Gatsby (ART production) - West End 2024/25

[42ndBlvd]

Hearing they're mulling transferring either end of this year or by next year. But ideally before a Broadway transfer (which they want to do once the current Broadway Gatsby closes). 

[nottobe]

Yes please! This would make more sense for it to come here first and it would probably do very well with Florence Welch attached along with the material itself. Wonder which theatre it might aim for as lots of the larger musical houses seem to have shows that won't shut for some time.

[viserys]

Aug 5, 2024 16:17:09 GMT nottobe said:

Yes please! This would make more sense for it to come here first and it would probably do very well with Florence Welch attached along with the material itself. Wonder which theatre it might aim for as lots of the larger musical houses seem to have shows that won't shut for some time.

Would it follow a trajectory similarly to Hadestown perhaps? First a limited "tryout" run at the National Theatre or some such place to get it ready for Broadway, then later come back to a commercial West End venue? 

That said, the West End feels infinitely stale to me with very very few "big" new productions and even fewer that feel like they aren't just aimed at tourist crowds (like MJ clogging up the Prince Edward). I'd really love to see half a dozen of the endless runners close to allow for some fresh breath in the West End. 

[oxfordsimon]

Is the novel that popular in the UK?

I know that it is a US classic but does it have enough audience potential to sustain a West End run?

A short run at the National or Almeida would be more viable than trying crack the West End.

[Jon]

Aug 5, 2024 16:44:21 GMT oxfordsimon said:

Is the novel that popular in the UK?

I know that it is a US classic but does it have enough audience potential to sustain a West End run?

A short run at the National or Almeida would be more viable than trying crack the West End.

The 2013 film was a success but that starred Leonardo DiCaprio and was directed by Baz Luhrmann 

[Talisman]

Not popular with countless kids who have been force fed it at school

[dr]

Aug 5, 2024 16:44:21 GMT oxfordsimon said:

Is the novel that popular in the UK?

I know that it is a US classic but does it have enough audience potential to sustain a West End run?

A short run at the National or Almeida would be more viable than trying crack the West End.

The Almeida would be a perfect venue - with Florence Welch's name alone, it would sell out a Christmas slot very quickly, building lots of hype before a Broadway (or preliminary West End) run. The NT would work too, but if the "Here We Are" rumours are true, may not have room for another musical. I think it would sell a small West End house - the Pinter, for example - but it would be ideal to start in a subsidised house, as happened with Hadestown, Tammy Faye, and so on.

[oxfordsimon]

I have never read the book or even been tempted.

A look at the synopsis leaves me with the impression of a story about entitled people behaving badly.

Am sure there is more to it but it doesn't feel a very now sort of tale.

[Mark]

Ooo yes please! Loved this in Boston and I’d say it’s the stronger of the two.

[danb]

Aug 5, 2024 17:32:40 GMT oxfordsimon said:

I have never read the book or even been tempted.

A look at the synopsis leaves me with the impression of a story about entitled people behaving badly.

Am sure there is more to it but it doesn't feel a very now sort of tale.

‘Entitled people behaving badly’? Where have you been for the last 14 years? 🤣

[lolaluffneggle]

I’d be really happy to see this hit the West End! I’ve heard people speculate it could even do a Toronto tryout yet.

[andrew]

Old Vic? Rachel Chavkin has directed The American Clock there.

[alicechallice]

The whole 'is this even a well known IP in the UK' discussion came up on BroadwayWorld the other week & somebody suggested that it was mainly known from the DiCaprio film and I was just completely flummoxed...

It's THE GREAT GATSBY, one of the best novels of all time. It's incredibly famous. It had two film versions prior to 2013 too amongst numerous TV, radio adaptations etc.

It's so famous it's an aesthetic, a social class marker point,it's the beginning of the zeitgeist.

I despair.

[ThereWillBeSun]

Manifesting!!!!!

[Mark]

Aug 5, 2024 23:19:27 GMT alicechallice said:

The whole 'is this even a well known IP in the UK' discussion came up on BroadwayWorld the other week & somebody suggested that it was mainly known from the DiCaprio film and I was just completely flummoxed...

It's THE GREAT GATSBY, one of the best novels of all time. It's incredibly famous. It had two film versions prior to 2013 too amongst numerous TV, radio adaptations etc.

It's so famous it's an aesthetic, a social class marker point,it's the beginning of the zeitgeist.

I despair.

Yeah, that was me and I stand by that. It’s not a particularly well read book here for the younger generation.

[alicechallice]

Aug 5, 2024 23:20:41 GMT Mark said:

Aug 5, 2024 23:19:27 GMT alicechallice said:

The whole 'is this even a well known IP in the UK' discussion came up on BroadwayWorld the other week & somebody suggested that it was mainly known from the DiCaprio film and I was just completely flummoxed...

It's THE GREAT GATSBY, one of the best novels of all time. It's incredibly famous. It had two film versions prior to 2013 too amongst numerous TV, radio adaptations etc.

It's so famous it's an aesthetic, a social class marker point,it's the beginning of the zeitgeist.

