Guest Post: The Great Gatsby

While writing about what makes musicals work, it's thrilling to get a reader essay about a musicaI I have not seen. Mackenzie Millward is a lover of musicals and a gifted writer, who you might wish to follow on Substack. Her essay on The Great Gatsby offers a thoughtful look at a musical with something to say about the anguish that results from conforming to the expectations of your society, rather than following your inner light.

Here it is:

The cast of The Great Gatsby. Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Capturing a nation both post-war, and at war with itself, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald isn’t about war at all, but rather centers itself on the hope and tragedy of love, in all its forms. The novel has inspired multiple scripts, both for film and t.v., as well as a total of four musicals, two being written in the last five years alone. The most prominent, The Great Gatsby with music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen and book by Kait Kerrigan, officially opened on Broadway on April 25, 2024.

For those unfamiliar with the novel, the musical chose to stay very close to the original storyline, opting to keep in subplots (or rather, one specific affair) that I anticipated they would cut to keep the musical short and thematically accessible. The narrator and protagonist is actually not “the Great Gatsby” at all (that is, Jay Gatsby), but rather Nick Carraway. Nick Carraway comes home from the war and is introduced to the world of socialites and parties by his cousin, Daisy Buchannan and her husband, Tom, an old schoolmate of Nick’s and an old-money businessman.

It is within these first two introductions (the audience meeting Nick, and Nick being reintroduced to Tom and Daisy) that we notice an interesting structure in the musical flow.

"Roaring On." Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.

What The Great Gatsby does so well is introduce society as the main character. Although that spot could easily apply to Nick, Gatsby, or even Daisy, society is the force that compels each of these characters to act in the way they do (themes we will further explore). Society becomes each character’s roadblock and motivation. But it does more than that: it morphs into its own persona as a way to tell the story. The opening song, “Roaring On,” introduces us to one of the major themes in The Great Gatsby (and what has kept the story so relevant): we all just want a great time.

Now, of course, that’s oversimplifying, but “Roaring On,” as an opening number, is anthemic and dazzling. Flapper dresses and martini glasses flash across the stage, dancers move with each other in almost abstract movements, and the music plays a jazz tune that acutely reminds the audience of where they are, The Jazz Age! Welcome hedonism and frenzy and post war freedom. However, it’s within these first lyrics that we are introduced to a darker undertone: “Where’s the party and can you take me there? And when the party’s over, can we find another party somewhere?

It is already within the first number that we start to understand who, as an audience, we are beginning to observe. A nation, post war, basking in new found glory, basking in parties, and drinks, and moral liberations, and also, most importantly, trying to forget, or regain, that which is lost forever. The time before the war is gone - and for two of our central characters, Jay and Daisy - this means past love. But for the collective as a whole, there is a frenzy, a freneticism to drown out the confusion, to build a new certainty. Under the confetti and sparkle is a dirty floor.

Jay Gatsby (Jeremy Jordan) and Nick Carraway (Noah J. Ricketts). Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

The second point of interest in Broadway’s The Great Gatsby is the placement of the “I Want” song. Typically, the protagonist will be introduced by the second or third song with what is commonly referred to as the “I Want” song. This is the chance for the protagonist to communicate to the audience what his motivation is throughout the show; however, The Great Gatsby seems to be without one. It isn’t until the fourth song that we are introduced to Jay Gatsby at all (however, the first song he sings, “For Her,” is a beautiful “I Want” song detailing his love for Daisy).

Instead, the second song (“Absolute Rose”) is sung by Daisy, when introducing Nick to her friend Jordan and excitedly explaining how she’s eager to see him bloom. The tempo, melody, and performance of the song are generous, and illustrate a sincere joy and effort on Daisy’s part to see Nick happy, though she recognizes that Nick has the chance to bloom, while she already has. The song carries the undertone of the formidable insight that once a flower blooms, it must then wilt. Daisy wilts in her life. She sings that

If I’m a rose,

I’m a rose under glass,

Frozen at its pinnacle,

More cynical by the day

….

You’ll be an absolute rose

Like I used to be

It isn’t until the fourth song we are introduced to the titular character, Jay Gatsby, although his reputation and parties precede him. In “New Money,” multiple rumours of where Gatsby’s money comes are shared among his guests, none of them legal or flattering, and none suggesting that the attendees of his party know Gatsby personally at all. This is intentional, as Gatsby himself explains to Nick later that he and Daisy fell in love before the war. When Gatsby was sent overseas to fight, Daisy reluctantly married Tom. Now, after fighting for a fortune (bootlegging alcohol), Gatsby asks for Nick’s help to become reacquainted with her, finally feeling he is worthy for Daisy.

