[New York Diary] Korean Gatsby Takes on Broadway... Already Eliciting a Hot Local Response

Shin Chunsu Leads Odi Company's "The Great Gatsby"
Final "Try-Out" in New Jersey Sells Out Every Seat
Aiming for Broadway Debut in June Next Year

[Image courtesy of Odee Company Co., Photo by Jeremy Daniel]

"Will this production work on Broadway? Of course it will. If not, that will be crazy not to."

On the night of the first public showing of the musical The Great Gatsby, which is challenging Broadway in the U.S., Natalie, whom we met at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey on the 22nd (local time), exclaimed "amazing" before the question was even finished.

Wearing a headpiece reminiscent of Daisy, the female lead of The Great Gatsby, she had dressed in 1920s attire along with her mother Jin and daughter Caroline and drove an hour and a half to see the show. Jin, who said she had seen most of the major performances at this theater in recent years, smiled and said, "The singing, stage, acting, and directing are all impressive. I'm also happy to have seen the world premiere," adding, "I hope to see it on Broadway for sure."

While the three generations of Natalie’s family were busy purchasing merchandise, still unable to forget the lingering impression left by the musical The Great Gatsby, inside the theater stood a Korean man receiving a shower of congratulations. It was Shin Chunsu, producer (CEO) of Odi Company, one of Korea’s leading musical production companies known for Man of La Mancha, Jekyll & Hyde, and Death Note. As the 'sole lead producer' of this musical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of the same name, Shin led the entire production process from planning to development locally in the U.S.

On the day of the 'official opening night,' the musical The Great Gatsby was holding what is known as a 'try-out,' the final gateway before heading to the 'dream stage' of New York Broadway. A native Korean musical producer was thus boldly challenging Broadway with a quintessentially American story everyone knows.

Before the performance, we met Shin at the theater and asked, "Why choose Gatsby?" He replied, "Interpretations and evaluations of Gatsby can vary for everyone, but it’s a story about dreams, goals, and human love. These are keywords still relevant today." He emphasized the power of the universality of the narrative. Published in 1925, this novel remains one of the most captivating stories nearly a century later. The musical produced by Shin stayed faithful to the novel’s plot. However, unlike the novel’s third-person perspective, the musical features Gatsby and Daisy openly expressing their emotions directly.

The first number, "Roaring On," capturing the glamorous and turbulent Jazz Age, immediately transports the audience back to the 1920s. After the number "For Her," expressing Gatsby’s longing for Daisy, the audience gave a standing ovation filled with emotion. In contrast, the number "Only Tea," where Gatsby nervously reveals his tension before reuniting with Daisy, elicited laughter throughout the theater. The Act 1 highlight "My Green Light," sung by Gatsby and Daisy, shows pure passion toward ideals, while the final number of Act 2, "Final: Roaring On," exposes the distorted greed and emptiness of the materialistic era.

The cast, composed of Broadway veterans, played a significant role in elevating the charm of every scene. Jeremy Jordan, known for Newsies and Bonnie & Clyde, took on the role of Jay Gatsby, and Eva Noblezada, familiar to Korean musical fans from her appearance alongside Hong Kwang-ho in the 25th anniversary special stage of West End’s Miss Saigon, played Daisy Buchanan. Scene transitions were smooth, moving from Gatsby’s lavish mansion to a rundown apartment in Harlem, Manhattan, and then to Nick’s quaint cottage. Alicia, who introduced herself as a big musical fan, described it as "phenomenal" with songs that linger in your ears, great acting, grand sets, and dazzling costumes, adding, "To be clear, it’s on the level of a major Broadway production."

[Image provided by Odee Company Co., Photo by Jeremy Daniel]

The try-out performances scheduled through November 12 are already sold out for all shows and all 1,200 seats. This is unprecedented since the Paper Mill Playhouse opened in 1934, even though many musicals like Newsies and Disney’s Hercules have passed through the try-out stage here. The theater highly regards the potential success of The Great Gatsby and has invested $1.2 million in production costs. Shin and Odi Company repeatedly increased the budget during production, ultimately investing about $6 million, double the original $3 million budget. This shows they spared no investment to enhance the production’s quality until the very end.

Many of the audience on the official opening day were New York Broadway theater owners and industry professionals. How did these sharp-eyed experts perceive the musical The Great Gatsby? Andrew, who works in musical marketing, said, "It was stunning, just as expected," and added, "It will make it to Broadway. I wish them luck." Local media NJ Advance Media described the show as "a musical adaptation full of excitement and drama," and said, "It is almost certain to be a harbinger of success across the river on New York Broadway." BroadwayWorld called it an "excellent world premiere," praising the cast as perfect and the production team as the best it could be. However, some critiques noted that the short running time and focus on faithfully following the novel’s plot resulted in "rich but lacking adventurousness in narrative," and that it was "insufficient to bring Fitzgerald’s deep and dark themes of wealth and class fully to the stage."

Shin, the first Korean full member of the Broadway League, is no stranger to challenging Broadway, the 'home of musicals.' He previously produced Holler If You Hear Me and Doctor Zhivago, but suffered painful failures. Including works that stopped at the try-out stage, this is his 'third time’s the charm' attempt. He said, "In the past, I was impatient and inexperienced. But this time, I followed every step faithfully and led the project steadily as the sole lead producer," emphasizing, "There is an atmosphere you can feel on site during the process. Now, I have the confidence that it’s time to show it."

At one point, he lost much confidence due to failures on Broadway. During the process of pouring in huge investments, he was often asked, "Why on earth are you doing this?" Yet, like Don Quixote or Gatsby chasing Daisy, he has repeatedly taken what might seem like reckless challenges. When asked why, he said, "Obviously, because there is a market." However, he explained that if he had only thought of production costs as 'money'?like research and development expenses without returns?he would never have knocked on Broadway’s door. While some on Broadway call musicals 'money,' he calls them 'dreams.'

The musical The Great Gatsby hopes to enter Broadway after June next year. The goal is not just to debut but to remain a long-running production. When we met Shin again a few days later on New York Broadway after his meetings with theater owners and investors who had seen the show, he appeared even more confident. He emphasized, "Korean musicals have enough competitiveness," adding, "Like K-pop and K-classical, I want to gradually increase our presence on New York Broadway as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.