“The Great Gatsby” at the Broadway Theatre (Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman)
Before the curtain goes up at The Great Gatsby, the audience feasts their eyes on a glimmering night vista: a Long Island bay with just one green light twinkling on the opposite shore. It is one of the most famous views in literature. It’s why Jay Gatsby built himself a mansion here, to stand on the shore and look across at the other mansion where the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, now lives with her husband and child. It’s a marvelous piece of scene setting for the exquisite musical rendition of this beloved novel, now opening on Broadway. With extravagant highs and tragic lows, the show is a faithful, but refreshing new look at this well-known story.
As in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, the story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, here played with wide-eyed wonder by Noah J. Ricketts. He’s a midwestern boy just arrived in New York and immediately whisked off into a wild party. The talented ensemble brings a deliciously crazed verve to the opening number, redolent of Jazz Age music. Clad in gorgeous, tasseled flapper dresses and spangled suits (the consistently perfect costumes are by Linda Cho), the partygoers sing about their debauched life. The choreography by Dominique Kelley is athletic and exuberant. A later tap number brings the dancing talents of the entire cast to the fore. It’s all too fast for Nick, who finds himself a quiet cottage next door.
While Kait Kerrigan’s book hews closely to Fitzgerald’s original plot, it also simplifies, and, in places, modernizes it. In the hands of Eva Noblezada, Daisy is not a depressed, put-upon woman. She has real passion and a touch of 21st century self-assurance. Noblezada’s voice is also a highlight of the show as she sings of her unhappy marriage in “For Better or Worse”. Samantha Pauly is also a standout as the golfer Jordan Baker. Clad exclusively in stylish pants, her relationship with Nick is more explicitly passionate than the novel dares to reveal. She and Nick have a toe tapping duet “Better Hold Tight”. The music and lyrics are by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen. Some of the nuances that the book dwells on, such as wealth disparity, get broad-brush treatment here, but in contrast, the show makes it clear that Gatsby’s behavior is caused, in part, by PTSD from serving in World War I. Jeremy Jordan is a suave Gatsby and John Zdrojeski is the embodiment of WASPy superiority as Tom Buchanan.
While the star-crossed love story between Gatsby and Daisy gathers intensity, the action moves to a decrepit gas station on the road to New York City. This is the home of Myrtle and George Wilson – he’s a mechanic in hock to the mob and his wife is longing for a better life. Sarah Chase as Myrtle is suitably blowsy and desperate, while Paul Whitty, as George, brings a lonely soulfulness to role of the cuckolded husband. The iconic billboard with Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s giant spectacles looms ominously over the scene. The sets throughout the show are mesmerizing, from the glitzy Long Island mansions to the seedy Harlem apartment where Tom takes Myrtle. The many rooms of Gatsby’s mansion are brought to live with evocative projections creating libraries and a wall of bespoke shelves for his tailor-made shirts. For a party scene, there’s a fountain and real fireworks are supplemented by projected ones. In a later scene, the reflection of the water in a swimming pool adds a note of verisimilitude to the tragic action on stage. The scenic and projection design is the brainchild of Paul Tate dePoo III in what may be the project of his career.
Key moments of the plot revolve around cars and the full-size classic vehicles are almost cast members in their own right. While each time the cars make their entrance it’s a treat, in one instance, a scene gets stuck as the actors drive for an entire number in a stationary car. The changing projected backdrop on the other hand is jaw-dropping as the vehicle progress from Long Island to Manhattan.
This production lovingly transforms Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby into a musical and may even bring it to a wider audience or renew interest in the classic novel. It’s an homage to this American classic that charms and transports while also breaking hearts.