Ars Nova and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Producers Reach Settlement in Billing Dispute

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 has avoided collision. Following a billing dispute that led Ars Nova to pursue a lawsuit against the show's commercial producers, the two announced on November 2 that they have reached a settlement.

“Ars Nova and the producers of The Great Comet deeply regret that a contractual dispute became public, and are pleased to share that the matter has now been resolved, privately, and will continue to achieve success for The Great Comet on Broadway,” the joint statement read.

The clash began when Playbills for the musical’s Broadway premiere failed to precede the title with “The Ars Nova production of…” on the title page, as the two parties had reportedly agreed upon in a 2012 legal document. Instead, the non-profit off-Broadway company, where the show originated in 2012, was included in the list of producers above the title and had a creative credit in small print at the bottom of the page.

This contract violation led to a lawsuit from Ars Nova against producer Howard Kagan. This resulted in Kagan barring members of Ars Nova from attending the first preview performance and threatening to schedule the cast recording on the day of the off-Broadway company’s annual gala, limiting the performers’ availability.

On October 31, Kagan and two other lead producers—his wife Janet and Paula Marie Black—released a statement agreeing to Ars Nova's terms, provided the company drops the legal claims.

The Great Comet, starring Josh Groban and Denée Benton in their Broadway debuts, is still set to open officially on November 14 at the Imperial Theatre.