History YMMV / NatashaPierreAndTheGreatCometOf1812

* EvilIsSexy:
** Anatole, in-universe and out. "He moved with a swagger that would have been ridiculous had he not been so good looking."
** His sister Helene is also definitely this. Along with straight up being introduced as "a slut", she gets an incredibly alluring VillainSong and some rather [[MsFanservice fanservice-y]] costumes.
** Dolokhov, while not exactly "evil", has his fans as well.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: [[ShowWithinAShow The play in "The Opera"]], complete with over-saturated colors and eerie vocalizations.

* LesYay: The percentage of characters whom Natasha ''doesn't'' have some kind of romantic or sexual chemistry with is alarmingly low. Naturally, she has quite a bit of subtext with other female characters.
** Hélène spends a lot of time talking about how pretty Natasha is. A ''lot'' of time. For bonus points, "Charming" is staged in Natasha's room while she's in her underwear. It seems the attraction is mutual, as Helene's voice alone makes Natasha blush. The way their meeting is staged suggests they spot each other across the crowd and are struck by one another at once.
--->'''Natasha:''' Oh, that neck... oh, those pearls...\\
'''Hélène:''' So beautiful, what a charming young girl! So enchanting.\\
'''Natasha:''' I blush scarlet.
** "Sonya Alone", [[https://twitter.com/dave_malloy/status/706920773018099712 according to Dave Malloy]], is based of "On My Own", a love song from ''Theatre/LesMiserables'', and is sung about Natasha. The song itself is about Sonya's unwillingness to let her friend's name be ruined by her affair. The subtext is almost squicky, considering that Sonya is Natasha's cousin and engaged to her brother. Especially with Sonya's repeated requests for affection.
--->'''Sonya:''' Natasha, come here! Kiss me! Press your wet face to mine!
** Mary, as in the novel, has some notes of this for Natasha, which has further notes of OddCouple as they do not like each other at first. Worth noting that this is actually [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/2694caf8c470c154a44e3e9832dfe898/tumblr_oinj6oWG5f1s5ryxuo1_500.jpg downplayed]] compared to the novel.
--->'''Mary:''' I beg you to believe that I cannot help loving you. [...] I am so alone here.
** In the Tony Awards performance and reportedly, most of the original Broadway run, Marya Dmitrievna and Hélène can be seen making out during The Abduction.

* ShipsThatPassInTheNight: Sonya and Mary never meet onstage, but that doesn't stop anyone. This is partially a product of neither of them having a (visible) male love interest in the show proper, and the fact that they both have LesYay with Natasha. Also the fact that they're both very lonely -- the general sentiment seems to be, "Sonya and Mary should meet up; they'd both feel a lot better."

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: [[ShowWithinAShow The play in "The Opera,"]] complete with over-saturated colors and eerie vocalizations.

* WTHCastingAgency: Okieriete Onaodowan being cast as Pierre isn't seen as a bad choice in terms of pure casting, but in terms of business, it was regarded as very questionable. Music/JoshGroban was one of the biggest draws of the original cast, and replacing him with one of the lesser known principals of ''{{Theatre/Hamilton}}'' inevitably led to ticket sales going way down. Attempts were then made to fix this problem by bringing in a much bigger name with Broadway legend and successful film/tv actor Creator/MandyPatinkin... who is himself an example, being nearly thrice the character's age, and touched off [[OvershadowedByControversy a large debate over whether Onaodowan's firing was racially motivated]].

* OvershadowedByControversy: The decision to cut Okieriete Onaodowan's run as Pierre short and replace him with Broadway legend Creator/MandyPatinkin. Patinkin's involvement was intended to boost ticket sales, after the significantly less famous Onaodowan taking over for star attraction Josh Groban caused a major decline in business, with the plan being to search for a more long term big name to come in after Patinkin's brief run. Unfortunately, the abrupt announcement (which did not make the show's financial struggles clear) of a white actor taking the job of a black actor raised more than a few eyebrows. Not helping matters was Onaodowan's work was being well received, and he just so happened to be part of [[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} the biggest musical of the century]], which has a huge, very passionate, and politically minded fanbase. The show was then hit with a massive backlash, with many accusations of racism (despite the show having a diverse cast, led by a black actress) and calls to let Oak finish out his scheduled run. Within two days of the announcement, Patinkin then bowed out, claiming he didn't know he would be screwing another actor out of a job. With the show losing it's upcoming star and it's reputation taking a major hit, it was decided to let Oak finish his remaining weeks on the production and shortly after close the show, with it's creator and Pierre's original actor Dave Malloy playing the leading man for these final performances.

