THE GREAT GATSBY @ Paper Mill Playhouse Thread- Page 3

[A Director]

Posted: 10/10/23 at 2:34am

There have been three movie versions, a few play versions and an opera; none of them have worked.  And now a WHY musical version. THE GREAT GATSBY works best as a novel.

[pac2015]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 2:15am

Does anyone have an extra ticket or an extra pair for sale? Or if anyone has a ticket or a pair of tickets that they cannot use, please message me. I will buy for a fair price, as ticket prices are listed early in this thread. thank you

EDIT: please send me a PM if you have an extra ticket or an extra pair, or if you have a ticket or a pair of tickets you'd like to sell so I receive an email notification. I saw a pair listed on this forum for sale but it is a date I am unavailable. thank you

Updated On: 10/12/23 at 02:15 AM

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 12:32pm

Cannot wait to see this next Saturday! Anyone gonna be at the First Preview tonight?

[barcelona20]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 12:41pm

Dylan Smith4 said: "Cannot wait to see this next Saturday! Anyone gonna be at the First Preview tonight?"

Yes, will report back. It's pretty incredible that the entire run is already sold out.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 1:13pm

barcelona20 said: "Dylan Smith4 said: "Cannot wait to see this next Saturday! Anyone gonna be at the First Preview tonight?"

Yes, will report back. It's pretty incredible that the entire run is already sold out."

Please do! I was lucky to get a ticket weeks ago. If this version of Gatsby is as good as the songs I heard, I hope it transfers to Broadway! 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 1:25pm

That's the plan Dylan. Im so happy I got my tickets the day they went on sale, got great seats, and I don't even mind traveling to Jersey

Updated On: 10/12/23 at 01:25 PM

[the.hard.part]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 2:38pm

Very limited availability for Thursday/Fri/Sat at the moment.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 3:34pm

From last night's invited dress:

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 4:23pm

Oh boy this is exciting! 

[OMG U Guyz]

Posted: 10/12/23 at 10:29pm

A Director said: "There have been three movie versions, a few play versions and an opera; none of them have worked. And now a WHY musical version. THE GREAT GATSBY works best as a novel."

Gatsby went into the public domain in 2021 so creators don’t have to pay for the rights. 

[barcelona20]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:56am

Observations (while understanding this was a first preview)

Definitely a first preview. Feels like they threw everything out there to see what works and what doesn't before trimming. Show should cut 30 minutes or have more scenes with Jeremy and Eva together, perhaps a flashback.

We already knew this, but Jeremy confirmed that he has one of the best voices in musical theatre. There's a funny video that Papermill made online with Jeremy thinking that he was going to be in Newsies again. Funny enough, the main song he sings, repeatedly I should add, feels veryyyy close to Santa Fe. In fact every time he sings Daisy, I was expecting Santa Fe to come out next, the notes are quite similar.

This brings me to the music. I first should say that I love the Killer Party soundtrack. And I know that many composers music sounds similar, but I definitely heard several of those songs in these songs. It was only my first time hearing the score obviously, but overall I thought the lyrics and music were meh. 

You can tell this show is bound for Broadway with the amount they must have spent on the staging and sets. The biggest problem is that you never want to walk out of a show and the first thing you mention are the sets. 

I'm tired and happy to help with any questions, but wanted to throw out a few initial thoughts.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 1:55am

Disclaimer: I’ve seen readings of this prior.

I found tonight to be quite rough, and did not improve upon any of the readings. Sitting on my thoughts, but this is bland through and through 

[Fire and Music]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 10:49am

I loved it. It was obviously a first preview and had the technical hiccups that come with that. But I thought the score was strong. I liked that it had an ensemble feel. There are some cool effects that I wasn’t expecting. I thought that using the pit as the pool is such a clever use of space. Everyone around me was loving this show. And a lot of the audience dressed up in flapper-inspired outfits, which was so fun! And I think Samantha Pauly is giving a standout performance. Are there things that should and will change? Absolutely. But the bones are very good. Also, probably worth mentioning that the bit with the mask from the rehearsal press clips is not actually in the show.

[MarilynMonroeSmash]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:08am

I attended last night and this was probably one of the worst pieces of theater I have ever seen. 

To preface, I must say the performances are excellent though. The cast is making the most out of nothing. I wish Jeremy was in the Florence Welch production because he’s a great Gatsby; he just has terrible material to work with. I also enjoyed some of the direction and the sets (except for Gatsby’s mansion, which looked like a factory), but the writing was a mess. These authors, especially the book writer, should never be allowed to touch an American classic again.

The score is beyond generic. There is not one song that stands out. They all sound the same and the lyrics are pretty terrible and bland. It felt all surface level for these characters while trying to go deep, but never reaching past ground soil. I think five songs can be cut off right from the bat. Too much music that I don’t think I will ever list to again. And it does all sound like other shows. I couldn’t stop singing Santa Fe at intermission.

Now the book…I am embarrassed for Kait Kerrigan because it is obvious that she failed 11th grade English. She completely misses the point of Fitzgerald’s work and removes everything for Gatsby that makes it Gatsby. She has altered the plot and character motivations way too much to suit her own ego. (Remember she is the person who said she never liked the book before and thought she couldn’t relate to the characters, so the first thing she was going to do was change that!) The story is so uneven and at times feels like more of a love story between Nick and Jordan than Gatsby and Daisy. I can go in detail about all the plot changes if anyone wants because there is a lot. 

I’m not a huge fan of the novel and I understand some things will always have to be changed for a stage adaptation, but I do think when adapting a great American novel, you don’t start rubbing your fingers on it and try “to improve it.” I don’t know where the previous poster was sitting because only the Jeremy and Eva fans enjoyed this or people who have never read the book. There felt like a mutual feeling in the audience that night that we all watched a trainwreck that night. I didn’t hear anyone say a word leaving the theater. Everyone quickly left to get to their cars or trains. I have attending a lot of first previews and the excitement and tension of these performances can usually make **** shine, but no amount of glitter, glue or bleach can make this **** shine.

[Voter]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:14am

This is a creative team that had me hesitant on the overall material... Broadway is in dire need of some decent book writers for real

[singer234]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:39am

I was there and I thought it was fabulous. The people who are not going to like it are not going to like it at all. The people who are going to love it are going to love it. It’ll be interesting to watch this play out.

[Dolly80]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 11:54am

singer234 said: "I was there and I thought it was fabulous. The people who are not going to like it are not going to like it at all. The people who are going to love it are going to love it. It’ll be interesting to watch this play out."


Such a dumb comment.

This always looked like it was going too bad. No one on the creative or writing team is an exciting prospect.

[singer234]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:22pm

Wow, that was so mean, lol.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:26pm

Interesting what people are saying here. I’ll be seeing it the day before opening, so hopefully they can tighten things up by then. Some of the songs I heard from rehearsals sound incredible. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 12:32pm

Such a dumb comment.

Nope, you're just the living worst. It's an opinion that differs from yours and you didn't even see it. 

The people who are not going to like it are not going to like it at all. The people who are going to love it are going to love it

Exactly, agree 100%. Great comment. 

Updated On: 10/13/23 at 12:32 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 3:11pm

I don't believe this was trying to transfer to Broadway this Spring, but it sounds like it needs a lot of work. Maybe they'll attempt a Broadway run by Spring 2025?

[Voter]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 3:17pm

ACL2006 said: "I don't believe this was trying to transfer to Broadway this Spring, but it sounds like it needs a lot of work. Maybe they'll attempt a Broadway run by Spring 2025?"

Not if Florence Welch's Gatsby claims the spring first

[BossBroadway]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 4:06pm

They are fast tracking this show to Broadway before the Florence one even opens to avoid comparison as much as possible. They both intend to come to the great white way. This show is pretty much what you'd expect of a general Great Gatsby musical, and I honestly think that's okay. It's also more commercially appealing because it's what people are used to, whereas Florence's Gatsby is really creating something new with the source material, which is more of a risk. We can debate whether or not one will be more financially successful than the other, but I think we can be fairly certain these will both be coming to Broadway in two different seasons. 

[leefowler]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 4:13pm

I miss the old days, when songs would occasionally modulate away from the tonic.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 10/13/23 at 4:29pm

^Then whatever you do, do not venture to Millburn New Jersey