REVIEW: Green Light Means Go See “The Great Gatsby”

By Liz Eichler

The North American tour of The Great Gatsby: A New Musical is now at the Aronoff Center. It certainly gets the green light — meaning GO.

And take along any high schoolers who may or will have to read this classic American novel. It’s not a substitute for reading the book, but it may make reading it (and comparing it) a whole lot more interesting.

Based on the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, with a book by Kait Kerrigan, music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Nathen Tysen, The Great Gatsby is, yes, a tragic love story with multiple tragic triangles, great singing and plenty of dancing. And spectacle.

Yes, GO for the spectacle. GO for all that lovely Art Deco architecture — especially fitting in Cincinnati, home to so much iconic Art Deco architecture. GO for the projections, which add the shimmer of water to the harbor, the fireworks, and allow the production to move seamlessly from interior to exterior, again and again. And GO for the costumes, which earned Linda Cho the 2025 Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical. The color palette is tight, leaning heavily into cool, vivid greens and blues, along with striking black and gold sequins. The dance numbers are explosions of feathers and sparkle.

Lead Characters and Story

Nick Carraway opens the show as its narrator. Midwestern boy moves to the city to become a bond trader after World War I and finds a lovely cottage right next to Jay Gatsby, who is making a heck of a lot of “New Money” in New York City. But Gatsby asks Nick for a favor: to arrange a meeting between him and Daisy, which changes everything.

Understudy William Bishop took the role on opening night, and gets my vote to the promotion. He has a beautiful voice, is believable, delivers great humorous physical details and dances solidly. He reminds me of Nicholas Ralph, who plays James Herriot in PBS’s All Creatures Great and Small. Bishop has the presence of someone who has seen a few things, is curious about the world and is, overall, an upstanding citizen.

Leanne Robinson’s Jordan Baker is strong. She’s a modern woman: a professional golfer and avowed bachelorette, until Nick starts to grow on her. They have a wonderful duet in “Better Hold Tight,” their voices blending beautifully, and they look like they are genuinely having fun. Robinson’s muscular arms and quick delivery add to her believability as a pro golfer and an independent woman.

Senzel Ahmady is Daisy Buchanan, Nick’s cousin and Jordan’s friend. Ahmady makes it clear why Daisy could have had her pick of any man in a uniform. She is warm, loving and likable, leaving Chicago in mourning when she and her new husband move to New York. Yet Ahmady also holds a deep unhappiness close to her chest while she charms everyone around her. Daisy’s “Beautiful Fool” is jaw-dropping number.

Jake David Smith is Jay Gatsby. He has been obsessed with Daisy ever since they met before he shipped out to the war. A rags to riches story, he’s now built his empire for her, after her father said he wasn’t good enough. He’s young, handsome and passionate, and his doleful cry of “Daisy!” in “For Her” will stay with you. Smith has a great chest voice, full of power, but his tone becomes too nasal in the upper register. If it is a character choice, it doesn’t work for me.

Strong Featured Cast

Will Branner does a great job portraying Daisy’s husband, Tom Buchanan. He has a terrific voice and is exactly the kind of person you love to hate.

Lila Coogan is bottle blonde Myrtle Wilson. We’re not sure if we like her, but we understand her. She sings her heart out in “One-Way Road,” as she explores then land on her best options. Tally Sessions, as George Wilson, makes a great, hopeful but down-on-his-luck gas station owner, guided by the omniscient eyes of a billboard.

Edward Staudenmyer as Wolfsheim the gangster opens the second act strongly with “Shady,” my partner’s favorite number. The swirling raincoats in that number alone prove how Linda Cho deserved her Tony Award.

Production Team

Director Marc Bruni put together a great team and captures the vibrancy of the era, but translates it to new audiences. This show is not stuck in the past. In fact the show moves super quickly, due to solid pacing and rolling scenery. Kudos to Production Stage Manager Kelsey Tippins for daily follow through of this vision.

Again, the costumes by Cho and Paul Tate dePoo III’s scenic and projection design are amazing. Everyone would love to have Nick’s cottage, maybe more than the grand estates. Adding to the visuals, there is top-notch dancing, with some rather modern choreography by Dominique Kelley. Leaning heavily into the Jazz Age, the Act 2 tap-dancing numbers are especially fun.

Cory Pattak’s lighting complements the richness of the set and costumes, using spots to highlight the singers while detaching them from their surroundings.

Brian Ronan’s sound design ensures a good balance between vocals and orchestra — which doesn’t always happen on opening night. Conductor Charlie Alterman leads a lively orchestra, which includes a number of Cincinnati hires.

Themes

Most young people who plowed through the book as required reading could probably point out why the blinking dock light is green: for hope, for reaching for the American Dream, for envy, greed and all the other things that Fitzgerald packed into that little light.

My concern is that the dazzle and peppy tunes sometimes downplay some of Fitzgerald’s angst and disillusionment about the race to the top — and the hollowness once you get there. Even at the funeral, there could have been other directorial choices to make the emptiness echo.

Those darker undercurrents are there. But they can be easy to miss when the stage is awash in feathers, sequins, beautiful voices and spectacular dancing.

Overall

So, if you ever had to — or will have to — read The Great Gatsby, this one is for you, painted in bold vivid colors. It may not have the emotional impact or memorable music of The Lion King or Wicked, but it is a jazzy, highly saturated, vibrant version of the American Dream.

And yes, the green light is on. GO. The Great Gatsby runs through September 27, 2026. Tickets are available at https://www.cincinnatiarts.org/events/detail/the-great-gatsby

Running Time: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission.

Content Warning: Displays of physical abuse, homicide, suicide, sexuality, excessive drinking and smoking.