THE HANGOVER REPORT – The musical adaptation of THE GREAT GATSBY delivers on the glitz but falls short on poetry

Jeremy Jordan, Eva Noblezada, and the cast of “The Great Gatsby” at the Broadway Theatre (photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman).

Last night, the stage adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby opened on the Great White Way at the Broadway Theatre. The new musical arrives in the midst of a busy spring theater season after last fall’s successful run at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ. For those of you unfamiliar with Fitzgerald’s novel, it tells the story of Nick Carraway and his involvement with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who pines for and continues to be smitten with his ex-girlfriend Daisy Buchanan (who also happens to be Nick’s longtime friend).

The musical features a score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen and a book by Kait Kerrigan. Together, they’ve been able to shape Fitzgerald’s amorphous plot, clarifying each character’s motivations and efficiently laying out the novel’s heady stream of events. Such refocusing, however, has come at the consequence of the book’s seductive Jazz Age poetry. Instead, The Great Gatsby has turned its attention to the era’s decadence and extravagance, which Marc Bruni’s eye candy of a production most certainly delivers. And although Tyson and Kerrigan’s songs are largely pleasing — and occasionally soaring in their anthemic declarations — there’s a certain hollowness and superficiality that pervades the adaptation, which somewhat works as a commentary on the superficiality of the society being depicted (although I think this is an unintentional effect).

This big commercial production is led by a pair of attractive Broadway favorites — Jeremy Jordan (Newsies) and Eva Noblezada (Hadestown, Miss Saigon) — as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, respectively. Unsurprisingly, their vocals are nothing less than thrilling, and they bring to genuine heart and commitment to their portrayals. Indeed, the most compelling moments of the musical are their love scenes. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast aren’t able to give much dimension to their roles. Even the central role character of Nick — played gamely by Noah J. Ricketts — fails to make much of an impact.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

THE GREAT GATSBY
Broadway, Musical
Broadway Theatre
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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