The Great Gatsby
Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada (Photo: Matthew Murphy/Evan Zimmerman)
By Fern Siegel (posted 4/28/24)
The Great Gatsby, the iconic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has nearly hit its centenary. It’s been made into two films and now, a Broadway musical. Its story of class, desire and Jazz Age corruption are fitting motifs for an extravagant production.
The tricky bit: The novel is nuanced and emotionally layered. Plus, it’s so resplendent of singular language — “the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music” — and subtext, it’s a challenge to recreate on stage.
With music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Nathan Tysen, book by Kait Kerrigan, dazzling choreography by Dominique Kelley, evocative sets and projections by Paul Tate DePoo III and direction by Marc Bruni, Fitzgerald’s legendary novel, part drama, part tragedy, has arrived at the Broadway Theater.
It’s glitzy and glamorous, aided by Linda Cho’s art deco costumes, and boasts veteran Broadway performers — Jeremy Jordan (Jay Gatsby) and Eva Nobelzada (Daisy Buchanan) as leads. The show is a spectacle, befitting Gatsby’s enormous wealth in super-rich Long Island. But the standouts are the featured characters: Sara Chase as Myrtle, the poor abused mistress of Tom Buchanan (John Zdrojeski), Daisy’s husband, and Samantha Pauly (as Jordan Baker).
The story is narrated by Nick Carraway (Noah J. Ricketts), Gatsby's next-door neighbor, referred to as “old sport,” who becomes enveloped in his nouveau riche decadence. The Great Gatsby centers on Gatsby’s five-year obsession with Daisy, as well as the severe class distinctions in American life. His back story is missing, though it’s clear such over-the-top wealth in the Roaring Twenties is courtesy of bootlegging, crudely exemplified by Meyer Wolfsheim (Eric Anderson), a stand-in for the real-life sophisticated Arnold Rothstein.
Tom and Daisy are the heirs of privilege and arrogance, careless with others and morally bankrupt. While they may care for their respective lovers, they care for their own positions more. They are posited as the true villains of the story, particularly Tom. Everyone else either pays court or confronts them at their peril.
Fans of the novel may miss the intensity of Fitzgerald’s emotional layers — and find character choices confusing. This rendition of Gatsby, a lovesick puppy vs. a cool man of mystery, is a departure from the novel. There are also subtleties of sexuality that have been altered, specifically Nick and Jordan. But there is no denying the production is fun and entertaining — and there are many numbers that are big crowd pleasers. (The duets, however, could lose the crazy high notes.)
Adapting novels into musicals is a theme this season: Water For Elephants, The Outsiders and The Notebook. (Director Rachel Chavkin (The Great Comet of 1812) has another Broadway-bound Gatsby contender premiering at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge in late May.)
Mediums differ and purists of the novel will take issue with some of Bruni’s and Kerrigan’s choices. This Gatsby isn’t a perfect incarnation. But it will hopefully induce a new generation of fans to read Fitzgerald’s classic.