Everyone knows the story The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald from their english classes in school, but most people don’t know that it has recently been adapted into a new musical on Broadway. The timeless classic of a doomed love story was published in 1925 and was adapted into a film for the first time in 1974. It was then remade in 2013, directed by Baz Luhrmann, who is known for his unique filming style.
Baz Luhrmann is known for his eccentric filming style on the movies Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet. He took on the famous 1920s aesthetic with a bit of a modern flare, adding in modernized music such as the song Young and Beautiful, in which Lana Del Rey specifically wrote for the film. The film features Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway.
The Great Gatsby on Broadway opened on April 25, 2024 and it has been running since. When it first opened, the show featured Jermey Jordan as Jay Gatsby and Eva Noblezada as Daisy. The show also won a Tony Award in 2024 for best costume design. Jordan left for a short period of time but is now currently playing Gatsby again for a short amount of time. The show features strong resemblances to the book and the film, and the stage effects used are unique and memorable. The show used real motorized vehicles built to resemble cars, they had many intricate sets like Gatsby’s mansion and the Valley of Ashes. They also had many lighting features and moving pieces to make the show come together. One memorable scene was when the actor who played Myrtle ,an understudy the day I saw the show, had an on-stage outfit change that took a second. This illusion was created by the actor wearing two dresses, and the dress on top had a magnetic buckle that could easily be torn off to reveal the other dress underneath.
All of the actors’ voices were extraordinary and they all had strong vocals. The most popular songs in the show are New Money, which is a partial-solo upbeat song by Jordan Baker and For Her, which is Gatsby’s first and last (the reprise) songs of the show. The show also features songs about major plot points in the story, such as Myrtle and Tom’s affair (Second-Hand Suit), Daisy and Gatsby meeting again (My Green Light), and Myrtle’s tragic end (One Way Road).
This show is one of my favorites currently on Broadway, and it is many people’s top show. From the extravagant stage effects and design to the melodious voices of the whole cast, this show is a must see before it leaves Broadway!
