So as you guys probably know by now I am obsessed with The Great Comet! I think it's a great show and everyone should listen to it if they haven't! You guys also probably know how much I love the Broadway cast of this show but in this chapter as requested by Epius1832 (give her a follow if you don't already! She's amazing!) I'm going to tell you what I prefer about the Broadway cast compared to the original soundtrack!

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Before I start I just want to say that everyone in both casts are very talented and I respect them all very much as performers! I just prefer the Broadway cast! The casts are fairly similar except for Natasha, Pierre, and Andrey/Bolkonsky. There are also other reasons other than cast as to why I prefer the Broadway version but let's start with the varying casts .

Denée Benton vs Phillipa Soo:
Again I want to point out that both of these women are amazing performers! Denée Benton plays Natasha in the Broadway version and Phillipa originated the role as well as the roles of Eliza in Hamilton and Amélie in Amélie and I'm a big fan of hers! However, I really prefer Denée Benton because I think her voice is much more suited for the role. Specifically I think her upper range is stronger than Pippa's. You can sort of tell in the line 'Natasha is young . She loves Andrey with all her heart,' in the Prologue. Pippa sounds like she's straining her voice where Denée's flows so nicely up to the higher notes! You can sort of hear the same thing in 'No One Else'. It seems easy for Denée to hit the notes but it seems like more of a challenge for Pippa. Her voice seems to mature but also slightly unnatural so it doesn't work with the character. You can kind of tell because the role she is most famous for is obviously Eliza because she was phenomenal in Hamilton but the ranges aren't super similar I don't think. Eliza doesn't have a super low range but it's not very high either. Natasha doesn't have a super high range like Christine or Cosette but it is higher than Eliza's and I think that range suits Pippa better. Her voice is gorgeous and she sounds great in the musical but it simply doesn't fit. Denée's voice is sweet and young and vibrant and it adds a lot to the character of Natasha in my opinion. Also just based on the soundtracks, I like Denée's and Lucas Steele's chemistry a little bit more than that of Pippa and Lucas Steele. So yeah overall I just think Denée Benton was much more suited for Natasha which is why I prefer her but Phillipa Soo is an amazing performer and I respect her a lot!

Josh Groban vs Dave Malloy
Okay well to no one's shock I prefer Josh Groban as Pierre immensely! I am not a fan of Dave Malloy's Pierre at all! For reference Dave Malloy wrote the musical. He wrote the score, the lyrics, and the book and he is brilliant! This is an amazing musical which is all credited to him! However, I do not think his singing is up to par. When I first discovered Great Comet it was because my friend told me to listen to the original soundtrack and I hated it because I was like who is this person singing? And I never listened to it again until the version with Josh Groban came out because my friend told me to and I like Josh Groban. I know that sounds so mean but I really just don't like Dave's voice. It's so rough and gravely and sort of weak I guess in comparison to Josh. Also in my opinion Josh better acts the role of Pierre on the soundtrack. Dave just isn't Pierre to me. He doesn't have that same depth that I feel Josh has in the role. He sounds much more bland and unexcited and arguably that could be a part of Pierre's character but I like the depth of emotions in Josh Groban's Pierre. He's sad and he's angry but in 'Letters' and 'Preparations' you can hear this odd excitability and hopefulness which I don't hear in Dave Malloy's Pierre. Now I'm not saying the way Dave Malloy attempts to characterize Pierre is bad! It's great! And if that's how he sees the character than that's amazing for him but I see Pierre a little differently and Josh's interpretation fits a little more in how I picture Pierre so I prefer it. Also Dave Malloy is a genius for writing this show and making it work so well so I do love him but Josh will always be Pierre to me.

Nicholas Belton vs Blake DeLong
So Nicholas Belton plays Andrey and Bolkonsky in the Broadway cast and Blake DeLong plays both characters in the original cast. To be quite honest I don't prefer either one over the other! I really really like both of their Andrey's and both of their Bolkonsky's are equally fine. I'm not a fan of the loudness of Bolkonsky so I wouldn't say I like either of them in the role but they both do a very good job with it.

Orchestrations:
So in my opinion I think the orchestrations are a little bit stronger on the Broadway cast as well. And not on terms of quality of sound but in terms of pace. A lot of the songs on the original recording seem slower and they seem to drag. Maybe that's just because I'm used to the pace of the Broadway soundtrack but specifically the Prologue is just so slow and it lacks the energy that I love about the Prologue. 'No One Else' feels that way a little bit too. I prefer the energy on the Broadway soundtrack. Even beyond that a little even though a lot of the cast members are the same I think some of them still sound better on the Broadway soundtrack. Specifically Amber Gray in 'Charming' her voice sounds less harsh on the Broadway soundtrack and I prefer the way she sounds. Also 'Charming' drags on the original soundtrack as well in my opinion. Lucas Steele sounds equally amazing on both soundtracks as well but again I like the speed and sound of the 'Abduction' a little more on the Broadway soundtrack. During the 'goodbye my gypsy lovers' part that the ensemble sings, to be there's a lack of energy on the original soundtrack. So overall I just prefer the energy of the Broadway soundtrack a bit more!

Of course again that doesn't make the original soundtrack bad it just isn't what I prefer! I think between the time the original soundtrack came out and the Broadway soundtrack the production and actors had time to improve and that's why the Broadway soundtrack is so amazing now! I listen to it all the time and I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone! If the original soundtrack is more your style or that's he soundtrack you fell in love with, that's absolutely wonderful and I am in no way judging or degrading! I just love the Broadway soundtrack!

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Thank you all so much for reading!!! I love you all so much and I hope you are all doing well!

Thank you again to Epius1832 for suggesting the chapter! I had so much fun writing it!

As always these are solely my opinions and are not meant to be offensive in anyway! If they come across as such I am truly very sorry!

Thank you again!