Review: THE GREAT GATSBY at National Theatre
Recommended for those individuals who are looking for something different.
The current touring production of the Broadway musical The Great Gatsby tries to wrap its hand around the elusive and enigmatic novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald but can only succeed on the most basic level. It is a daunting task to try and adapt extremely poetic and enigmatic works like The Great Gatsby to any visual medium (in this, I do agree with critic John Simon ---there are really no optic equivalents to this type of writing ---as five flawed film adaptations have proven).
Luckily, director Marc Bruni, and the production’s technical wizards ( standouts in the show are the top-notch costumes by Linda Cho, lighting by Cory Pattak, and set design by Paul Tate DePoo III) aided by an explosive ensemble, have worked to the utmost to bring the audiences a production that can muster up a wealth of the “Jazz Age” feel that this source material demands. It is only in the more nuanced, illusory, and finely tuned moments of the musical that the production strains.
Themes on class, the outsider /outlier figure, time’s transitoriness, guilt, propriety, revenge, and so forth are all embedded in the musical -----The book by Kait Kerrigan is adequate but fails to capture the allusive quality of the source material/the novel. choices that the book author chose were interesting at times but seemed flaccid or unconvincing at other times.
I kept thinking to myself as this musical continued----if this musical were produced and developed into a four-hour opera, its conceits and symbolism would be much more effective. The musical is straining to be something more pointed and challenging than the conventional musical format allows---at the very least, there should be surtitles for the amount of dialogue and the near-operatic songs. I seriously could not imagine anyone hearing each and every of the spoken lines and lyrics.
Jake David Smith’s portrayal of the mysterious central character, Jay Gatsby, starts tentatively but builds in mesmerizing power as the second act occurs. Mr. Smith uses subtle craftsmanship by developing his character’s secretive nature slowly by increments. Mr. Smith constantly keeps one guessing as to what he will do next and this is the secret of his amazing performance. Mr. Smith soars in his rendition of the song of his love for Daisy –“For Her” and the transporting ensemble number “Past is Catching Up to Me.”
Joshua Grosso’s scores as the ever-responsible character of Nick Carraway . Mr. Grosso’s gentle, rambunctious “old sport”, delivers a witty rendition of visiting “The Met.”
Tally Sessions, as the forlorn mechanic Wilson who suffers at the hand of the uncaring rich upper class and an unfaithful wife, gives an astute and extremely well-thought-out performance. Mr. Sessions’ delivery of the hellish “Valley of Ashes” and the ominous and paranoid “God Sees Everything” is masterly.
Lila Coogan as the desperate Myrtle shows superb acting chops and sings the hell out of the anxiety ridden “One Way Road.”
Senzel Ahmady is miscast as Daisy ---in any event, she was not at all the portrait of a woman who is “to the manor born.” Ms. Ahmady’s voice is spectacular in the ironic and sad “Beautiful Little Fool” ---but her interpretation of Daisy evokes a very commonplace, average person who seems to belong to the world of the fish markets—but, decidedly, not the aristocratic milieu.
Leanne Robinson come across as merely one-dimensional and petulant without even a soupcon of wit or iconoclastic riposte as Jordan Baker.
Will Branson as the belligerent Tom Buchanan lacks edge in his performance.
The music by Jason Howland is variegated and often compels extra auditory interest . There are ballads, ravishing romantic songs and mesmerizing solo numbers that have the power of operatic arias. Lyrics by Nathan Tysen are replete with verbal references to the machinations and symbolic themes of the F. Scott Fitzgerald source material. The cynicism of the musical Chicago, the swift tap-dancing ambience of the musical 42nd Street and the ominous opening chords of Sweeney Todd all seem to be influences in this ambitious musical.
Orchestrations by Jason Howland and Kim Scharnberg are lush and evocative, music supervision and arrangements by Mr. Howland and music coordination by John Miller are all adroitly managed.
Music director Charlie Alterman also conducts a thirteen -piece orchestra with aplomb.
Choreography by Dominique Kelley is exciting and versatile,-- full of explosive vigor but I had a limited view of the stage as my seat was far right and one-third of the stage was not visible; consequently, I was unable to view the organic whole of the dancing. Tap -dancing in “Past is Catching up to Me” is extraordinarily well-done.
Scenic design by Paul Tate DePoo III is phenomenal in effect. Large cityscapes, the Plaza hotel, Gatsby’s huge mansion, Gatsby’s library, Nick’s cottage, Gatsby’s swimming pool, cloudy skies, green light/blinking light projections, the eyes of God watching via an optician’s billboard sign, and so forth are all very impressively conveyed. There was much depth to the scenery as it became magnified in replication from downstage to upstage (there were even two automobiles from the period onstage, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how they got them onstage ---perhaps, they were shipped to the theatre in pre-assembled parts and configured onstage?).
With some reservations, this musical production of The Great Gatsby can be recommended for those individuals who are looking for something different. Indeed, this production can be commended for its ambitious music, and strong technical components.
Running Time: Two Hours and twenty-five minutes with one twenty-minute intermission
The Great Gatsby runs through May 24, 2026 at The National Theatre located at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.
Photo credit: Joshua Grosso in the National Tour of The Great Gatsby.
Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.
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