History Theatre / NatashaPierreAndTheGreatCometOf1812

* ObnoxiousInLaws: They're not technically in-laws yet, Natasha's first meeting with her fiance's family goes very poorly. Their nasty treatment of her is one of the reasons she grows more attracted to Anatole. However, to Mary's credit, she does try to patch things up, and the book lets us know that she and Natasha become friends later on. [[spoiler:By the end of the show, Natasha's engagement to Andrey is broken, meaning they won't be her in-laws anyway.]][[note]]In the book, they do make the jump to BestFriendsInLaw, but far past the events covered in the musical.[[/note]]

* OneSteveLimit: Played straight, unlike in the novel. Andrey's sister is referred to as Princess Mary (with American pronunciation), while Natasha's godmother is called Marya Dmtriyevna (or Marya D. for short, with Marya pronounced as "MAHR-ya").

''Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812'' is a 2012 "[[RockOpera electro-pop opera]]" by Dave Malloy, based on Volume 2, Book 5 of Tolstoy's ''Literature/WarAndPeace''. It is something of a {{coming of age story}} for the titular [[TheIngenue Natasha]], who finds herself in an unexpected affair with the dashing Anatole Kuragin while waiting for her fiancé Andrey Bolkonsky to return from war. Anatole's sister Hélène finds the whole situation very amusing and helps facilitate Natasha's loss of innocence, while her own husband Pierre realizes he is DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife. Despite adapting only a very narrow slice of the {{doorstopper}} it's based on, it manages to stand on its own as a story.

* DramatisPersonae: The characters (save Pierre) are briefly introduced and established in "Prologue".\\
-->''"Balaga is fun / Bolkonsky is crazy / Mary is plain / Dolokhov is fierce / Hélène is a slut / Anatole is hot / Marya is old-school / Sonya is good / Natasha is young / And Andrey isn’t here!"''

* MinorCharacterMajorSong: Indeed, Balaga's just for fun. The Bolkonskys too.

** [[spoiler: Once her relationship with Anatole implodes and she learns he was only leading her on and never had any intention of marrying her, Natasha becomes horribly ashamed of herself for cheating on Andrey and throwing away their future together]].
-->'''Natasha''': But still I'm tormented/By the wrongs I've done him/Tell him that I beg him to forgive/Forgive/Forgive me for everything

-->I will stand in the dark for you\\

I won’t see you disgraced

* ObnoxiousInLaws: They're not technically in-laws yet, Natasha's first meeting with her fiance's family goes very poorly. Their nasty treatment of her is one of the reasons she grows more attracted to Anatole. However, to Mary's credit, she does try to patch things up, and the book lets us know that she and Natasha become friends later on. [[spoiler:By the end of the show, Natasha's engagement to Andrey is broken, meaning they won't be her in-laws anyway. Then again, if you read the book, then you know that they ''do'' end up related by marriage in the end -- because Mary marries Natasha's brother!]]

* OneSteveLimit: Enforced, unlike in the novel. Andrey's sister is referred to as Princess Mary (with American pronunciation), while Natasha's godmother is called Marya Dmtriyevna (or Marya D. for short, with Marya pronounced as "MAHR-ya").

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Balaga, the famous troika driver.

* DysfunctionalFamily: The Bolkonskys, comprising a senile father, a put-upon sister, and Andrey himself. Lampshaded.

[[quoteright:306:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/natashapierrecast_4078.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:306:L-R: [[HandsomeLech Anatole]] (hot), [[YourCheatingHeart Hélène]] (slut), [[TheIngenue Natasha]] (young), Andrey (who ''is'' here, for once), dear, bewildered and awkward [[NiceGuy Pierre]].]]

** Likely more out of social humiliation than actual concern for a husband she loathes, but Helene is vocally displeased with her husband recklessly igniting a duel between him and Dolohov. She does screams a BigNo when Dolohov seemingly kills him.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Natasha's first meeting with her fiance's family goes very poorly. Their nasty treatment of her is one of the reasons she grows more attracted to Anatole.

* RussianNamingConvention: But of course. Lampshaded in both the Prologue ("Everyone's got nine different names!") and when Natasha and Sonya introduce themselves to Marya during "Moscow."

* DidNotThinkThisThrough: Natasha and Anatole's plan to [[spoiler: elope]]. On Anatole's side, it's technically [[spoiler: bigamy, which could legitimately put him in jail during this time period, as well as potentially a breach of promise, leading Natasha on when he never truly intended to marry her]]. On Natasha's side, if she just up and vanishes, her family will go into a panic looking for her, her father will probably challenge Anatole to a duel, and they'll ''all'' be tainted by her disgrace. Dolokhov and Marya D. both attempt to point these things out, but Anatole doesn't care and Natasha is too angry to listen.

* ItAmusedMe: Helene enables Anatole's seduction of Natasha despite knowing that he's married and she's engaged because it's fun.

* AnachronismStew: The club Anatole, Dolokhov, Pierre, and Hélène attend is staged as a modern rave, with strobe lights, glowbands, the works. Not to mention Anatole's AnimeHair.

* IAmSong: Pierre.

* LocationSong: Moscow.

* VirginInAWhiteDress: Natasha ("Natasha is young") and her best friend, Sonya ("Sonya is good") both have white dresses for costumes.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: You'd be forgiven for not knowing that Hélène and Pierre are actually Elena and Peter. (Natasha does call him "Peter" in "Pierre and Natasha", but he tells her she can use his nickname.)

* DysfunctionalFamily: The Bolkonskys, comprising a senile father, a put-upon sister, and Andrey himself.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Despite being listed in the Prologue as "not too important", Dolokhov (and his actor, Nick Choksi) has garnered a fairly large fan following.

* MeanCharacter,NiceActor: In the show, Lucas Steele plays a manipulative asshole who's ruining Natasha's life for fun. In real life, he's a total sweetheart who is reportedly very nice to his fans at stage door.

-ThatRussianSquatDance: An ensemble member engages in this in the middle of The Abduction.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Never outright stated, but heavily, ''heavily'' implied between Anatole and Hélène.