it is inspired from a passage from a leo tolstoy masterpiece.he new york times called it the most innovative and best new musical to open on broadway since "hamilton." here is a look. ♪ ♪ [applause] joining me is the writer and composer and two of the stars of the show. i guys, thanks for being on the show. you wrote this based on the 70 page sliver of "war and peace." what in your mind went from the story to the musical theater? how did you make that bridge? >> i haven't a opinion as i was reading this section. i got to the end of this section where there is an incredible moment in tears were dripping down my face. i thought it was a perfect musical. i thought it was a perfect piece of musical theater. at the time i googled it to make sure nobody else had done it because i do not believe that nobody else had done it. it was such a perfect story. i love the way that the story in particular parallel these two very different stories. there's a young romantic story. then there is a middle-aged philosophical story. the two that those two parallel an

these are tolstoy in approaches to ronald reagan.our tendency is to presume that --erful decision made or decision makers act at moments of gravity, moments of precision points. memoirs are written that way. looking at moments that they can transform the battlefield. argues these 4 papers the reagan administration was unable to do that. each of them argues in tolstoy's fashion that the currents of history, the movements of people is something that the most powerful decision-makers cannot control and have to react to more than they lead and tolstoy's criticism of great men history is we tell the story as if we, as leaders, were in charge, when in fact we were running to catch up with the story as it is told. >> watch the entire program on at 8 p.m. andy" midnight eastern on sunday. american history tv only on c-span3. "afterwords,"t on examines challenges to foreign policy in his book "a world in disarray." >> the thesis that you have put forward is you say there was considerable continuity and how the world looked during this period.

tolstoy's point in staying that -- do not make history saying that men do not make history, that change is more important that the biggest it is -- leaders, is that really about adaptation. it is seeing the change around you ended just into it -- and adjusting to it. this is napoleon. grand strategist who gets his comeuppance. he sees the deeper changes. is that not the case to make for the reagan administration in each of these papers? is it actually a false dichotomy you are creating in your wonderful papers when you presume the reagan administration is lesser of it administration because it did not understand at the start and did not master beyond mastery? -- ultimately about adapting to that courage that you describe, and no administration or power could have controlled, but where the reagan administration was able the debtsportunity of and markets it did not anticipate, or the technological changes it did not anticipate, or a global market in oil it did not understand, or human rights changes it did not anticipate. it was the adaptation of the administration that we should be argui

best new musical to open on broadway since "hamilton" is in fact a musical based on a passage from tolstoy'sce." allison stuart talked to the two stars of the show, and its creator. >> what in your mind went from the story "war and peace" to musical theater? how did you make that bridge? >> i really had an e55 me as i was reading the section. it wasn't something that came to me years later. specifically, this section, i got to the end of the section where pierre has an incredible moment with a comet and tears were dripping down my face. and yeah i just had an epiphanys what i just read was a perfect piece of musical theater. and i think i diligently went and googled to make sure no one else had done it because i couldn't believe no one else had done it because it was such a perfect story, and the way the story paralleled these two very different stories. d a middle-aged aings steestory, philosophical story, and the way they collide at the end, year, it felt like such a musical to me. >> tell me a little bit about the story for folk folks who hat seen it so they can understand the conversatio

even in the north, tolstoy was confronted by a tribal chieftain who is curious to hear about the greatest general and greatest ruler of the world. we want to know something about him. he was a hero. he spoke with the voice of thunder. he laughed like the sunrise in his deeds were strong. the angels appeared to his mother and predicted the sun would become the greatest star they had ever seen. he even for gave the crimes of his greatest enemies and should readily has with those who plot against his life and his name was lincoln. tell us of that man. that might be difficult to identify chieftain today who is willing to endorse an american president in such glowing terms. in our world, we all self emancipate. we bridle at codependency. we will do for ourselves what needs to be done. we repudiate not only lincoln it, but the union and what the union did and in the long run, we control the province that hung in the background of lincoln's mental geography. our world has become conscious of itself and grown where we may all get along perfectly well. all questions of importance without fathers a

tolstoy's criticism is that after the fact, we tell the story that the leaders were in charge that even though we were running to catch up with the story as it is told. >> watch the entire program on the president the at 8:00 p.m. and midnight eastern on sunday. american history tv, only a these band three. -- only on c-span3. afterwards, the council on foreign relations president richard haas examines challenges to foreign relations policy in his book, "a world in disarray. ." >> the thesis that you've sayarily put forward as you there was considerable continuity and how the world worked during this time. describe that. structures ofe the world such as it was was based on this idea of sovereignty. the idea that borders were definecant, that they nations, states, countries, and there was a deal out there. we will not try to change your birders perforce -- borders by force if you do not try to change hours. >> sunday night at 10:00 p.m. eastern on afterwards. up next on american history tv's real america, introduction to foreign trade, a 10 minute cornet educational film from 1951. using