"The Great Gatsby," or Will I Spend My Entire Day to See Eva Noblezada?

A good question to ask yourself when you're stuck on NJ Transit.

Hello! Welcome to Not to Be Dramatic, a newsletter about theater from a Gen Zer. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on theater in and around New York with a younger theater goer’s lens. I hope this newsletter entertains you, helps you learn more about theater, and maybe encourages you to see a show (and not at a crazy price — I’ll be including all of my cheaper ticket recs :)).

Here we go! I’m starting with a show that’s been on the Internet’s mind: “The Great Gatsby” at Paper Mill Playhouse.

Here’s the gist: 

• How I found out about it: TikTok!

• Why I went: Eva Noblezada, The Warring Gatsbys

• How I got tickets: Paper Mill Playhouse does 30 Under 30 tickets! I chose seats and used their promo code online, then my friend and I both had to show our IDs when we picked them up at the box office.

One of the biggest topics of theater TikTok this fall has been “The Two Gatsbys.” “The Great Gatsby,” the read-this-in-high-school-English-class-and-learn-about-symbolism book, entered the public domain in 2021, which meant that anyone could start using the book for creative material. And two very notable “anyones” created musicals out of it.

This first is “The Great Gatsby” at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, which went up in October of this year, starring Eva Noblezada of “Hadestown” (and my heart) and Jeremy Jordan of “Newsies” (and tenor popularity). The second is “Gatsby,” which will premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Boston next summer, with music by Florence Welch (yes, that one, of the Machine!) and directed by Rachel Chavkin (who also directed “Hadestown”). There haven’t been any cast announcements for the latter, but TikTok is all abuzz — perhaps my high school theater nemesis Rachel Zegler? Who’s to say?

I was lucky to see Paper Mill Playhouse’s “The Great Gatsby” right before Halloween, and unlucky to get stuck in what might be a conventional event for a Paper Mill Playhouse journey: NJ Transit. This situation begged the question: was it worth it to center my entire day on seeing Eva Noblezada? Yes. Was it worth it to center my entire day on seeing this particular adaptation of “The Great Gatsby”? Maybe.

Paper Mill’s “The Great Gatsby” is big, bold, and gold. The set is larger than life, elegantly moving from an elaborate, high-ceiling mansion to the dreary gas station — which features a giant sign with the famous glasses advertisement. There are real cars on stage and moments in New York City™, most of which are elevated with the use of projections on the back screen. The green light in the lighthouse is particularly clever, a small but poignant dot in the distance. 

The actors don’t get swallowed in the set, either, but rather are illuminated in fun, period costumes. I particularly enjoyed seeing Eva Noblezada in a different dress every time she reappeared on stage. 

Yet as for an adaptation, “The Great Gatsby” is more like SparkNotes on stage. 

The musical is more broad strokes on the plot, giving us the main storylines we all know and maybe love, staying mostly true to what’s in the book (at least, what I remember of the book from high school, but it really hones in on those symbols we had to write multiple essays about. Literally, there’s a song called “Green Light).

Despite that, it’s enjoyable. It’s engaging, fun to watch, and I was never bored or looking at the time. It’s paced well, but I can’t give all the credit to the show’s writers — by staying true to the book, it takes what the book does well.

But it also loses some of the character exploration and introspection that the book gives us. Usually, I’d expect some dramatic singing from characters to let us know how they’re feeling, but this musical’s main character exploration is making Jeremy Jordan an anxious, overly embarrassed in love Gatsby, and Daisy a torn woman whose real past is only revealed in one beautiful song just a few minutes before bows. We miss so much of the inner dialogue, especially Nick’s, leaving the show to the bare bones of action, less focused on character development.

The choice for this show to be more of a remake rather than an adaptation frustrates me. Why are we putting this on? Why right now? When you don’t put up an original story on stage, I feel like there needs to be something new, inspiring, or exciting about why you’re taking the time and asking audiences to give their money to see it now. Why do English classes still read “The Great Gatsby?” Why should we, a hundred years later, see it on stage? This show didn’t answer that for me.

So while I was very annoyed about being stuck on the train on the way back from New Jersey, I think spending the day going to see Eva Noblezada, and the rest of the cast, was worth it — not in the material itself, but in the performances. I loved the glitz and glam of it all, especially hearing Jeremy and Eva together on stage. The rest of the cast were powerhouses, making the most of material that might not have shone on its own. 

If it comes to Broadway, I’ll be curious how much of the material they change. Will they push harder to make this production more than a touch-up and sing-along version of an old tale? Will there be something more? 

Either way, I’d be curious to go back to see it, especially if it just means getting on the subway.

Thanks for reading my first post! :)