (鈥極ctet’) at Crow鈥檚 in September.鈥
鈥淣atasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812鈥 begins previews Tuesday and runs to Aug. 24 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W. See for information.
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