Critics slam 'glib', 'vulgar' and 'ludicrously lavish' Great Gatsby musical - and claim West End adaptation is 'disrespectful' to F. Scott Fitzgerald

Daily Mail​

25-04-2025

Jazz, feathers, glitzy flapper dresses and roaring party anthems are all on the menu in the latest Great Gatsby musical adaptation on the West End.
But it seems the glamour has not been enough to wow critics, many of whom have slammed the production at the the London Coliseum - starring Amber Davies and Corbin Bleu - as 'glib', 'vulgar' and even 'ludicrously lavish'.
Some even claimed it was 'disrespectful' to the original F. Scott Fitzgerald novel the play, also a book by American playwright Kait Kerrigan, is based on.
Giving it two stars out of five, Clive Davis of The Times found it 'big, brash, noisy and oddly one-dimensional'.
Elsewhere, offering the same score, Claire Allfree hit out at the 'screechy clodhopping musical that amps up the Roaring Twenties clichés at the expense of anything Fitzgerald had to say about class, money and the scissoring chasms between appearances and reality' in the Telegraph.
And ranking it only one star, The Guardian 's critic Arifa Akbar found that 'despite the glut of vocal and visual crescendos, the peaks of the story flatline'.
Not all were underwhelmed, however, as The Stage, offering a generous four out five praised it as a 'feat of spectacle and seduction'.
Meanwhile, dishing out three stars, the Mail 's Veronica Lee enjoyed how the set design elevated a dazzling array of scenes.
The production is running from April 16 to September 7.
In February, the complete casting for the West End production was revealed.
Joining the previously announced Jamie Muscato as Jay Gatsby and Frances Mayli McCann as Daisy Buchanan are Corbin Bleu as Nick Carraway, Amber Davies as Jordan Baker, Joel Montague as George Wilson, John Owen-Jones as Meyer Wolfsheim, Jon Robyns as Tom Buchanan and Rachel Tucker as Myrtle Wilson.
Adapted from the beloved historic novel, The Great Gatsby follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quest to win back the heart of married socialite Daisy Buchanan, his former flame.
It's been revered for its commentary on class, Prohibition-era America and portrayal of the Jazz Age.
This musical adaptation arrives in London following its 2024 Broadway premiere, where it won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design.
Clive Davis found that where the original novel is 'concise, understated and allusive', this adaptation is reportedly - not.
'It's not the cast's fault that they struggle to bring the characters to life. Jamie Muscato brings steely charm to the role of the enigmatic businessman who plays master of ceremonies to the revellers that drift from one party to another on what Fitzgerald called 'that slender riotous island',' he penned.
'But beyond scattering the phrase 'old sport' in all directions, this Gatsby is little more than a loner with a taste for yearning power ballads and a spot of tap-dancing.'
Elsewhere, Corbin Bleu's Nick Carraway was a touch too 'cheeky chappie'. However, the Times critic enjoyed the striking set design and found the music to be 'in mood is closer to Billy Joel than George Gershwin, and no worse for that'.
TELEGRAPH
Rating:
Claire Allfree's general feeling was that this gtlizy adaptation 'pounces on the party vibe and misses almost everything else'.
Writing for The Telegraph, she offered: 'A more ambitious creative team might have turned The Great Gatsby's keening lyricism, elusive spirit and sheer tragic beauty to its advantage.
'Instead, we get a screechy clodhopping musical that amps up the Roaring Twenties clichés at the expense of anything Fitzgerald had to say about class, money and the scissoring chasms between appearances and reality.'
THE GUARDIAN
Giving the production only one star out of five, Arifa Akbar of The Guardian felt that 'no amount of Charlestons from a fine cast can put the fizz into this'.
She felt that while the cast is clearly competent, especially as vocalists, the musical as a whole 'looks sterile for the lack of emotional drama around it'.
'Fitzgerald's central couple fizz with charisma on the page, lighting up every room with their smiles, but here they are smoothed to two dimensions, as slick and empty-eyed as those of Doctor TJ Eckleberg's in the advert that looms behind them,' she added.
'That is no fault of the cast – the mood is simply too perky, the pace brisk and breezy, the story's heart subsumed by the mission to put on a high-octane musical.'
Writing for the Independent, Alice Saville found that while the musical is visually stunning - and the cast vocally competent - there is a lack of a 'basic level of respect for F Scott Fitzgerald's elegy for the Roaring Twenties, or an understanding of what makes it more than an excellent theme for a hen do'.
'This take on The Great Gatsby was a flop on Broadway,' she added.
'Perhaps London audiences are more likely to be wowed by a level of all-American fireworks not seen on the West End since 42nd Street. But I suspect not.'
THE STAGE
The Stage praised the musical's portrayal of a 'classic story of dashed American dreams' as 'an impressive glitzy romcom musical'.
'Visually, the show is stunning. Paul Tate DePoo III's scenic and projection design is all sumptuous Roaring Twenties, meticulous in its detail,' the review read.
'A truly staggering number of picture-perfect scenes glide in and out, and there is always something fresh to see, a new variation.
'Lighting from Cory Pattak is equally masterly, bringing intense atmospherics along with some retina-frying climactic effects. Linda Cho's costumes are to die for.'
It admitted that 'literary purists' likely won't be pleased - but broader audiences will be delighted by the production.
Writing for What'sOnStage, Alun Hood found the production to be stellar on a technical level - but a touch 'glib' when it comes to the plot itself.
'There's seldom a moment where it's clear why there needed to be a musical of The Great Gatsby beyond the fact that it was there and already spawned a couple of movie versions,' he wrote.
'The plot, which fizzles only periodically into life, probably suits the screen better than the stage, though Bruni's gleaming production, simultaneously garish and elegant, sometimes approaches the cinematic. The storytelling is rudimentary.'
DAILY MAIL
Rating:
The Mail's Veronica Lee found that while the production is lavish and opulent - it's not the perfect day out for Fitzgerald purists.
'Marc Bruni's dazzling production of The Great Gatsby opened on Broadway last year and now – with a mostly British cast – bursts into life in the West End,' she wrote.
'But while the musical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's great American novel about money and class looks like a million dollars, the creators still struggle to overcome the essential problem of the work: none of the leading characters are likeable, not even narrator Nick Carraway (Corbin Bleu), who may not be nasty or vapid but is still (whisper it) a bit of a sap.
'Paul Tate dePoo III's scenic and projection design and Cory Pattak's lighting create a dazzling array of scenes, conjuring up the 1922 Long Island mansions of old-money socialites Tom and Daisy Buchanan (Jon Robyns and Frances Mayli McCann) and their party-loving new neighbour Jay Gatsby (Jamie Muscato), who has made his fortune from bootlegging and is determined to win Daisy's heart.
'Gatsby in famous film incarnations by Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio is enigmatic. Muscato captures the character's cool detachment, and has a beautiful singing voice in a production that sounds terrific (even if the songs are as ephemeral as the green lamp at the end of Daisy's dock).
'McCann and Rachel Tucker, as Tom's mistress Myrtle, also impress in their solo numbers.
'The creators (script by Kait Kerrigan, Jazz Age-infused music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Nathan Tysen) have taken a few liberties with the novel, so it may not be an evening for hardcore Fitzgerald purists.
'Instead, the show focuses on the Gatsby-Daisy love story, with mere nods to the novel's more nuanced examination of the dark side of the American Dream.
But while it may not fully engage one's emotions, this is a Show with a capital S. It looks fabulous. It has a talented ensemble for the big set pieces – and it offers a lot of bang for its (and your) buck.'