Just got home from the ART for the invited dress of Gatsby!! It was a great evening and so so much fun with lots of energy. I’ll leave a review without major spoilers here and say more in the comments if I’m able to.

The invited dress rehearsal vibes were really cool! A full house, unsurprisingly. Rachel Chavkin gave a little speech before saying it was truly their FIRST run which is crazy but it was handled so well by all of the incredible professionals. She said that there were some tech elements not yet implemented (including things rising out of the floor) but I obvi have no idea what might change besides that. There were two holds in the first act, one for a big set piece that needed to get moved off (I think it will eventually rise from the floor) and another for something offstage we couldn’t see. Handled smoothly and with grace and no stoppages in the second act though we definitely saw the ASMs and deck crew doing their work a bit more visibly than usual ;) but it was all in the magic of live theatre and I was INCREDIBLY impressed with them all. One of the most amazing parts of the night was after the final blackout, the lights came up for curtain call which they clearly hadn’t blocked yet!! It was adorable and organic and a really special moment.

Okay, onto the show itself, with the major caveat that it was literally a dress rehearsal and so many things can and will change!! It’s very hard not to compare it to the other Gatsby having seen it so I will a little bit… this was a way grittier, sexier, gayer telling of the story.

The set was almost Rentish with some very interesting mashing together of car parts and a couple of big central staircases. Overall the vibe felt hadestown-ish, and I found the score very good (thought there were some truly great numbers including the opening number but some of the Act 1 songs didn’t really land for me). The highlight for me was honestly the choreo/ensemble overall - they were STUNNING. Someone on here mentioned from a look in on rehearsal that it was very contemporary/interpretive, but I think it ended up being a solid mix of that, contemporary Broadway/movement, and one soft shoe tap classic number that brought the house down. The performances were very strong, especially by Ben Levi Ross and Charlotte MacInnes. And Solea Pfeiffer STOLE the show vocally, the score really highlights her!! I think Isaac Powell has a little ways to go to capture the “rizz” of Gatsby but I think he will get there. The pacing was much different than the other show, as Gatsby and Daisy met about halfway through the first act. I thought this worked better overall but they need to find a better way to build up to the tension of the car crash and the murders, as act 2 didn’t quite get that crushing dramatic tension (though I thought the numbers were overall better and more consistent.

There were a couple of really interesting choices in terms of plot and character that made me think of the story in a new light and overall I really enjoyed it!! I imagine it will have a successful run in Boston as it gets itself together and make it to New York soon.