At first, Nick doesn’t feel comfortable reintroducing his cousin to Gatsby as she is married. It isn’t until he realizes Tom is having an affair (“The Met”). Nick continuously shows his wide-eyed-ness and innocence to morally decrepit activities of his new friends and circle. Tom slaps and breaks his mistress’s nose, stripping all regard Nick had for him in a single moment and making him more amenable to reintroducing Daisy to Gatsby. Nick consistently acts as the moral voice and insight for the audience. Each character engages in their own form of dishonesty, and Nick questions each of these with a sincere questioning. He becomes aware of his own changing and wonders throughout the musical if his actions are crossing the line as well.

It isn’t until the final song of the first act that Jay and Daisy finally reignite in “My Green Light.” Gatsby professes his hope, showing her that across the lake, he saw the green light, flickering from her own home, and how he never stopped loving her. That he worked to be worthy of her through all their time apart. He sings, “only we know what we’re going through. If I save you will you save me too?” However, although her desire may be strong, Daisy lacks the ability or certainty. She responds “only heaven knows what I may do.” At the end of the song (and first act), they enter into an affair with one another.

The second act has more drive than the first. Gatsby and Daisy’s affair is discovered (“Made To Last”), leading Tom to reveal to Daisy how Gatsby makes his money. However, Daisy knows Tom is having an affair as well, although it is also revealed Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, is pregnant. In a frenzy of revelations and arguments, everyone’s shadows are brought to light. Nick wants to convince his love, Jordan, that relationships don’t have to look like the examples they have, but she feels too cynical. “One Way Road” shows Myrtle on her way to confront Tom. As Myrtle makes her way to see Tom, she dreams of being with him instead of him with Daisy, singing without irony that she “figures she’ll have two good years until another pretty little thing appears.” This line hearkens back to the play’s earlier themes of always finding another party, or wanting to keep a rose picked at its premium.

Gatsby and Daisy crash into Myrtle, killing both her and the baby. Tom sees that it was Gatsby’s car that killed Myrtle and tells her husband. Gatsby tells Nick that it was actually Daisy who was driving but that he intends to take the fall, wanting to protect her from the consequences. Daisy decides to stay with Tom after learning that Gatsby’s fortune comes from bootlegging. Myrtle’s husband, upon hearing who killed his wife, kills Gatsby while he swims in his empty swimming pool, then kills himself. The Great Gatsby’s funeral is sparsely attended - Nick being one significant attendee and the other, Jay’s father, whose actual last name is Gatz.​

Gatsby’s funeral is mocked by the former patrons of his parties (“New Money Reprise”). It’s a powerful indictment of society and the viciousness that can accompany the collective. But again, no one character gets a shining moment of redemption, except for perhaps Nick, who chooses to leave New York. Instead, each of the main characters find destruction or sorrow in some way. The Great Gatsby highlights this distortion of a happy time in America’s history - the flapper dresses and jazz instruments can’t hide the severe loss the country felt after the war. That’s why it’s Nick who narrates Gatsby’s story instead of Gatsby himself, because Nick is the only one noble and alert enough to tell it.

Daisy Buchanan (Sarah Hyland). Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

The penultimate song is not sung by Gatsby or Nick, but actually by Daisy, seeming to sum up the main themes of The Great Gatsby. She sings that she hopes her daughter will be a beautiful fool (“Beautiful Little Fool”). Although a famous line from the novel, this phrase, set to slow, lilting music, emphasizes the pain Daisy feels. She understands she has not been afforded the luxury of creating her own life; one might argue both by her circumstances and her own lack of courage, or even her belief in staying loyal within marriage, although this is not backed by the musical text. Regardless, she recognizes she has too much understanding to be happy in the world. So, she wishes her daughter beauty - the only commodity a woman has, Daisy believes, and to be a fool - so her daughter never realizes this the way Daisy has.​

What’s particularly interesting is the composer’s decision to end the play with this slow song from Daisy, instead of a final death song from Gatsby or a redemptive song from Nick. Daisy shows us the realization that each character comes to in their own way, even if it's not stated as explicitly: there may not always be another party. Nick decides to leave New York after Gatsby’s funeral, hoping to maintain his sense of self. The night before his departure, Nick walks along the path he first saw Gatsby staring at the green light, and reflects upon Gatsby’s greatest strength: his never-ending hope, outshining any other moral faltering. The play ends with Nick’s soliloquy on Gatsby’s constant reaching and a final chorus from the ensemble to keep “roaring on.”

By Mackenzie Millward

You can find more of Mackenzie's musings on Life, Love, Literature and Music at her Substack.