I despair.

Yeah, that was me and I stand by that. It’s not a particularly well read book here for the younger generation.

Well if they just picked it up and started it, they'd be somewhere towards being well read!

You don't even need to have read it to know what it is.

[Mark]

Aug 5, 2024 23:25:36 GMT alicechallice said:

Aug 5, 2024 23:20:41 GMT Mark said:

Yeah, that was me and I stand by that. It’s not a particularly well read book here for the younger generation.

Well if they just picked it up and started it, they'd be somewhere towards being well read!

You don't even need to have read it to know what it is.

You don’t, that’s why I say a large proportion of people are only familiar with it and what it is from having seen the film. I enjoyed the book but reading it came after seeing the Broadway musical version (was good see the ART production and a rewatch of Bway having read the book)

[oxfordsimon]

Being well read has nothing to do with whether someone has read any one particular title.

I have consumed a very wide range of books through my life. I have, in my time, been part of the judging process for a major book award.

I consider myself to have broad tastes and willing to give many things a try.

But The Great Gatsby has never been a book that intrigued me enough to get hold of a copy.

Just because a particular title is viewed by some, or indeed many, as a classic, it doesn't mean you have the right to look down on someone who has never read it for whatever reason.

I stand by my question as to whether the book has sufficient UK audience penetration to sustain a West End run.

[paddy72]

Read the book people. It’s life changing. The only theatrical production I’ve seen of it that was any good was that three parter a few years back at the Noel Coward Theatre where they simply read out every word of the novel in the setting of a down town manhattan office. Think it was called Gatz. It’s the words that make it so wonderful and conjure up unforgettable imagery. The last paragraph is sensational. The best summation of the American Dream. So never more relevant than right now. For me it’s one of two books, the other is Cider with Rosie, that can never be fully realised by any adaptation for film, tv or theatre. And especially not as a musical. Reading time for the novel which still comes up on most UK exam board lit syllabus is only 6hrs.

[marob]

Is it that unknown? The novel is one of the greats, the various films are on TV fairly regularly. I think it was only last summer when both theatres near me were both separately doing their own productions of it.

[theatrefan62]

I don't think the book itself is widely read in the UK, and sorry 'life changing' makes my eyes roll.

However it is widely known, and especially known for its 1920s aesthetic which is very popular. Plus there have been multiple movie and tv versions over the years. Gatsby and the 1920s have recognition and would draw interest. Whether it's enough to sustain a run is another question. Beautiful and damned flopped, the immersive Gatsby was off west end and more about the fun 1920s rather than the novel itself.

[paddy72]

Roll your eyes over the book, theatrefan62 not my inadequate words. You’re never to old to learn and find something new and life changing. I’ll vouch for that.

[lolaluffneggle]

I don’t think the book or the film needs to be a UK hit for this. It’s a recognisable name with Florence Welch’s attachment, it’ll get people to go see it and if it’s good then people will go based on that.

[max]

Aug 6, 2024 7:13:44 GMT paddy72 said:

Roll your eyes over the book, theatrefan62 not my inadequate words. You’re never to old to learn and find something new and life changing. I’ll vouch for that.

There was nothing inadequate in your words - the book had a profound effect on you; that's worth sharing.

A lot of people read it at school (though I'm not sure if it's on exam board lists right now), so there's a vestige of interest for many in revisiting it; and the recent film has kept it in the public mind. The immersive version was well advertised, including poster sites on public transport, so with the addition of Florence on music I think the musical could ride that public awarenss pretty well.

[andrew]

I read it when I was about 20, it remains one of the only novels I've ever read cover to cover in a single day. I could not put it down, the prose is mesmerising. I tend to ignore blurbs and read things that are well reviewed or recommended by people

("Musical about artist struggling to get people to believe in his painting, dies in obscurity, later his descendant has a laser show dedicated to the painting and is also struggling, some sort of ghost arrives at the end and ties it altogether"
"Play about the American corporation Lehman Bros with only 3 actors, it's 3 hours long without any recurring characters, real props or relevant sets"
"Musical about the first treasury secretary of the Unites States, hip-hop based")

so I'd recommend picking it up to anyone sceptical. The BroadwayWorld people have a point, it's an extraordinarily popular book in the US and has less global appear than other titles. It's success was due to it being distributed as reading material to American soldiers in world war 2 prior to which it was not a best-seller, and later it was heavily incorporated into the US school curriculum because amongst it's myriad themes one of the big ones is the promise (and failure) of the American dream.

That said, from my anecdotal point of view, I assumed it was a title that every normal person has at least heard of, is broadly aware of, and sure latterly that was boosted by the Baz Lurhmann film. It is frequently listed as one of the greatest novels ever written, if we're able to have successful runs of musicals based on niche 80s films about teenagers killing each other, 19th century French novels about small-scale Parisian student uprisings, and even flipping Kinky Boots then I believe we can sustain a run of The Great Gatsby. Especially with Florence Welch behind it.

Really looking forward to it.