The Great Gatsby, 05 May 2024

Every moment of The Great Gatsby was visually stunning. The visual design elements– video, scenic, costumes, hair/makeup, and lighting–collaboratively created a decadent fantasy world as out of touch with reality as Jay Gatsby himself. Simultaneously stylized and grounded, the aesthetics of this show sincerely took my breath away. In particular, I loved the bookcase and every jaw dropping moment of “New Money”. Pyrotechnics, chandeliers, strings of beads, and flawless choreography make this show a real treat.

Audio was a different story. The sound designer in me was disappointed in Brian Ronan’s choices. I was sitting in the third row of the orchestra, and I had difficulty hearing the words sung by the ensemble. Soloists were mic’d so far above the ensemble, that I couldn’t tell if the ensemble was singing in unison or harmony, and I could not make out most of the words in the opening number, despite how physically close I was to the people singing. It was disappointing to hear so much breathing in a Broadway mix, especially from Jeremy Jordan (Jay Gatsby) and Eva Noblezada (Daisy Buchanan).  The show has been open for a while, so there’s really no excuse for poor mixing.

Even these sound issues and the admittedly mediocre lyrics could not obscure the brilliance of Jason Howland’s score, which was perfectly complimented by Kait Kerrigan’s elaborately crafted book. Kerrigan leaned into F. Scott Fitzgerald’s source material just enough to make the story unmistakably The Great Gatsby, but explored different issues than the ones Fitzgerald was primarily interested in. Gender roles were a big part of this production, and Daisy’s heartbreaking eleven o’clock number “Beautiful Little Fool” fleshed out Fitzgerald’s women and exposed the difficulty of maintaining composure in a world of unfair double standards where all choices are completely life altering. I enjoyed seeing the story from this lens. Stand out acting performances rested solidly with the women: Eva Noblezada, Samantha Pauly, and Sara Chase, though I felt that Jeremy Jordan’s vocal performances were the most impressive of the show. It’s hard to play a character who is aloof and out of touch with reality, and I felt that Jordan’s Gatsby was the pinnacle of being out of place, having an intense human being locked inside a socially inept body, blindly pursuing a single goal with fervor and passion that are often misplaced and irrational.

This show rose above its structural issues because the beautiful elements of the show assuaged and appeased me into forgetting I had any gripes at all. The first act primarily showcased decadence and superficial issues, while laying a foundation for a second act where we saw how fast this beautiful world can unravel in profoundly irrevocable ways. Eric Anderson (Wolfsheim)’s “Shady” opened act two with a clear disparity—beauty and opulence cannot completely erase heartache and pain, and it’s alright to have fun, but society has a structure that cannot be defied, ignored, or erased.

I appreciated that the attention to detail was consistent no matter which socioeconomic situation we were looking at. The design team made an active decision to make the world of the poor just as visually detailed, just as aesthetically clear as the world of the rich. Even though they had different things, the rich and the poor had the same, fully fleshed out, human aesthetic. That is to say, the world of the Wilsons was not less respectable or carefully crafted—their gas station was not a thrown together afterthought until we got back to Gatsby’s mansion. And of course, with everybody sleeping with people of different stations and involved in varying degrees of deception, the ugliness of the characters really stuck out amid these beautiful worlds. The opulence didn’t protect people from misunderstandings, difficult decisions, indiscretion, cheating, lying, manipulating, etc.

I loved everything about this show, from the beautiful orchestrations to the vocal performances. The Gestalt of this production was a well oiled machine that, apart from sound issues, made for a really fabulous night at the theatre with some serious things to think about and some intense dramatic moments, but not so many that I walked out in shock with a lot to process. On the contrary, I felt I had seen a musical with all the winning elements of a great Broadway show—visually beautiful, thoroughly engaging, magically fun, emotionally gripping, and enjoyable in every way. I’m confused by the lack of Tony nominations—particularly for scenic (Paul Tate dePoo III) and lighting (Cory Pattak), but also book (Kait Kerrigan) and original score (Jason Howland)—there were also definitely actors who felt more competent than those from other shows who received Tony nominations. I am sincerely puzzled by this, but I hope that despite the lack of nominations (none other than Linda Cho’s fantastic costume design, which I do hope will win) will not prevent the show from staying open and having a lasting future on Broadway.

I did not attend this performance on a press pass.