THEATRE REVIEW: "The Great Gatsby" at the Broadway Theatre (New York, NY)

      On August 22nd, 2024 I saw the 2pm performance of the musical "The Great Gatsby" at the Broadway Theatre in New York City.  I read the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name, and have seen the 1974 film "The Great Gatsby" directed by Jack Clayton.  I tried to win the ticket lottery for the Broadway musical a handful of times.  I finally won, and got to see the show.  

     

    At the performance of "The Great Gatsby" that I saw, the cast included Jeremy Jordan (Jay Gatsby), Eva Noblezada (Daisy Buchanan), Noah J. Ricketts (Nick Carraway), Traci Elaine Lee (Jordan Baker), Chilina Kennedy (Myrtle Wilson), John Zdrojeski (Tom Buchanan), Paul Whitty (George Wilson), and Eric Anderson (Meyer Wolfsheim).  The entire cast did a great job.  I read that Chilina Kennedy was a recent addition to the Broadway Production, and not an original cast member.  I think she is an excellent addition to the company.  In September of 2019, I saw Chilina Kennedy in the National Tour of "The Band's Visit."  In November of 2011, I also saw her as Mary Magdalene in the Pre-Broadway Tryout Engagement of "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the La Jolla Playhouse.  Also, I saw Traci Elaine Lee in the National Tour of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" in Chicago during December of 2017, when she played one of The Shirelles.

The marquee of the Broadway Theatre.  I took this photo. 

     "The Great Gatsby" features scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III (a real name!), which was unbelievably extravagant.  Then again, "Thr Great Gatsby," as well as the Roaring 20's, had a lot to do with extravagance.  Both this show and "Back to the Future: The Musical" had scenic designs that were reminiscent of the megamusicals of the 1980's and 1990's.  One thing that deterred me from seeing this show was that it had its World Premiere Engagement at the Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey.  I figured that meant it wouldn't be a very lavish production.  How wrong I was.  

          Besides the scenic design, "The Great Gatsby" had some amazing costumes.  The costume designer for this musical was Linda Cho, with Patrick Bevilacqua acting as associate costume designer.  It seemed like every scene revealed new, glamorous costumes for every cast member on stage.  I wonder if the stagehands were also adorned in such finery.  The costumes also complemented the set design that surrounded it.  Also, the actors had such powerful voices that the stunning set couldn't quite swallow them all.  I did notice some acoustic issues toward the beginning of the show, but those were solved very quickly.

The POV Playbill Photo I took from my seat.

          There were a few changes made to the Broadway musical version of "The Great Gatsby," when compared to the novel and the 1974 film.  Jordan Baker doesn't cheat at golf in the musical, but does in the novel and film.  Also missing in the musical was Daisy Buchanan crying "Rich girls don't marry poor boys!"  Instead she sings a song about the limitations that women in that time period face.  I wasn't all that disappointed in the changes.  I certainly was not surprised a period piece was modernized.  Even Myrtle was made into a heroine of sorts.  Most importantly, the characters still remained flawed.  Without that, the story couldn't have been told -- either on stage or on the page.

      

     After the show, I went to the Museum of Broadway on West 45th Street.  My mom not only paid for my theatre ticket, but also for the ticket to the Museum of Broadway.  Thanks Mom!  I was able to rush through the exhibits and explain to the tour groups that I had a train to catch.  They were all understanding about me rushing in front of them, probably because the tour is supposed to last 95 minutes, and they wished they had a train to catch too.  The museum was cool though.  But the highlight of the day was seeing "The Great Gatsby."  I would see it again, but don't really need to.  

A scene from "The Great Gatsby."  Photo by Matthew Murphy.