* CultClassic: The musical was and is from mainstream, and the controversy that led to it closing will always be a black mark, but it still had many fans who absolutely adore it.

* MisBlamed: In reaction to the announcement of the show's closure, some have directed blame at Rafael Casal, Okierete Onaodowan, rabid ''Hamilton'' fans, and/or "Tumblr [=SJWs=]." While this is understandable, the blame is more appropriately leveled at two things: the producers and the realities of show business. The casting controversy ended up shining a light on the fact that the producers clearly didn't have a permanent replacement lined up and that they seriously misread the optics of cutting a black actor's well-received run short in order to bring in a more established white actor. They also made some serious PR missteps when handling the blowback. The unfortunate reality of show business is that the market doesn't always reward artistry (see: the Tony Awards). Similarly "weird" but boundary-pushing productions such as ''Spring Awakening'' (which won Best Musical) have also had short runs. ''Great Comet'', like the current production of ''Hello, Dolly!'' experienced significant revenue loss when their big name lead was out of the production because it needed that star power in order to survive on Broadway. Without it, the production was considered "unsustainable."

* WTHCastingAgency: Okieriete Onaodowan being cast as Pierre isn't seen as a bad choice in terms of pure casting, but in terms of business, it was regarded as very questionable. Music/JoshGroban was one of the biggest draws of the original cast, and replacing him with one of the lesser known principals of ''{{Theatre/Hamilton}}'' inevitably led to ticket sales going way down. Attempts were then made to fix this problem by bringing in a much bigger name with Broadway legend and successful film/tv actor Creator/MandyPatinkin. However, that led to [[OvershadowedByControversy some other problems]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* CultClassic: Far from mainstream, and the controversy that led to it closing will always be a black mark, but it still had many fans who absolutely adore it.

* FandomRivalry: Many fans of this show do ''not'' like ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'', which at first seems weird because the shows have nothing in common and nothing to do with each other... except ''Great Comet'' lost the Best Musical Tony to ''Dear Evan Hansen'' in 2017, which many ''Great Comet'' fans regarded as the voting committee going with the "safe" choice. The fact that losing the Tony probably contributed to ''Great Comet'' closing only made things more acrimonious. (Of course, there are so many factors at play when the show closed that it wasn't ''solely'' that, but it certainly didn't help). The rivalry is almost entirely one sided, as you'll rarely see DEH fans going after Great Comet, with the worst that they'll say being "stop hating on our show". And of course, [[TakeAThirdOption there are those who consider themselves fans of both shows, and are embarrassed by the rivalry]].

* LesYay: The percentage of characters whom Natasha ''doesn't'' have some kind of romantic or sexual chemistry with is alarmingly low.

* MisBlamed: In reaction to the announcement of the show's closure, some have directed blame at Rafael Casal, Okierete Onaodowan, rabid ''Hamilton'' fans, and "Tumblr [=SJWs=]." The blame is more appropriately leveled at two things: the producers and the realities of show business. The casting controversy ended up shining a light on the fact that the producers clearly didn't have a permanent replacement lined up and that they seriously misread the optics of cutting a black actor's well-received run short in order to bring in a more established white actor. They also made some serious PR missteps when handling the blowback. The unfortunate reality of show business is that the market doesn't always reward artistry (see: the Tony Awards). Similarly "weird" but boundary-pushing productions such as ''Spring Awakening'' (which won Best Musical) have also had short runs. ''Great Comet'', like the current production of ''Hello, Dolly!'' experienced significant revenue loss when their big name lead was out of the production because it needed that star power in order to survive on Broadway. Without it, the production was considered "unsustainable."

