The Great Gatsby on Broadway

When I saw Jeremy Jordan in concert earlier this year, he performed "For Her" from his forthcoming musical The Great Gatsby and I loved the song so much I decided then and there that I wanted to see it!  Since I was already going to be in New York for Hold on to Me Darling, I got a ticket for Saturday night and I considered seeing Jeremy Jordan as the cherry on top of an epic day!  Unfortunately, Jay Gatsby was being performed by the understudy that night but, even though I was a bit disappointed, I still really loved the show.  The musical is based on the novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald and tells the story of how an eccentric and mysterious self-made millionaire named Jay Gatsby (Austin Colby) attempts to rekindle a romance with his former lover Daisy Buchanan (Eva Noblezada) by throwing lavish parties to get her attention.  It is narrated by Gatsby's neighbor and Daisy's cousin Nick Carraway (Alex Prakken) as he becomes more and more disillusioned by the careless behavior of Daisy, her husband Tom (John Zdrojeski), and her friend Jordan Baker (Samantha Pauley) which leads to tragedy (there were so many audible gasps at the conclusion it made me wonder how many people in the audience had read the book).  The musical emphasizes the romance between Nick and Jordan a lot more than in the book and the role of Meyer Wolfsheim (Eric Anderson), who engages in bootlegging with Gatsby, is expanded and includes interactions with George Wilson (Charlie Pollack).  In addition to "For Her," which is my favorite song from the show, I also really liked "My Green Light," when Gatsby and Daisy find each other again, "Past is Catching Up to Me," as Gatsby tries to recreate a party he once attended with Daisy, and "Beautiful Little Fool," where Daisy hopes her daughter will only aspire to be a rich man's wife.  The dancing in "Roaring On," "New Money," and "La Dee Dah With You" is absolutely spectacular and I loved the dazzling costumes and opulent sets (the costumes and sets reminded me of Baz Luhrmann's 2013 movie).  I was also really impressed by all of the effects used in the party scenes and the use of real period cars.  Colby, Prakken, and Pauley are fantastic but Noblezada absolutely blew me away, especially in "For Better or Worse" and "Beautiful Little Fool."  There are some comedic elements, particularly in "The Met" and "Only Tea," that didn't really work for me and create some wild tonal shifts but I enjoyed this show and would definitely recommend it (I'm sure there will be a touring production eventually).