Review: THE GREAT GATSBY at The Hippodrome

When F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby danced its way off the page and into the American consciousness, it became one of the defining portraits of the hedonistic, halcyon Roaring Twenties. The production that opened this week at The Hippodrome Theatre roars and struts, sparkles and shines, and beautifully captures the spirit of the story — if not always its heart.

This story of unfortunate and decidedly unlucky lovers was a great read for me as a dream-addled teenager in the ’70s. And when it was turned into a star-powered mega-movie with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, it made me long to have been alive during those heady, pre-Depression days when bootleg liquor and rampant passions flowed like water. Of course, I would have had to be a skinny, rich white lady to get the full effect I envisioned. Anyway, that world is excellently depicted in the musical.

With music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and a libretto by Kait Kerrigan that mostly hews to the original tale, the issues Fitzgerald explored are showing their age. Still, it remains a compelling story. The themes run to misplaced love, yearning for the unattainable, and the realization that dreams don’t always match reality once achieved. It can also be summed up more flippantly like this: be careful what you wish for — you might just get it. By evening’s end, the moral decay and decadence simmering just below the glittering surface are in full glory.

First published in 1925, the book has been adapted into several movies, stage plays, and even an opera. The Broadway version that opened in 2024 has been quite successful and, despite mixed reviews, it’s a big, brassy, splashy bonbon of a classic Broadway musical — made even better by being hosted at Baltimore’s premier theatre, The Hippodrome. I love putting on a nice outfit, having a bite before the curtain rises, and settling into a seat (yes, they are a little small, but I honestly don’t mind that much — been to a Broadway show lately?)

So what’s all the brouhaha about? Let’s sum it up: Nick Carraway is a nice boy from Minnesota with an accounting background and a new job in the Big Apple. He’s renting a guest house in West Egg near the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby, a man with a mysterious past and a secret agenda. Nick’s cousin Daisy Buchanan lives across the bay in East Egg. She’s from the wealthy side of the family, you know. Daisy is married to a philandering cad named Tom, who’s having an affair with a married floozy named Myrtle. Myrtle, in turn, is married to a very nice mechanic named George, even as she carries on with Tom whenever possible. Her plan is to get him to leave his wife and become her meal ticket, sugar daddy, one-way ticket out of the wrong side of the tracks. Sadly, she doesn’t realize until too late that the love of a good man like her husband is far more fulfilling than chasing a married man who’s never going to be her salvation.

But back to the Buchanan household. Daisy’s Best Friend is the beautiful, confirmed bachelorette Jordan. Nick takes a shine to Jordan, who initially rejects him but finally relents — Nick’s easy charm wins her over. Big plot twist — all of Jay Gatsby’s wealth was carefully orchestrated to impress Daisy. It seems they met and had a fling five years earlier. Jay went off to war and returned determined to buy his way into a lifestyle that would win him the hand of the lovely Daisy. So everyone is all coupled up — for a hot minute. The point this story makes is that very little is exactly as it seems, and love will not save you every time. Watching these lives unravel and spiral toward a murderous conclusion is what made the book so readable. Frankly, only a couple of characters possess any real redeeming social value. It is an aptly told testament to how great wealth and the pursuit thereof can throw even the best intentions under the proverbial bus. Throw in some lavish ensemble numbers and a handful of catchy songs, and you have one fine evening’s entertainment.

In the beautiful facility where Broadway’s best play in Baltimore, the house seems entirely fitting for a production of this scale. A special nod to the open-caption display at stage right, which made catching every lyric and line effortless. Not having to strain to hear every word was a small luxury that paid big dividends. Director Marc Bruni has expertly assembled an award-winning team to bring this big story to the stage. Under his guidance, the myriad moving pieces, both onstage and off, come together smoothly, even in scenes that drag the teensiest bit.

Dominique Kelley’s choreography is truly wonderful. The ensemble struts, taps, sashays, and shimmies as if they’d time-traveled from the 1920s to appear onstage. Jason Howland’s musical direction is particularly spot-on. No big surprise — he wrote the score. The music is well performed and period-perfect.

The outstanding set design by Paul Tate DePoo III is nothing short of spectacular, with Art Deco panels sliding in and out, up and down, suggesting various settings with beautifully rendered backdrops of Long Island Sound, the New York skyline, and the sprawling grounds of both Gatsby’s and the Buchanan estates. Linda Cho’s Tony Award–winning costumes are absolutely dazzling, and Cory Pattak’s lighting design is damn near magical.

Senzel Ahmady and Jake David Smith, as Daisy and Jay Gatsby, both have outstanding voices and a beautiful elegance. Lila Coogan as Myrtle and Talley Sessions as George bring just the right amount of grit to their roles. Leanne Robinson pairs hard edges with the voice of an angel as Jordan. Will Branner is appropriately smarmy as Tom Buchanan, and Edward Staudenmayer nails the shady bootlegger Meyer Wolfsheim.

But for my dime, it’s Joshua Grosso’s Nick Carraway who brings the heart and the conscience. Vocally, they don’t get much better — on Broadway or anywhere else, for that matter. There’s a genuine innocence to his Nick, the only one onstage with a true moral compass.

The Great Gatsby is a welcome diversion from the weather and the general tone of things. Glitter, glamour, secrets and betrayals, promises made and hearts broken — all deliciously displayed for just a few nights in Baltimore. We need more of this, please. Now, I think I’ll go have a martini.