THE GREAT GATSBY Opening Night Critics’ Reviews- Page 4

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 5/5/24 at 5:01pm

Honestly the best way to enjoy the show is just to forget everything you know about Gatsby and just imagine you're going into a campy melodrama with 1920s escapism.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/5/24 at 5:41pm

I read it in high school, but didn’t really care for it.  I don’t understand why people are so in love with this novel.  It was a complete flop when it came out, but for some reason people are so precious about it.  As far as the musical is concerned, they are clearly trying to replicate the success of Moulin Rouge which is why they keep emphasizing the party.  Except Gatsby is better than MR

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/6/24 at 2:22pm

They did a nice job on GMA.  It was much better than what Water for elephants and heart of rock and roll did. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/6/24 at 2:36pm

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/6/24 at 2:51pm

[BdwayLife]

Posted: 5/6/24 at 8:14pm

Thanks Edsoslo! Gosh, I loved that show. Two weeks later, and it's the only one I still think about, of the five I saw. I hope to see it again, when I come back to the city, fall or early January (if they extend). 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 5/6/24 at 8:25pm

that GMA performance wasnt half bad (though sounds like Jordan struggled with that note at the end).

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 5/6/24 at 8:32pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "that GMA performance wasnt half bad (though sounds like Jordan struggled with that note at the end)."

I’m thinking about going to see this. I have hated almost every critically acclaimed show that has opened this season. Maybe I’ll be into a giant spectacle. 

[lurkz2]

Posted: 5/6/24 at 9:10pm

It wasn’t Jordan who struggled with that last note.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/1clqqml/gatsby_on_gma/

 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/6/24 at 9:30pm

Yeah it was her at the end, but I think his start was a little rough.  Still a lovely performance, hopefully it sold some tix!

[getatme]

Posted: 5/8/24 at 12:00am

Saw this Saturday evening and found the whole thing pretty abysmal.

Gone is any mystery behind Gatsby because every single character tells you exactly what their motivations are, how they're feeling, and what they're going to do the first second they come onstage. Gatsby's first song explaining that he created his image for Daisy strips the entire evening of any sense of mystery, and sets the tone for the rest of the show.

The music isn't tuneless at all, but it lacks any and all character. It's just modern musical theatre pop music with overly obvious and repetitive lyrics. The book has the same shape as the novel, sure, but again, lacks any and all nuance. So much of the book is what is not said, what's happening in the background. The musical brings everything to the light so there's never a chance to wonder where things are going to go. With Gatsby/Daisy's affair being played out right in front of the audience (and half the characters onstage), it takes away any amount of tension in the hotel confrontation.

Vocally? Sure, everyone is impressive, but not one person up on that stage is performing in the same show. They seem like a group of people who received their scripts at home and then showed up onstage at the same time.

Jeremy's mid-atlantic accent is--beside anachronistic--just one in a laundry list of baffling character choices. Gatsby being played as a bumbling, anxious idiot doesn't mesh at all with the way the man is described by the other characters. Eva Noblezada seems completely checked out already. Samantha Pauly delivers every line with the exact same dry intonation and never deviates. Noah Ricketts is trying, but this Nick Carraway has been so stripped of anything that might make him interesting (why, oh why, is the "relationship" between Jordan/Nick being treated as a genuine love story?) that he's facing an uphill battle. Sara Chase is largely fine, though she and Paul Whitty are saddled with the most insane Long Island accents I've ever heard. John Zdrojeski is the only one seemingly playing the role from the novel, but the writers so clearly hate Tom that they have removed him from any scenes that don't have anything to do with Gatsby/Daisy so we're left with a man who is just kind of...angry and onstage.

The set is large and flashy and mostly fine, if excessive. The costumes oscillate between lovely and incredibly gaudy and tacky.

The direction is poor. The choreography is good but so incredibly modern with no attempt to place it in the appropriate era.

As long as Rachel Chavkin/Florence Welch/Martyna Majok's Gatsby is even remotely palatable, it can't be worse than this dreck.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/10/24 at 5:23pm

The company will perform on Jimmy Fallon this Wednesday. 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/10/24 at 5:59pm

 

Updated On: 5/10/24 at 05:59 PM

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/16/24 at 8:00am

 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 5/16/24 at 8:03am

Another stunning performance. Their marketing has been masterful 

[Owen22]

Posted: 5/16/24 at 8:55am

Broadway Flash said: "They did a nice job on GMA. It was much better than what Water for elephants and heart of rock and roll did."

Because, simply, The Great Gatsby has consistently better songs than any other of the big spring shows.  You can argue about the adaptation, but this musical has a way better ratio of catchy uptunes and gorgeous ballads. The opening number has already taken over Tik Tok and the idea that Gatsby's score wasn't even nominated for a Tony is ludicrous.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/16/24 at 5:23pm

Owen22 said: "Broadway Flash said: "They did a nice job on GMA. It was much better than what Water for elephants and heart of rock and roll did."

Because, simply, The Great Gatsby has consistently better songs than any other of the big spring shows. You can argue about the adaptation, but this musical has a way better ratio of catchy uptunes and gorgeous ballads. The opening number has already taken over Tik Tok and the idea that Gatsby's score wasn't even nominated for a Tony is ludicrous."

Sadly; it’s not a very high bar.  I left this show not remembering one song .  And Tik Tok is not the measure of anything.   Tony nominating committee got it right.

[sm33]

Posted: 5/17/24 at 10:36am

Maybe it's because the comments and reviews posted here lowered my expectations tremendously, but I saw this yesterday and enjoyed it! Is it a good adaptation of the book? No. But it's a spectacle of a production, and entertaining in its own right.

The set design is incredible - I loved how they blended the practical sets and projections. The costumes deserved that Tony nom. Jeremy, Eva and Sam all sounded fabulous - Eva was the main reason I ended up deciding to go (well, that and the fact that it has a Thursday matinee), and she delivered. I love how her voice fills a room, and her duets with Jeremy really soared. We had an understudy for Nick, who was okay. The main drawback to the show for me is that the ensemble songs just don't work at all tonally, especially contrasted with what Nick is narrating, and it's jarring in a bad way.

I would certainly appreciate a Gatsby adaptation that is more in tune with the novel, and I hope the upcoming version fits that bill. But if you are on the fence, I'd recommend checking it out for yourself. We're in the middle of a week in the city checking out this season's shows, and while this wasn't my favorite by a long shot, I'm glad we saw it.

[Skip23]

Posted: 5/17/24 at 10:34pm

Why is everybody in this show doing a scream fest?   Stand Center stage and scream your song into the void.
 

One of the more annoying shows of the season

 

Not an ounce of subtlety  - and any relationship to the original material is purely coincidental  

 

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/17/24 at 11:29pm

My son referred to it as the solo scream box.