Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

Dog-sitting in Brooklyn this weekend, I was not inspired by the choices at the TKTS booth. Talking to my daughter on the ride into the city, she schooled me on the musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. She told me about an actor I was dying to see, Okieriete Onaodowan, was playing Pierre and you can sit on the stage! When I went to buy a ticket the gentleman in the booth said, "do you want to sit at a table?" I said, "Why not?!" There were several orchestra pits and my seat was about 10 feet from one of them...on the stage. Before the show, cast members milled about explaining that we needed to remain seated and if a prop was put in front of us leave it. I was also offered a warm, yummy dumpling. So much positive energy, I could not wait for the show to begin. The cast moved through the entire audience throughout the show and watching from the perspective of the stage was new and thrilling. I was on a Broadway stage in the middle of a kick-ass musical! The story is a tragic love story adapted from a small part of War and Peace. There is love, angst, betrayal and camaraderie. Set in 1812 Russia, there is culture, there is history and boy, oh boy there is music. There were rollicking party songs and heartbreaking ballads. The song Dust and Ashes made me cry. There was audience participation throughout. I was given a folded piece of paper during Letters (it said "you are beautiful xoxo") and the entire audience was given egg shakers to join in during Balaga. A cast member even put his head in my lap! What a time. I love Broadway!