If you love a little glitz, a little drama, and a whole lot of Jazz Age glamour, The Great Gatsby is about to give Bass Concert Hall the full, sparkling treatment.
Texas Performing Arts’ Broadway in Austin brings the classic American story to the Austin stage in a big and bold way, complete with dazzling costumes and huge musical numbers.
Samantha Pauly (center) & cast in the Broadway production of The Great Gatsby (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
While Gatsby’s world is famous for its excess, two characters who live outside that glittering bubble help keep the story grounded: George and Myrtle Wilson. Cast members Tally Sessions, who plays George Wilson, and Lila Coogan, who plays Myrtle Wilson, joined Trevor Scott and Sierra Waggoner in the studio to share the magic of this stage spectacle.
Cast members Tally Sessions, who plays George Wilson, and Lila Coogan, who plays Myrtle Wilson, joined Trevor Scott and Sierra Waggoner in the studio to share the magic of this stage spectacle.
The production leans into the glamour that defines the era, but it also spotlights the working-class heartbeat of the story through the Wilsons, who are surrounded by wealth and spectacle while living a very different reality.
“I think women in that time didn’t really have a lot of agency,” said Coogan, “and especially in the book, they’re kind of just talked about but not really fleshed out. And so our writers did a really great job creating dynamic women who have more than one dimension, so that we have so much to play with. So for my character, being a woman who’s not in the upper class, I have so much to work towards and aspire to.”
Eric Anderson (center) & cast in the Broadway Production of The Great Gatsby (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
The show is also aiming to connect with newcomers who may barely know the story, delivering big moments designed to spark strong audience reactions, along with the kind of rehearsal-room discoveries that shape a large-scale musical into a night of theater packed with drama and dazzle.
“I think the other great thing is, there’s no limit on the ability to hope,” added Sessions, “Whatever class you come from. The novel has always sort of been about the great American dream. And that’s true of every human living. They have goals, and they want to achieve them, and they want to make life better for themselves, for their families, for their loved ones.”
Watch the full video above to hear more about this dazzling production!
GATSBY NA Tour Company_ Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.
“The Great Gatsby” brings Jazz Age glitz and big musical numbers to Bass Concert Hall