Rialto Chatter: Paper Mill's THE GREAT GATSBY Sets Broadway Auditions

Paper Mill Playhouse recently presented the world-premiere production of The Great Gatsby, based on the iconic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The production opened on Sunday, October 22 and ran through Sunday, November 12, 2023.  Read what the critics thought about Paper Mill Playhouse's production! 

Auditions will be held for a potential Broadway production in January. No official announcement has been made regarding a Broadway theater or casting, but according to the audition notice, rehearsals will begin in early 2024. 

The Paper Mill Playhouse production starred Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee and Theatre World Award winner Jeremy Jordan (Broadway: Newsies, Waitress, American Son) as Jay Gatsby and two-time Tony Award nominee and Theatre World Award winner Eva Noblezada  (Broadway: Hadestown, Miss Saigon) as Daisy Buchanan, Sara Chase (TV: “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Broadway: First Date; Paper Mill: Godspell) as Myrtle Wilson, Stanley W. Mathis (Broadway: Jelly’s Last Jam, Kiss Me, Kate; Paper Mill: Cinderella) as Meyer Wolfsheim, Samantha Pauly (Broadway: Six The Musical; West End: Evita) as Jordan Baker, Noah J. Ricketts (Broadway: Disney’s Frozen, 
Beautiful:The Carole King Musical) as Nick Carraway, Paul Whitty (Broadway: Camelot, 
Come From Away) as George Wilson and John Zdrojeski (Broadway: Good Night, Oscar; Off-Broadway: Heroes of the Fourth Turning) as Tom Buchanan. 

The cast also featured Lauryn Adams, Raymond Edward Baynard, Ayla Ciccone-Burton, Austin Colby, Colin Cunliffe, Natalie Charle Ellis, Curtis Holland, Brianna Kim, Dariana Mullen, Pascal Pastrana, Mariah Reives, Julio Rey, Dan Rosales, Maya Sistruck, Jake Trammel, Jake Urban, Tanairi Vazquez and Katie Webber. 
 
Fitzgerald’s novel has fascinated and captivated readers since its publication in 1925. Set in the Roaring Twenties, eccentric millionaire Jay Gatsby (Jordan) will stop at nothing in his tragic pursuit of Daisy Buchanan (Noblezada), a wealthy young woman who he loved in his youth. Surrounded by characters with incredibly complex and nuanced inner lives, passions, and longings boil, and then erupt – spurring the unimaginable fates that befall them.
 
The Great Gatsby features a book by Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones), a jazz- and pop-influenced original score by Tony Award nominees Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square), and direction by Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical). The production is choreographed by Dominique Kelley (Television: “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Masked Singer”). Music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations are by Mr. Howland. Daniel Edmonds (Shucked, Paradise Square) is Music Director.
 
The Great Gatsby featured scenic and projection design by Paul Tate DePoo III (Broadway: The Cottage, Spamalot), costume design by Tony Award winner Linda Cho (Broadway: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Harmony; Paper Mill: Chasing Rainbows), lighting design by Cory Pattak (Broadway: Spamalot), sound design by two-time Tony Award winner Brian Ronan (Broadway: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Book of Mormon), hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe (Broadway: Hamilton, MJ: The Musical) and Rachael Geier, and fight and intimacy direction by Rocío Mendez (Broadway: POTUS, Ain’t No Mo’). The production stage manager was Brian Bogin.

The novel The Great Gatsby entered the public domain in 2021, and Paper Mill Playhouse's production of The Great Gatsby is not currently the only stage adapatation. Another musical stage adaptation entitled 'Gatsby', will make its World Premiere at A.R.T. in June 2024, and will be directed by Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin and choreographed by Tony Award winner Sonya Tayeh.

A.R.T.'s production of Gatsby will feature music by Florence Welch, the Grammy Award-nominated international rock star of Florence + the Machine and Thomas Bartlett, the Oscar and Grammy Award nominee, with lyrics by Ms. Welch, and a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok.