Producers of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 have announced a new cast member joining the celebrated production.
Starting July 3rd, recording artist Ingrid Michaelson will assume the role of Sonya in the Tony Award-winning musical. With the show’s current star Josh Groban departing on July 2, Michaelson will join Tony nominee Denée Benton as Natasha and Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan as Pierre.
A multi-platinum recording artist famous for her hit singles “Celebrate”, “Girls Chase Boys” and “The Way I Am,” Ingrid Michaelson is scheduled to perform through August 15th (she will not perform August 3-6). Brittain Ashford, who originated the role of Sonya for the Broadway production, will be taking a short leave from the show and is scheduled to return on August 16.
A singer and songwriter, Michaelson released her first album, Slow the Rain in 2005. Subsequently, she has produced six more albums: Girls and Boys, Be OK, Everybody, Human Again, Lights Out, and It Doesn’t Have to Make Sense. Most-recently, she released an EP titled Alter Egos, a series of duets with such talents as John Paul White and Sara Bareilles (Waitress).
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 was the most Tony-nominated new musical of the Broadway season, garnering 12 nods and taking home two wins for Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Mimi Lien) and Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Bradley King). With a book and score by Dave Malloy, direction by Rachel Chavkin, and choreography by Sam Pinkleton, the musical draws its story and inspiration from a segment of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel War and Peace. The musical’s website describes the show as follows:
“Natasha is beautiful ingénue visiting Moscow while she waits for her beloved fiancé Andrey to return from the war. In a moment of indiscretion, she is seduced by the dashing (but already married) Anatole and her position in society is ruined. Her only hope lies with Pierre, the lonely outsider whose love and compassion for Natasha may be the key to her redemption…and to the renewal of his own soul.”
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.