Review: THE GREAT GATSBY: A NEW MUSICAL, London Coliseum
Photo credit: Johan Persson
The London Coliseum is one STUNNING venue. Whilst it may not appear so from its exterior at present with its scaffold-covered frontage, inside is where the real beauty is and what better production to match this on a production level than The Great Gatsby: A New Musical, which certainly leaves a trail of sparkle in its midst.
A tiny green light slowly pulses across the bay on the video projected cloth, with Jay Gatsby’s pool rippling in a warm wash of blue light across the front edge of the stage. From the second the orchestra fires up, with those opening notes rising up and out of the pit, filling this beautiful theatre, we are sucked into Gatsby’s world of mystery, love, heartbreak and betrayal. But what’s our illusive protagonist best known for? His parties, of course! And the musical wastes no time in thrusting us back to the roaring 20s.
Linda Cho’s costumes are dazzling, with sequins from the flapper dresses and feathered headbands shining their own light into the auditorium! With Paul Tate DePoo III’s sensational sets and video design providing a canvas for the other design elements, further enhanced by Cory Pattak’s exceptional lighting, it makes for one of the most visually pleasing stage aesthetics we have seen in a long time. There’s a great juxtaposition between the lush, expensive-looking sets representing Gatsby’s palatial estate in Long Island and George Wilson’s run-down gas station, complete with a giant billboard - both as impressive as one another.
Director Marc Bruni has done a great job in helping this cast discover their own take on these famous literary characters, plus filling the vast Coliseum stage and projecting the action to the back and top of the auditorium is no mean feat. Dominique Kelley’s fabulous stylised choreography is delivered with flair and is remarkably tight during the ensemble numbers. It’s also great that the principals get the opportunity to perform some of her intricate choreography, particularly during the super catchy ‘La Dee Dah With You’ complete with epic tap interlude.
Kait Kerrigan’s book has been well adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, with Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen’s songs interweaving the dialogue. ‘Roaring On’ is a great earworm to start the show with, setting the scene perfectly. Whilst not all of the songs are entirely memorable, Howland and Kim Scharnberg’s orchestrations are absolutely divine and paired with this cast’s vocals - mind-blowing.
We don’t think anyone would argue with us when we say that this cast is the starriest in the West End right now! This remarkably talented company, on top of its overall design, catapults the production to a whole new level.
There isn’t a huge build-up to the introduction of the mysterious Jay Gatsby to further enhance the allure surrounding his character, but when we do meet him, Jamie Muscato manages to strike a lovely balance between the confident, wealthy businessman and the nervous, more gentle side of his nature when trying to win back his pre-war sweetheart, Daisy Buchanan. His vocals are always otherworldly and distinctive, with ‘For Her’ really giving him the opportunity to shine. Corbin Bleu (yes, of High School Musical fame) continues to prove his worth in the world of musical theatre, and here as Nick Carraway, he is unfaltering in his delivery throughout, especially having the most stage time of any other cast member. He portrays a very warm and ‘normal’ character, which provides an increased level of relatability and comfort for the audience watching him. Jay and Nick’s serving in the war and the impact of this time on both men is touched upon a great deal in the opening scenes but isn’t developed so that would have been interesting exploration.
Bleu’s chemistry with Amber Davies as Jordan Baker is electric, especially during the joyful ‘Better Hold Tight’, with Davies being a huge standout of the entire show. Her vocals, her dancing, her vivacious characterisation - flawless. Daisy Buchanan is our female lead and Frances Mayli McCann gives an excellent performance but we feel she could delve even deeper and really discover who her Daisy is, which will definitely come as the show’s run progresses - she is an undeniable talent. Her chemistry with Muscato is more than there but it would have been great to create a bit more anticipation leading up to their secret meeting at Nick’s cottage. Their rendition of ‘My Green Light’ is gorgeous.
Rachel Tucker is insanely good as Myrtle Wilson, with her delivery of ‘One-Way Road’ utterly heartbreaking; she just wants a better life but her desperation for this brings with it tragic consequences. Tucker, along with the wonderful Joel Montague as George Wilson, feels massively underused in the first act but Act Two allows for further character development and proves how essential they are to the plot.
Jon Robyns plays “brute” Tom Buchanan with the right amount of menace and vulgarity but never really gets to show off his amazing vocals, unlike John Owen-Jones who opens Act Two brilliantly with ‘Shady’, showing us a different, grittier side to his voice than we are used to. This said, his character of Meyer Wolfsheim seems fairly redundant for the most part.
A lavish, opulent spectacle. This is a party that you need to be on the guest list for, Besties - or should we say, old sport?
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jenny Ell
