East students perform in ‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812’

This Friday, Green Bay East High School students will take the stage for opening night of their production of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, a musical adaptation of a portion of Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace.

“It’s about this young girl, Natasha, going to stay with her aunt in Moscow with her cousin, basically waiting on her fiance to return from war,” said Lindsay Tippins, director of the show. “While she’s there, she gets embroiled in this scandalous affair with another man who is related to the hero of our story, Pierre, who takes it upon himself to help try to fix her ruined reputation.”

Although it may be an unfamiliar show to many in the audience, Tippins said it is well worth the watch.

“I really hope that people are willing to give a chance to a show that they probably haven’t heard of before and trust that we picked the show for a reason and that it is a show that’s very worth being seen…” Tippins said. “I guarantee that anyone who walks through the doors is going to be blown away by the talent that they see on stage, even though it’s an electro pop opera based in 19th century Russia.”

“It’s new, it’s niche, it’s odd, bizarre and wacky…” said Lorelei Mariucci, who plays Natasha in the show. “But the complexity just blows me away. I didn’t know what the show was before I auditioned for it, I barely knew what it was when I auditioned and now it’s one of my favorites.”

Since May, East High School students have been working hard to prepare to present this challenging show.

“This is an incredibly ambitious show and we have the means to put on a very impactful performance. The talent that these students have very well might be limitless because they are just able to take on any challenge with gusto and they are able to execute things well,” Tippins said. “I hope that people see all of the hard work of the students paying off on stage and also see the value that the Fine Arts Institute has brought to the school that allows them to create art in this way.”

“I had an old teacher that used to say, ‘If you don’t tell the students that something is hard and you just tell them to do it, then they’ll just do it,’” said Colt Maichle, band director. “A lot of this production has been us just believing in these kids and all of the amazing adults on our team know how to show them what to do and how to do things and then the kids just taking to it.”

Not only are students performing on stage, but also learning all of the behind-the-scenes work that brings a show to life, including how to use the school’s new sound board.

Also new for this year’s show is the pit orchestra moving onto the stage.

“The music literally never stops the entire time,” Maichle said. “Something that they did in the Broadway production and that a lot of different productions are doing right now is having these roving instruments. We figured as a team if we were going to have these people be a part of the show that maybe having the pit be a part of the set and have that extra visual of the music that is literally happening the entire time, it was going to be a really cool effect.”

Those involved in the show hope audiences are able to appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into the production.

“With how everything is staged, I think everyone will really be able to fully appreciate all the different elements that are a part of the show,” said Astro Gartzke, who plays Pierre in the show. “With the pit being visible and all the cool lighting and costumes, everything can really be fully appreciated and seen.”

Performances of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 will take place Nov. 6, 7 and 13 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 14 at 1 p.m.

More information and tickets can be found at east.gbaps.org/activities/east-musical.