Exclusive: Tour Backstage at THE GREAT GATSBY with Paul Tate dePoo III

Creating the world of a Broadway musical is no easy task. In fact, audiences at the Broadway Theatre can expect a whopping 53 visual scene changes during every performance of The Great Gatsby. The environments of East Egg, West Egg, and Jazz Age New York City are brought to life through the genius of Paul Tate DePoo III, who won a Dram Desk Award last year for his scenic and projection designs.

Deciding how to integrate video was a huge part of dePoo's design process. “As the set designer, you're usually the first of the creatives to talk with the director,” he explained to BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge. “Marc Bruni and I sat down and as the conversation started rolling, and once I realized that video was a word we were using often, I analyzed: are we doing video to be an extension of the scenery? As soon as I realized that, then I started to say, 'Ok, let's consider both.' It's usually a process of me figuring out where to go with it.”

BroadwayWorld is taking you backstage at The Great Gatsby with a four-part video series spotlighting its incredible creators. Watch in this video as dePoo tells us more about the musical's extravagant sets.