The Great Gatsby - London Coliseum Review

Reviewed by Connie

This production is the bee's knees, Old Sport.
 
The Great Gatsby is a lyrical, tragic portrait of the American Dream gone awry, set against the glittering backdrop of the 1920s. Narrated by Nick Carraway, it follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his obsessive love for the beautiful, elusive Daisy Buchanan. Beneath the champagne and jazz lies a story of illusion, longing, and the emptiness of excess. It's a tale where hope glows like a green light — just out of reach.

Photo by Tristram Kenton.

With music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, and a book by Kait Kerrigan, The Great Gatsby transfers to the West End stage just a week after the centennial of Fitzgerald's original publication, and following a successful ongoing run on Broadway, creates an environment of luxury and provides an evening of awe.
 
The score offers no shortage of striking musical moments, but it's the cast's dynamic performances that elevate the show into something unforgettable. Jaime Muscato brings Gatsby to life with understated brilliance — not a star turn, but a star confirmed. With a recent Olivier nomination and a voice among the best in British theatre, this performance affirms him as the man of the moment. Muscato sang like the heavens were listening — deep, resonant, and soul-stirring. Like Gatsby, he carries that rare kind of presence — the kind that makes you believe, if only for a moment, that something extraordinary is possible.
 
Muscato may have missed out on an Olivier win this year, but after a performance of this calibre, this feels more like a delay than a denial. If there is any theatrical justice, Muscato's moment with the statue is not a possibility, but an inevitability.
 
Across from Muscato's alluring Jay Gatsby plays Frances MayliMcCann in a nuanced and razor-sharp portrayal of Daisy Buchanan. McCann resists the temptation to soften Daisy, finding both the charm and chill in her smile with captivating precision. She gives us a Daisy who isn't just a dream, but a dangerously real woman - flawed, fascinating, mesmerising. With a voice like an angel, paired with Muscato's own, I'm not sure I've ever heard such a flawless pair of vocals. Individually, they are masterclasses — distinct, commanding and unforgettable. But when they join, it's not just harmony, it's electricity — a meeting of tone and emotion that elevates the entire stage.

Corbin Bleu. Photo by Tristram Kenton

Corbin Bleu makes his West End debut at long last as Nick Carraway, our narrator for the night. Bleu's performance is much more than just narration however, in his hands, Nick is more than a bystander, he is the audience's guide through decadence and disillusionment, quietly present, quietly changed, and never quite belonging to the golden glow he's drawn to. Bleu's every word feels lived-in and honest, and he feels like a representation of the audience on stage, an emotional and grounding performance amongst so much glamour.
 
Rounding out the leading cast are Amber Davies, Rachel Tucker, Jon Robyns, John Owen-Jones and Joel Montague, as Jordan Baker, Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan, Meyer Wolfsheim and George Wilson, respectively. Each performance is exceptional in its own right, from Montague's sobering performance as George, reminding the audience that for every party at Gatsby's mansion, there's a broken man watching from the shadows, to Davies' scene-stealing turn as Jordan Baker, providing excellent comic timing and vocals that could blow the roof off the theatre. However, Rachel Tucker was the stand-out supporting performer of the night. Tucker's Myrtle crackles with energy — brash, bold, and bitingly funny — but beneath the bravado, she finds a raw, aching vulnerability that lingers long after she leaves the stage, and her gift of an 11 o'clock number (One-Way Road) wasn't just a highlight — it was a gut-punch, and it's stayed with me long after the curtain fell.
 
Supporting the performances of our leading cast was some of the most creative, emotive, lively choreography I have seen on stage in a long time, performed by the sensational ensemble cast. The combination of Fosse-like jazz, unexpectedly expressive two-step waltzes, tap, and lifts galore had my mouth agape and the audience vibrating much more than once.
 
In addition to this, the set was the largest I believe I have ever seen, and the transitions, aided by the exceptional lighting design, were flawless. I felt transported between the opulence of Gatsby's mansion, into his bedroom, Nick's cottage, Daisy's garden and the Wilson's auto shop without even noticing the movements taking place, each scene bursts like a popped bottle of Champagne — effervescent, intoxicating, and just a little bit dangerous.

Photo by Tristram Kenton

To round it off, it is clear why The Great Gatsby on Broadway won a Tony Award for Costume Design, and I can see that foreshadowing what is to come here in London. The Costumes, Wigs/Hair and Makeup of this production were impeccable, exquisitely detailed, and gloriously transformed in a series of quick changes and on-stage reveals that left the audience gasping in delight.
 
The Great Gatsby plays in the biggest theatre in the West Endand it is fitting. This show fills every inch of space, the magnificent front of house fits the show's theme perfectly, and the auditorium feels like we could have just as easily been sat in Gatsby's mansion itself. Telling a story centred around an irresistible green light, The Great Gatsby is a shimmering spectacle that brings Fitzgerald's champagne-soaked tragedy to life with elegant detail and emotional bite. It's not just the green light calling — it's the spotlight, and The Great Gatsby's living in it.
 
If you're going to see one thing this summer, see this. Playing at the London Coliseum until Sunday the 7th September 2025, I'd RSVP 'yes' to this party again and again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tickets are available from https://londongatsby.com/

Jamie Muscato and Frances Mayli McCann. Photo by Tristram Kenton.