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Crow鈥檚 Theatre and Musical Stage Company’s Canadian premiere co-production of Dave Malloy鈥檚 鈥淣atasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812鈥� was originally scheduled to open on Dec. 13.聽

A couple of COVID-19 cases among the cast in the week leading up to that press night caused the production to postpone until Dec. 15. Then more illnesses and vocal problems hit the cast, and the date shifted to Dec. 21.聽

Throughout this, performances continued, but with understudies stepping in. For a couple of shows, Stratford and Shaw veteran Ben Carlson, who鈥檚 not even in the cast, replaced a sick Evan Buliung with only a few hours of rehearsal (he carried the script). Rumour has it he was fantastic.聽

But none of the offstage business holds a candle to the onstage drama and Chris Abraham鈥檚 burnished, thrilling staging of it.

Malloy, whose 鈥�Ghost Quartet鈥� played at the Crow鈥檚 studio space a few years back, has taken a 70-page section of Tolstoy鈥檚 epic novel 鈥淲ar and Peace鈥� and created a lively, self-contained, completely sung-through musical that throbs with life, love, philosophy and passion.聽

In 1812 Moscow, the young Natasha (Hailey Gillis) is engaged to Andrey (Marcus Nance), who鈥檚 away at war. But one night at the opera, she locks eyes with the handsome womanizer Anatole (George Krissa), who鈥檚 the brother of the immoral H茅l猫ne (Divine Brown), the wife of middle-aged, paunchy scholar Pierre (Buliung). Pierre also happens to be friends with both Andrey and Anatole.

Confused? Not to worry. Malloy has anticipated that with his clever and catchy prologue, in which he introduces the show鈥檚 main characters, assigns them a quality or two and has them each sing out this description in the third person (鈥淣atasha is young聽鈥� Anatole is hot鈥�), which is repeated by the chorus and builds to a foot-stomping, samovar-shaking frenzy.聽

Once that鈥檚 established, he goes on to fill out the story, with characters narrating what they鈥檙e doing in an ongoing recitative that stands in for Tolstoy鈥檚 omniscient narrator.聽

This third-person narration is a normal convention in plays but is less frequently done in musical theatre. To avoid monotony, you need a strong director and Abraham fits the bill.聽

For its Tony Award-winning Broadway staging in 2016-17, which I saw, director Rachel Chavkin and designer Mimi Lien overhauled the 1,400-seat Imperial Theatre to build ramps, circular playing areas and staircases right in the audience for the actors to spill out and perform. The effect felt incredibly immersive.

Although the capacity at Crow鈥檚 Theatre鈥檚 Guloien space is considerably smaller, Abraham and set designers Julie Fox and Joshua Quinlan have reconfigured the venue so it鈥檚 similarly immersive.

Ornate gold-painted staircases, elaborate chandeliers, rich red curtains and strategically placed smoky mirrors make you feel you鈥檙e in a much bigger space. A central raised black square stage is on a revolve, so Abraham will frequently turn it to indicate characters moving or time passing, usually to the built-in momentum of Malloy鈥檚 score.

The result, like the music that spills out into the audience with actors frequently playing instruments, is a show that is simultaneously grand and intimate. Big set pieces like the opera sequence and a raucous party聽鈥� if you鈥檙e seated near the stage, you may be asked to join in on the fun聽鈥� are staged by Abraham and choreographer Ray Hogg with maximum energy, Ming Wong鈥檚 costumes looking spectacular under Kimberly Purtell鈥檚 burnished lighting.聽

Contrasting this are moments of utter transcendence, such as Pierre鈥檚 wrenching song 鈥淒ust and Ashes,鈥� in which he questions the meaning of his life and vows not to sleepwalk through the rest of his existence. When I first saw the show on Broadway, I hadn鈥檛 realized how cleverly Malloy adjusts his titular characters鈥� pronouns in the penultimate scene, foreshadowing a major change in their self-awareness.聽

The cast, considering what they鈥檝e been through, perform magnificently. Andrew Penner鈥檚 driver Balaga is as gritty-voiced and lusty as a Tom Waits character in Moscow, while the great Louise Pitre plays Marya D., Natasha鈥檚 godmother, with formidable power and clarity. Krissa and Brown make an attractive pair of scheming siblings, with Brown turning H茅l猫ne鈥檚 big Act 2 number into an R&B showstopper.

Gillis makes a believable, heartbreaking transformation from young girl to experienced woman, while Buliung invests Pierre with the complexity of a Shakespearean hero, self-pitying one moment, full of wonder or rage another.聽

I could quibble with a few things. The sound mix is often uneven and the orchestrations sometimes sound overly synthetic. The comings and goings of characters in such a small space can also feel repetitive.聽

But this is musical theatre at its finest and, although it鈥檚 a late entry, it鈥檚 one of the year鈥檚 best shows.