“The Great Gatsby” dazzled with feathers and flamboyance

By Elizabeth Voss, Arts Angle Reporter

Louisville Collegiate School, Class of 2027

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The curtain rose on Gatsby, back turned, arm outstretched toward that infamously unreachable light. A screen swept across him, revealing Nick, who opened the performance with his father’s advice -- just as Fitzgerald wrote his novel.

It’s only fitting that Broadway’s electric rendition of “The Great Gatsby” opened its tour in Louisville around the 100th anniversary of the book’s publication. Louisville, after all, is where charming socialite Daisy (Senzel Ahmady) grew up. Her home is even inspired by a park-side residence in the Highlands of Louisville, whose grand staircase beckons visitors inside her gilded cage.

The first national touring company of “The Great Gatsby.” Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. Courtesy of PNC Broadway in Louisville.

From the start, the production balanced reverence for the novel with theatrical flair. “Roaring On” burst forward with dramatic silhouettes covered in gold and purple flapper costumes, harmonies weaving storytelling into spectacle. Linda Cho’s lavish and breathtaking costume designs charmed as actors embodied the 1920s flapper flair with extravagance.

Paul Tate dePoo III’s scenic design included seamless set changes that carried the captivated crowd from glittering West Egg excess to Daisy’s softer world of old money refinement, while it also devised a god-like presence of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s billboard looming over the elite.

See Arts Angle Newsroom reviews of the touring production of "The Great Gatsby" musical from PNC Broadway in Louisville in LEO Weekly.

The contrast between new and old money, a theme throughout Fitzgerald’s writing, was striking. Gatsby’s parties exploded with jewel tones, shimmer, and feathers. The iconic yellow Rolls-Royce sumptuously rolled across the stage, while Daisy’s world of class felt delicate, yet suffocating behind lush, pink curtains. While Daisy’s friend Jordan Baker (Leanne Robinson) hints that “the world is changing,” Daisy’s quiet confessions reveal suffering bound by the constraints of marriage, especially with a husband like Tom Buchanan (Will Branner), a true brute of the 20th century. Daisy’s old love, Gatsby, is both myth and man: an enticing, formal figurehead, who no one can quite piece together, framed as a self-made illusion through a clever Frankenstein allusion.

The music, dancing, and the quintessential ties to Fitzgerald were enthralling. Dominique Kelley’s rhythmic choreography told a story through both jazzy and graceful movement, mirroring the novel’s emotional pulse. Even more dazzling were the impeccable tap dancers, who leaped across the stage in silvery blue outfits, a simple addition that was truly spectacular.

A look at the cast of first national touring company of “The Great Gatsby.” The Great Gatsby Musical Instagram account.

The music reverberated from long, emotional belts of desire to jazzy, danceable beats. While the plot was adapted for the stage through song, Fitzgerald’s commentary on love, the American Dream, and the destructive nature of the elite were prominent, with recognizable direct quotes from the novel that resonated with fans.

The show closed as it began: an image of Gatsby silhouetted once more with arm extended toward the green light as Nick looked on. The cast sang a line that reverberated: “That light across the river is always out of reach, so why do we…keep reaching?” The image lingered. The damage has been done. Lives have been flipped inside out by the irreparable choices of the loved and the loveless.