“Chaotic, in the Best Way”: A Look Behind Cate’s Upcoming Musical

By Maria Wynema Salyards '28

In the theater, there is a moment before anything begins when the room feels very expectant. The lights are not yet dimmed, the set is still missing paint, students laughing around, not finding their seats and the voices of actors are still trying to find each other. It is in this in-between space where Cate’s upcoming musical, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, is slowly yet surely coming to life. It’s a classic love affair story, set in nineteenth-century Russia. Natasha is engaged to her to-be husband, Pierre who is fighting in the war, and happens to meet another guy. It’s about purposefulness, getting out of the dark, for all characters involved.

When asked why he chose this particular show, new theater director Mr. Grant Emerson Harvey spoke on memory. He first saw the Great Comet off Broadway when he first moved to New York, and it stayed with him. Now, with Cate's large ensemble, need for student commitment, and ability to hold people together, the show made sense again—it just “felt right for this community”. What has stood out most in these early stages of auditions and rehearsal is not just the production itself but the people behind it. Mr. Harvey describes the audition process as “really beautiful”, with the creative team and the depth of talent on campus. 

With auditions coming to an end, he explained, they weren’t about how well one can act or sing, but also about courage, as evidenced by students who show up. Of course, experimentation in this show comes with a challenge. The Great Comet is an immersive piece—a story about young love challenged in a traditional sense—all based on a short part of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace set in 1812 Moscow. Translating this experience into a conventional, high school theater space has required rethinking set design, movement, and overall tone. There is also the question of time and place; while the Broadway version leaned heavily into period detail, Cate’s production explores a more modern contrast between “darkness and light”, according to Mr. Harvey. Yet within these challenges lies the heart of the show. At its core, Great Comet is about people searching for themselves in moments of confusion and loss. Mr. Harvey and the theater team hope that the audience leaves with the understanding that growth often happens during difficult times. 

Stage manager for this show, Arelic Rodrigez ’27, explained, “My role is to oversee everything that is going on in place, actors, lights and getting backstage ready. Whenever a mistake happens, it’s on me, and to make sure everything is taken care of.” This is her first time stage managing a musical, and so far rehearsals have focused mainly on music blocking. “Up to this point, we’ve only gone over the songs, not the acting or blocking yet, so I haven’t seen the acting.” Arelic exclaimed how technically ambitious this production is compared to past shows. She described it as “a big, huge, flaunting musical,” even calling it “an opera, with lots of voices.”

 One of her biggest concerns surrounding the show is sound. With many main characters and a large ensemble, she noted that “our capacity to house that many voices will be tested.” From backstage, she has seen the amount of preparation that goes into the show. She shared that the process spans “around three months from after the actors are chosen and around five months of preparation from the staff side.” She recalled that from the very first rehearsal, Mr Harvey arrived “with a book the thickness of my hand, overflowing with history on the musical.” Arelic believes that this musical will hopefully quietly nudge the Cate community to think beyond the local bubble on top of the hill and broaden their scope: “Today with the injustice going on all around the world, especially with undocumented immigrants, I hope that this musical serves as a subtle hint for our community, to not be afraid of speaking on what is happening, to acknowledge and to make a space for that in their minds.” Similarly, Mr Harvey hopes that this show serves a meaningful morale at Cate; especially in a boarding school environment where students are learning who they are while being away from home, Harvey expressed his desire for the production to reveal how uncertainty offers an incubator for strength.

Claire Ziebart ’26, a student actor playing Natasha, shared that she has been enjoying this musical so far because of how well it brings together different kinds of people. She mentioned that the cast includes a lot of freshmen and sophomores, which has made rehearsals a chance to meet and get to know peers she does not usually see around campus. Playing Natasha has helped her connect with the story on a deeper level. She described the show as being about young love, confusion, and people trying to stop Natasha from making mistakes. For Claire, she finds the role, “very innocent, naive. It’s very refreshing to play such a character; it’s like being a young version of myself again”. She also believes the musical’s message is more complex than the past Cate productions, “It’s really deep and almost cryptic, and in that way it’s very good for Cate. The past musicals have had the plots and messages be more obvious; this show will lead people to really think.” Claire explained that though Natasha especially makes poor choices, she is not a bad person, and that the show teaches how someone can go down the wrong path without being defined by it. 

Mr. Harvey has also proven to mirror his own approach to theater through this production. He describes himself as one drawn to experimental work, trying new things, failing, learning, and growing through many different iterations. His time at Cate, though still new, has already shaped his process and plan through the commitment he sees in students, both onstage and behind the scenes. Every role, he believes, offers something meaningful, especially those without the spotlight shining on them. Mr. Harvey hopes that students all take away this aspect from the show: “what matters most is that everyone involved gains something from the experience, connection, growth, and, ultimately, joy.” Mr. Harvey, the theater team, and all the student actors look forward to creating and performing this show, which they hope the community will find entertaining, interesting, and funny, with a moral to take away. After all, as Mr. Harvey summed up in just one phrase, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 is “chaotic, in the best way.”