Everyday’s a Party with The Great Gatsby!
Step into Gatsby’s mansion and join the party in this musical rendition of the classic novel!
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a familiar classic that portrays elite 1920s America through a scandalous story. Initially, it wasn’t as popular when it was first published in 1925, but it slowly rose to popularity in the 40s and was named an American classic in the 60s.
It continued to become popular as there are many theatrical and film adaptations throughout the years. The most popular being the one starring Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, the story’s narrator.
When I first watched the film, I immediately fell in love with the cinematic scenes and the grandeur of it all; I just knew I had to read the book to relish and prolong the story for me because I just loved it. The book was even better as Fitzgerald was brilliant in building a flamboyant, jazzy world and making up distinct but well-rounded characters.
When I saw that the adaptation was coming to London’s West End, I knew I just had to watch it and I managed to get the tickets for just £15! The seating was not bad; I could see the entire stage albeit far.
The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, who has recently moved to Long Island, New York, starting a new job as a bond salesman. He rents a bungalow next to the mysterious Jay Gatsby, who is notorious for throwing the grandest parties in town.
On the other side of the bay, lives Nick’s distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband Tom Buchanan, a former football star. One day, Nick gets invited to one of Gatsby’s grand parties and he falls into the world of the rich. Slowly, chaos unravels as he spends more time with them. The story is witty, romantic and has the charm of the American dream to lure you in.
The musical has perfectly encapsulated the grandeur, the jazzy atmosphere and more importantly, elite American in a single stage. The actors were amazing and they nailed every song with their powerful voices, garnering applause from the crowd each time. You might even recognize a familiar face in the cast, Corbin Bleu, the High School Musical star.
I was really shocked when I found out it was the HSM star was the one who played Nick; he was just spectacular, making his character to be more endearing. The rest of the cast are also well-known actors in the theatre world and/or the cinema world, which makes this show hard to resist.
Overall, the performance really transported me to the Roaring 20s and it made the night feel like a never-ending party. Everyone in the creative process of this amazing show really outdid themselves and I was just blown away at the effort put into it. This musical made me fall in love with the story for the third time, and I would recommend it to anyone who is in London and has the chance to see it.
Get tickets for the show before it ends on the 7th of September, old sport!
Written by Althea Scully