Great Gatsby' gets musical twist in London theatre

A musical incarnation of author F Scott Fitzgerald's classic 1925 novel The Great Gatsby has opened in London's West End, offering audiences the chance to step into Jay Gatsby's world of parties at his Long Island mansion near New York City.

"We're out to deliver all of the opulence of Jay Gatsby and then also to tell this story about whether the American dream is possible," said director Marc Bruni, at the show's launch event on Wednesday.

The novel is told through the eyes of Gatsby's new neighbour, Nick Carraway, who becomes entwined in Gatsby's life. But the musical version is "able to live in the heads of all of the characters," Bruni said.

The musical has an ongoing run on Broadway, where it opened a year ago. The London show stars Jamie Muscato as Gatsby, the self-made millionaire who holds lavish parties to try to win back his old love Daisy (Frances Mayli McCann), who is married to someone else.

"Daisy is this beautifully tragic woman in the 1920s. She's in this marriage for status and wealth ... and then Jay Gatsby comes back into her life after five years," said McCann.

While the show is "very close" to the famous novel, scriptwriter Kait Kerrigan had "given the female characters more agency" in the musical version, McCann added.

Since its release 100 years ago, Fitzgerald's novel has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, according to press notes from the production. Screen adaptations include Australian director Baz Luhrmann's 2013 movie version featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan.

"It's the great American story about class and about whether class mobility is possible," said Bruni. "The message of that, as the gap between the haves and the have-nots gets wider and wider, feels ever more present and contemporary."

The Great Gatsby will run at The London Coliseum until September 7, 2025. Reuters