Marc Bruni is inviting West End audiences to his party!
Jay Gatsby never throws the same party twice.
And director Marc Bruni doesn’t plan on remounting the same party he’s been hosting on Broadway when The Great Gatsby arrives in the West End.
It’s the first time he’s staged a production in the UK in a decade (“You get me every ten years whether you like it or not!” he laughs) – with his past success being Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. When we catch up over video call he’s on day three of final rounds of auditions and has a strong idea of who will be cast in the principal roles. The lead roles, of the longing millionaire Jay Gatsby were originated by Jeremy Jordan, and the beautiful socialite Daisy Buchanan by Eva Noblezada.
Only three years ago Bruni was approached with an outline (by book writer Kait Kerrigan) and four songs (by Tony Award nominees Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen) and asked to direct. “The themes seem very universal and topical – about class and the way that our society, with the haves and the have-nots, and the divide between them has gotten even more pronounced. I can see the parallels between the 2020s and the 1920s.”
After all, we’re still in the aftermath of a pandemic today.
In its tryout run and on Broadway, Bruni has attempted to put America on stage. Now, as the show transfers to the UK, he wants to put some of Britain up there, too: “And find a way that gives a fresh interpretation of this story.”
He refers to the production as a template, saying: “We’re excited about finding how it speaks to today here in London,” and discovering that anew with the cast – which will be revealed very shortly. “This story is so quintessentially American. And yet Americans like to pretend that there isn’t class, which is obviously not true, but this story is the Great American novel about class. And so it will be interesting to see what the audiences make of it.”
He jokes he isn’t sure how many people have read past page 50, judging by the number of gasps he hears throughout act two.
Bruni confirms: “It is not a minimalist Gatsby in any way.”
There are 18 musicians in the pit, a car, fireworks, and multiple party set-ups. “There’s a lot of bells and whistles that you expect from a deluxe night out,” he starts, “This is the show that if you want to see your money on stage, you’re going to see your money on stage.
“There’s a complete stage of scenery that transforms seamlessly into another scene and gives you a very full of depth, full of colour, full of life.”
As he puts it, the 1920s are a creative’s dream. “Everything old is new again,” Bruni comments, talking about how choreographer Dominique Kelley has “remixed” dance styles like the Charleston: “Bodies move in the same way. There are ways that things can be adapted and made to feel contemporary while paying homage and giving you a sense of the sort of flapper party atmosphere that you expect, while also having an element of surprise.”
The production is almost a seduction, he explains: “You feel like you would have in the ’20s, being swept away in the opulence of it all.”
“And then being given a cold shower of the reminder of the potential impossibility of class, mobility, and what the American dream promises and doesn’t always deliver.”
But every party reaches a point where things start to simmer down and there’s the inevitable aftermath. “The Great Gatsby has intimacy. Some of my favourite moments involve a duet or a solo on stage with a great song behind them, and that’s what good musicals do really well. They have tunes that you can hum and that stick in your head.”
Who will be singing those numbers when the musical arrives in the West End, we’re yet to find out – but the party is just about to start.