* WTHCastingAgency: Okieriete Onaodowan being cast as Pierre isn't seen as a bad choice in terms of pure casting, but in terms of business, it was regarded as very questionable. Music/JoshGroban was one of the biggest draws of the original cast, and replacing him with one of the lesser known principles of ''{{Theatre/Hamilton}}'' inevitably led to ticket sales going way down. Attempts were then made to fix this problem by bringing in a much bigger name with Broadway legend and successful film/tv actor Creator/MandyPatinkin. However, that led to [[OvershadowedByControversy some other problems]].

* WTHCastingAgency: Okieriete Onaodowan being cast as Pierre isn't seen as a bad choice in terms of pure casting, but in terms of business, it was regarded as very questionable. Music/JoshGroban was one of the biggest draws of the original cast, and replacing him with one of the lesser known principles of ''{{Theatre/Hamilton}}'' inevitably led to ticket sales going way down. Attempts were then made to fix this problem by bringing in the much bigger name with Broadway legend and successful film/tv actor Creator/MandyPatinkin. However, that led to [[OvershadowedByControversy some other problems]] that we won't be discussing here.

** Music/JoshGroban, Denée Benton, and Lucas Steele all earned very deserving Tony nominations for their performances. Sadly, Brittain Ashford’s heartbreaking performance and Amber Gray’s despicable turn were ignored come nomination time despite both having many people rooting for them. It's likely that the two split some votes given there wasn't a clear favorite between the two, which can really hurt a performer's chances when competing in a strong category.

* EveryoneIsGay: Most of the fandom portrays the characters as being bi or gay in fanfic. ''All of them''. Though, to be fair, there is a decent amount of LGBT subtext for almost any given character.

* TearJerker:
** "Sonya Alone.", where Sonya expresses her loneliness and unwillingness to let Natasha elope and ruin her reputation.
** "Pierre and Natasha" and "The Great Comet of 1812", though those may also double as TearsOfJoy.
** "Pierre and Andrey", where, despite Pierre's best efforts to convince him, Andrey makes it quite clear that he will ''not'' take Natasha back.
** "The Private and Intimate Life of the House", where we see [[AbusiveParents the extent]] [[KickTheDog of the]] [[NightmareFuel terror]] that Princess Mary lives in every day.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome:
** "Pierre & Anatole," where Pierre finally [[BewareTheNiceOnes gets dangerous]] and successfully intimidates Anatole into leaving Moscow.
** Awesome on a meta level as well, due to the talent of Lucas Steele (the actor playing Anatole). More specifically, the final (very high-pitched) note of the song was written as a joke/placeholder, but Steele managed to hit the note, which resulted in it being kept in the score.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
** In "Letters," Anatole marvels over the love letter he just sent to Natasha. Then Dolokhov [[BreakingTheFourthWall informs us]] ''he's the one that wrote it''. On the soundtrack, he sounds hilariously annoyed.
** Sonya showing Natasha how she can allegedly see her future in the mirror, saying, "You'll see a coffin, or a man," before dryly adding, "Everyone sees a man."
** In "A Call To Pierre", and despite the seriousness of the situation, Pierre (who is still quite hung over from "The Abduction") reacts to Marya's news about the botched elopement with more and more confusion and outrage, literally saying nothing but ''"What?"'' four times in a row.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
** [[spoiler:"If I were not myself, but the best, handsomest, brightest man on earth, and if I were free, I would get down on my knees this minute and ask you for your hand, and for your love."]] Notable in that these are the only spoken words in the show.
** In fact, most of "Pierre and Natasha" counts, when it's not a TearJerker.
** A meta-example at the Tony Awards, where Josh Groban, who was in his final months as Pierre, going into the audience to embrace Dave Malloy, the composer and original Pierre, Malloy is summoned in the middle of the number to play the piano. Malloy joined in the number heartily.
** Mary attempting to patch things up with Natasha in spite of their rocky first meeting is sweet. It's even better if you know that in the book, they ''do'' become friends later on.