‘THE GREAT GATSBY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

THE GREAT GATSBY
Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Book by Kait Kerrigan
Music by Jason Howland
Lyrics by Nathan Tysen
Directed by Marc Bruni
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway at 53rd Street
(212-239-6200), www.BroadwayGatsby.com

By David NouNou

Hallelujah! I can finally say that an extravagant, splashy, glitzy musical has landed at the Broadway Theatre by the name of The Great Gatsby.  The show surprisingly sticks to the facts and styling of the way F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote this timeless classic American tale from the late teens and 1920s Jazz Age.

Set in 1917 in both New York City and Long Island, there is the established old-money rich and the nouveau riche. Nick Carraway (Noah J. Ricketts) has just arrived from Minnesota and needs a place to stay, but Manhattan is expensive. He finds there is a little cottage to be rented out by Jay Gatsby (Jeremy Jordan). Gatsby would be new money and he has done everything in his power to reclaim his former love Daisy Buchanan (Eva Noblelzada), now married to Tom Buchanan (John Zdrojeski) who represents old money. Daisy’s father refused to let Daisy marry Jay because he was penniless. So, he went and fought in World War I. Although Tom is very abusive and has constant affairs, including the one with Myrtle Wilson (Sarah Chase)—the local floozy in Queens, who is married to gas-pump jockey George Wilson (Paul Whitty). He thought he was a better match for Daisy. In the mix is also Jordan Baker (Samantha Pauly) who befriends Nick.

Life on the outside is luscious parties galore, champagne is flowing and it was the Jazz Age. That party lasted the whole summer of 1917, when all things and disillusionments started setting in. All the rich people were really quite evil, life and death were meaningless and love was just bounced around as a plaything not to be taken seriously. Jay Gatsby was the best of the best of them and the ultimate loser. He even built that eternal “green light” for Daisy that only he could see from his balcony.

The book by Kait Kerrigan follows F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous narrative almost perfectly. The score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen is melodic, grand and lush. Marc Bruni’s direction is a delight but some of the comedic segments could have been left out.

Which brings us to the two leads: Jeremy Jordan has never been in finer voice and his stage presence was never felt so profoundly. Eva Noblezada has outshined all her screen predecessors, portraying Daisy with the right mix of strength and vulnerability. They make a dynamic duo indeed.

What gives lushness to the proceedings is Paul Tate De Poo III’s scenic and projection designs. They transform you to other worlds, and Linda Cho’s costumes are innovative and a delight.

For a grand musical and a fun night at the theatre, The Great Gatsby is the ticket. It is a rare gem and one of the 2024 season’s best new musicals.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 25, 2024
Reviewed at April 23, 2024 press preview performance

‘THE GREAT GATSBY’: Samantha Pauly (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE GREAT GATSBY’: Eva Noblezada & Jeremy Jordan. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE GREAT GATSBY’: Jeremy Jordan & Eva Noblezada. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE GREAT GATSBY’: (left to right) Noah J. Ricketts, Sara Chase, & John Zdrojeski. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE GREAT GATSBY’: Paul Whitty. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE GREAT GATSBY’: Eva Noblezada. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

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‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Ben Rappaport & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus

GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR
Written by Doug Wright
Directed by Lisa Peterson
Through August 27, 2023
Belasco Theatre
111 West 44th Street.
(212-239-6200), www.goodnightoscar.com

By David NouNou

Most people today would not know who Oscar Levant is except if they watch TCM and see An American in Paris or The Bandwagon. For those who do know something of him, he is most difficult to describe. He was a conundrum; he wasn’t attractive in real life, but he was an MGM star. He was best known for his sarcastic wit and self-deprecating humor but could have been a concert pianist instead of a humorist, and he excelled in both. He was multitalented but also a tortured soul. He also had his inner demons to contend with, which included bouts with drugs and alcohol. Who would one get to play such a person? You certainly wouldn’t think of  Sean Hayes who portrayed Jack McFarland on TV’s “Will and Grace.” Here comes the surprise, although Mr. Hayes is much too good-looking to portray Mr. Levant, Mr. Hayes digs deep to capture the essence that was Oscar Levant, giving one of the year’s most outstanding performances on the Broadway stage.

The play is set at NBC dressing rooms in Hollywood in 1958. Jack Paar (Ben Rappaport) has been transferred to Hollywood to do the nightly “Tonight Show” for sweeps week in L.A. instead of his usual home base in New York City. His first guest stars for the premier show are: Oscar Levant, Jayne Mansfield and ventriloquist Señor Wences. I wonder if that episode really existed (I Googled for hours and couldn’t find it). Regardless, they all appeared on Jack Paar— if not together, certainly separately.

Unbeknownst to Jack, June Levant (Emily Bergl) has committed Oscar (Mr. Hayes) into an institution to dry him out for his drug overdoses. It’s very close to showtime and there is no Oscar in sight. He does eventually appear: disheveled, abusive, manic, but with his abrasive wit still intact. Playwright Doug Wright doesn’t supply us with any back story or how Oscar came to this state. We only know he has a four-hour pass from the institution in the belief that he is attending his daughter’s graduation, when in fact he is appearing on “The Tonight Show” with Jack Paar.

Oscar also has his inner demons and voices to contend with; that of George Gershwin (John Zdrojeski). Oscar one might say was the definitive interpreter of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” among other works, his career was dominated by Gershwin’s compositions and not his own.

What makes the play ironic is the strict moral code of what used to be censorship and what could be said on live TV. Head of NBC, Bob Sarnoff (Peter Grosz), is totally against having Oscar on “The Tonight Show” because of his coarse humor and what he might say (this is a wink to the audience at this point of where our TV morals are today) but Paar is insistent. Levant appears because Parr knows he can goad Oscar into pushing the envelope with his viewpoints on politics, religion and sex, all of which were taboo topics on live TV at the time. To give full justice to the jokes, you just have to see the show.

The play is quite enjoyable and interesting, but director Lisa Peterson should have brought out her editing shears to trim excessive, needless exposition in the beginning between Sarnoff and Paar, and especially the scene with Gershwin and Levant toward the end.

Putting that aside, we have to give credit where credit is due. Having seen Mr. Hayes in An Act of God and Promises, Promises, Jack McFarland was still lurking in the wings. However, what we see now is an actor shedding his past, and digging deep to capture and create a troubled soul. His performance is sensational and his piano performance is spellbinding. The recital at the show’s end is a magical theatrical moment.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 28, 2023
Reviewed at April 27, 2023 press performance.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Ben Rappaport, Sean Hayes & Peter Grosz. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Emily Bergl & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Emily Bergl & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Sean Hayes & John Zdrojeski. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Marchánt Davis & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR’: Alex Wyse & Sean Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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