Chavkin-directed GATSBY musical from Welch and Majok to premiere in 2024

So exciting! Can't wait!!!!

Chavkin and Sayeh is one of the most thrilling contemporary director/choreographer combos I can think of. This already sounds like an event.

I feel like all the shows coming from ART seem lacking in the technical elements given the confines of the space. I love the team behind this so hopefully they'll prove me wrong. But I felt like the Waitress / 1776 stagings were so boring.

RippedMan said: "I feel like all the shows coming from ART seem lacking in the technical elements given the confines of the space. I love the team behind this so hopefully they'll prove me wrong. But I felt like the Waitress / 1776 stagings were so boring."

I agree that most of the stuff coming out of A.R.T. for the last several years has been garbage (don't forget about Jagged, too). However, we also got The Great Comet out of there, which Chavkin was behind. If anyone has the prowess and experience to do it there, it's definitely her.

RippedMan said: "I feel like all the shows coming from ART seem lacking in the technical elements given the confines of the space. I love the team behind this so hopefully they'll prove me wrong. But I felt like the Waitress / 1776 stagings were so boring."

Those may be Diane issues, and she's not directing this.

The issue is that ART's stage is not comparable to Broadway. I don't know if their new space is going to more resemble a Broadway house, but that would seem wise if the goal is to churn out more shows for Bway.

Call_me_jorge said: "ElephantLoveMedley said: "Chavkin and Sayeh is one of the most thrilling contemporary director/choreographer combos I can think of. This already sounds like an event."

They’re also working together on a Black Swan adaptation, I believe, by Dave Malloy. Definitely a dream team of collaborators."

Omg, I need this immediately?!?!?

DiscoCrows said: "Just thinking back chronologically, did PIPPIN ever have this issue? For those that saw it there."

I'm blurring the two productions now, but going by photos they look EXTREMELY similar design-wise. There are some noticeable differences, but the bones are all there. (There were changes in choreo and other areas.) But that was overall a pretty compact production.

I'm very excited about this one, and have high hopes for the upcoming "Evita" as well. I do have to disagree with your concert about A.R.T. staging. The recently mounted "Life of Pi" was very well done, and a couple of years back, before the shutdown, they did a SPECTACULAR job with "Moby-Dick," which totally deserves a second chance somewhere. There are also plans afoot to move to a new space, so I'm confident they'll continue to thrive.

Updated On: 2/28/23 at 07:52 AM

Rebecca Frecknall had been attached to this for so long, strange she's dropped out. Was really excited about her working on this. Maybe she's bringing both Cabaret and Streetcar over, because can't see her dropping this over one production only.

Not sure how much Chavkin had in shaping Hadestown's narrative, but I think she can steer them in the right direction.

RippedMan said: "Not sure how much Chavkin had in shaping Hadestown's narrative, but I think she can steer them in the right direction."

Chavkin certainly knows how to make a beautiful looking production. I personally find her shows to be devoid of emotion. I know I'm in the minority, but I was bored silly by Comet and Hadestown. I found them both cold as can be. But she's laughing all the way to the bank so what do I know :)

https://www.theatermania.com/news/catching-up-with-martyna-majok-on-cost-of-living-and-her-great-gatsby-musical_1697083

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How’s The Great Gatsby going?
Oh my God, it’s so great. I’m having a wonderful time. I can’t wait to share the music. The music sounds extraordinary. It’s like the music that I listen to on my runs. It was very meaningful to revisit that book in the depth of the pandemic, in my 30s.

Why?
The story takes place after the end of a World War and after a pandemic that killed a third of the world’s population, mostly young people. I understood the kind of feral hunger of the parties and everybody trying to pursue meaning to make up for the death and destruction they had witnessed. I had a hard time writing original work during the pandemic, so working on this helped me process my feelings without looking directly at our pandemic.

How does the experience of working on a musical differ from the relatively solitary world of writing a play?
I hate writing. [Laughs] And one of the main reasons I hate writing is because of how lonely it is. I write to be able to get access to the rehearsal room and work with generous artists. So this kind of jumps the gun, because you’re less lonely earlier. You have someone else who is in the thick of the creative process that you’re in constant conversation with. There’s a camaraderie. It’s just nice to be working on something that you just want to spend your time on even when you’re off-duty. It’s also been fun to collaborate with Florence Welch. She’s very down to play and have conversations about deep topics.