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psocopteraI went back and forth all spring on whether I wanted to see the new Gatsby at the A.R.T. - this is the Florence Welch Gatsby not the Jason Howland Gatsby - until I finally decided in June that I did want to see it, because what if it was amazing.
(I still kind of wish I had seen Waitress at A.R.T. with J instead of only seeing it when it came back around in the post-Broadway touring production. I mean, there were solid reasons I didn't having to do with child care, and there are like nine or twelve other shows from 2014-2017 I also didn't go to that I've never regretted missing, so, like, the odds were reasonable and I just got unlucky with that one. But I'm also keen to spot the next Waitress and not do it again. Or, you know, the next Hamilton.)
It was not the next Hamilton. Probably not even the next Waitress. It was fine, it was fun, it was solid, it was interesting to see how they went about it, they made some choices I liked, I liked the music better in the second half, and I definitely think if you're fond of Gatsby as one of the Great American Novels or just really like The Broadway Musical as an artform, you might as well go, you'll enjoy it, it's an enjoyable show. But not a lot of "wow", and I'm struggling to remember any particular song well enough to write down what I should put on SDME if a cast recording comes out. (Was "Driving My Way" Myrtle's big song? I definitely thought she was the standout character, or had the standout songs, or something. (Or maybe it was Solea Pfeiffer's playing of her.) The musical is a lot more sympathetic to Myrtle than I remember the book being, including giving her and George Wilson a new backstory. "The Damage That You Do" was maybe the other standout song. And then of course it has to end on a big Broadway number, but I don't really feel like the end of Gatsby is a big Broadway moment, so that was a little odd...)
One last thought: there was occasionally something in the costuming or choreography of the ensemble, while being party guests, that made me think about the *other* classic American work about a self-made man who throws lavish decadent parties that draw in ordinary Americans, leading to tragedy for some and greater self-knowledge for others, while the couple from another world abandons everyone to escape back to their own world. I'm talking of course about Rocky Horror. Never occurred to me before to read these two works against each other, but, like, Frank/Rocky as a bifurcation of Gatsby? Frank's transvestism, Gatsby's shirts, Gatsby's invention of himself, Frank's invention of Rocky, Gatsby's fantasy of Daisy, Frank's "don't dream it, be it". Eddy and Columbia as George and Myrtle Wilson - George the lower-class-coded guy who just got unlucky, Myrtle who thought it was great when it all began but is a victim of Frank/Gatsby's pursuit of his fantasy. Riff Raff and Magenta the Tom and Daisy who kill and transit-beam off on their merry way. And Nick and Jordan, Brad and Janet, whose attempt at heteronormativity can't survive Gatsby/Frank and his gravitational pull. And I guess Wolfsheim is Dr. Scott. It's not perfect, especially not in how the various vectors of desire and jealousy flow, but I feel like there could be a fun fanvid in this concept, or something.
(I still kind of wish I had seen Waitress at A.R.T. with J instead of only seeing it when it came back around in the post-Broadway touring production. I mean, there were solid reasons I didn't having to do with child care, and there are like nine or twelve other shows from 2014-2017 I also didn't go to that I've never regretted missing, so, like, the odds were reasonable and I just got unlucky with that one. But I'm also keen to spot the next Waitress and not do it again. Or, you know, the next Hamilton.)
It was not the next Hamilton. Probably not even the next Waitress. It was fine, it was fun, it was solid, it was interesting to see how they went about it, they made some choices I liked, I liked the music better in the second half, and I definitely think if you're fond of Gatsby as one of the Great American Novels or just really like The Broadway Musical as an artform, you might as well go, you'll enjoy it, it's an enjoyable show. But not a lot of "wow", and I'm struggling to remember any particular song well enough to write down what I should put on SDME if a cast recording comes out. (Was "Driving My Way" Myrtle's big song? I definitely thought she was the standout character, or had the standout songs, or something. (Or maybe it was Solea Pfeiffer's playing of her.) The musical is a lot more sympathetic to Myrtle than I remember the book being, including giving her and George Wilson a new backstory. "The Damage That You Do" was maybe the other standout song. And then of course it has to end on a big Broadway number, but I don't really feel like the end of Gatsby is a big Broadway moment, so that was a little odd...)
One last thought: there was occasionally something in the costuming or choreography of the ensemble, while being party guests, that made me think about the *other* classic American work about a self-made man who throws lavish decadent parties that draw in ordinary Americans, leading to tragedy for some and greater self-knowledge for others, while the couple from another world abandons everyone to escape back to their own world. I'm talking of course about Rocky Horror. Never occurred to me before to read these two works against each other, but, like, Frank/Rocky as a bifurcation of Gatsby? Frank's transvestism, Gatsby's shirts, Gatsby's invention of himself, Frank's invention of Rocky, Gatsby's fantasy of Daisy, Frank's "don't dream it, be it". Eddy and Columbia as George and Myrtle Wilson - George the lower-class-coded guy who just got unlucky, Myrtle who thought it was great when it all began but is a victim of Frank/Gatsby's pursuit of his fantasy. Riff Raff and Magenta the Tom and Daisy who kill and transit-beam off on their merry way. And Nick and Jordan, Brad and Janet, whose attempt at heteronormativity can't survive Gatsby/Frank and his gravitational pull. And I guess Wolfsheim is Dr. Scott. It's not perfect, especially not in how the various vectors of desire and jealousy flow, but I feel like there could be a fun fanvid in this concept, or something.
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Date: 2024-08-04 05:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-08-13 01:20 pm (UTC)(Also I'm not sure Jordan was ever heterosexual to begin with but that's a different discussion.)