THE GREAT GATSBY at Paper Mill Playhouse - Critics’ Reviews- Page 6

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 11:09am

Interesting that they're doing Monday nights, Tuesdays off, and Thursday matinees.

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 11:27am

Kad said: "It seems very unlikely they’ve had time to make any major changes. They’re rushing this in to beat the Chavkin-Welch version and it seems likely that strategy could very well backfire."

From everything I've heard, I don't know that this would ever be able to make the changes necessary. It sounds like Great Gatsby by people who fundamentally don't understand Great Gatsby. 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 11:32am

TaffyDavenport said: "Interesting that they're doing Monday nights, Tuesdays off, and Thursday matinees."

It's not unheard of. That's what most West End show schedules are like. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 11:38am

Make that two shows officially opening on April 25 now (joining Mother Play).

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 11:46am

I think this is all just so they can get ahead of the licensing and get this out to regional theaters and high schools before the ART one.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 12:52pm

RippedMan said: "I think this is all just so they can get ahead of the licensing and get this out to regional theaters and high schools before the ART one."

This and the tax write-off they’re going to get when it closes are the only reasons this show is transferring. There are no other reasons. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 1:32pm

Don’t tell the Jordan and Noblezada fans over on Reddit that! 

[Kad]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 2:00pm

BroadwayNYC2 said: "Don’t tell the Jordan and Noblezada fans over on Reddit that!"

Most of them won't be buying tickets to this anyway and will just be watching bootlegs- that's the downside to having young fanbases, they usually can't get to the city or afford tickets on their own.

[BossBroadway]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 2:21pm

I think we need to stop pretending that good material = long run and bad material = short run. This show is very much a property that people will flock to, regardless of the quality. It's a tourist trap, and one that people will fall for. 

[Kad]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 2:49pm

BossBroadway said: "I think we need to stop pretending that good material = long run and bad material = short run. This show is very much a property that people will flock to, regardless of the quality. It's a tourist trap, and one that people will fall for."

It may be true of some properties, but it's hardly true of all (and I'm not sure The Great Gatsby is a property that is something that will automatically be a draw). Broadway history is littered with things that on paper should have been critic-proof and weren't.

[BossBroadway]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 3:30pm

I won't say this is entirely critic-proof, but I think it is at least through Labor Day, and will pull through the holidays. I expect a January closing at the earliest. The Great Gatsby is a very popular property, literally everyone knows what it is, have read the book, or seen the movie(s). School groups will flock to this show. I'd be more worried about shows like Water For Elephants or Suffs than this. 

[inception]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 4:21pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Interesting that they're doing Monday nights, Tuesdays off, and Thursday matinees."

Good schedule for tourists.  Phantom & Chicago made the most of Mondays for a very long time, and Six is taking advantage of it as well now.

$48 tickets aren't bad...I've paid more to sleep through worse.

Updated On: 1/16/24 at 04:21 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 4:27pm

As always with any adaptation of popular IP, people must CARE about this version of it, not merely know about it. Everyone knows Groundhog Day and Charlie in the Chocolate Factory and Tootsie and King Kong and Jane Eyre and Tale of Two Cities and Little Women. Those flopped on Broadway.

The good news is Great Gatsby is a very promotable property, and it promises a glamorous & entertaining evening IF people go for it. But you have to get them to care, and the musical must stand separately from the book and the films and the immersive Gatsbys. This show could do big business on the road, with licensing, and internationally, but some of that will depend on how it does in NYC.

This show can succeed, but it's as risky as any other big musical in this climate.

[amiyagi]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 4:55pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Interesting that they're doing Monday nights, Tuesdays off, and Thursday matinees."

Happy to see more shows starting to vary their schedules like the West End does. I was on the fence about this but the fact it has a Thursday matinee means I'll buy a ticket. Discounted because there's no way this sells out the Broadway but a ticket I wouldn't have bought otherwise. 

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 1/16/24 at 7:04pm

It's interesting to Austin Colby in the ensemble. I follow him on Instagram and he hasn't talked about this show. I thought he had left the Frozen tour to star in the DDLJ Musical.