Frances Mayli McCann & Amber Davies in The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum. (c) Johan Persson.After multiple film and TV adaptations, this week a new musical version has landed in London fresh from its success on Broadway. But does the shimmering production now occupying the enormous London Coliseum stage, strike the right balance between glitz and sleaze? Given that this is a musical adaptation with book by Kait Kerrigan, music by Jason Howland and lyrics courtesy of Nathan Tysen, there is a strong focus on the jazz age spectacle with frequent company numbers choreographed by Dominique Kelley. All the dancers are sharp and crisply rehearsed into their routines, including a particularly noteworthy tap vehicle with cast members dressed variously in army fatigues, or head to toe in lilac. It presents an incongruous visual line-up but in the context of the particular party scene, it kinda works… kinda!
In a story which tells a largely gloomy tale of love lost, regained and lost again, with side orders of blatant infidelities and a notable road fatality, all underpinned by murky business dealings (in the era of prohibition), a musical was always going to have to lean heavily on the hoofers and glam, and so it does here. The money men were clearly taking no chances on their substantial investment and have thrown the bank at the set, props, sound and lighting design elements (courtesy of Paul Tate DePoo III, Cory Pattak and Brian Ronan) not to mention the wardrobe department which proffers an opulent stream of costumes (designed by Linda Cho) which must surely rack-up a hefty dry cleaning bill on a weekly basis.
Everything about this razzle dazzle show smacks of success, long runs and awards… but despite the huge amount of talent on stage, I found myself feeling underwhelmed by the end result. Perhaps it is the reviewer’s cynic in me, but when I see enormous grand sets, tricksy projections and multiple luxury automobiles albeit electric ones to help bolster the show’s eco-credentials (not to mention saving stalls patrons from wheezing on exhaust fumes), my instincts suggest something more fundamental is missing. In this instance, a lack of heart would be too strong a judgement, but subtlety is most certainly in scant supply with the largely tedious songs requiring the billed performers to belt, belt and belt again, hitting sometimes stratospheric notes and potentially damning themselves to a third week bout of laryngitis in a bid to imbue that elusive oomph element.
Ultimately, the production feels like big Broadway, by numbers and it would be remiss of me to gloss over the hot interval conversation topic, namely that many of the show’s tunes seem to borrow key refrains from elsewhere - most thuddingly, Why God Why from Miss Saigon, but it’s by no means the only one to make an unsubtle appearance during the course of the evening.
The production will undoubtedly draw coach loads of punters and ensure the Coliseum’s ticket desk is kept busy during the summer months but dare I venture that the cynical reviewer might not be the only cynical element at play here?
PRINCIPLE CAST:
Jay Gatsby - Jamie Muscato
Daisy Buchanan - Frances Mayli McCann
Nick Carraway - Corbin Bleu
Jordan Baker - Amber Davies
George Wilson - Joel Montague
Meyer Wolfsheim - John Owen-Jones
Tom Buchanan - Jon Robyns
Myrtle Wilson - Rachel Tucker
Plays at the London Coliseum until 7th September.
