Shaking Things Up: The Great Gatsby Glitters at The Citadel but Its Story Stays Flat
The Citadel's production of The Great Gatsby is a glitzy, fun night out, with standout performances from Duncan Cox and Kristin Johnston, though the reviewer finds the story itself muddled.
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Kristin Johnston balances a pair of drinks on her chest as she sashays onto the Citadel stage in The Great Gatsby, one of several scenes where her drunken party antics steal the show. The production runs through November 22.
The show sticks close to F. Scott Fitzgerald's source material. Richard Lee Hsi plays Nick Carraway, the modest narrator who watches the Gatsby parties from his cottage and gets drawn into the lives of his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. Duncan Cox plays Gatsby, and the reviewer says Cox finds a depth in the role that goes beyond what Leonardo DiCaprio brought to the part, playing the character's bravado with an undercurrent of dread. The glitzy set dressings, gorgeous costumes and live jazz trio carry the excess of the 1920s.
The reviewer found the performances great and the production fun. The story, the reviewer argues, is the problem: a mysterious man at the centre of a tale in which none of the characters take centre stage. Nick, Daisy and Gatsby all have what the reviewer calls a muddled through line, and the mystery of Gatsby remains unresolved. The reviewer places the blame on the novel more than the staging.
The production runs through November 22 at The Citadel.
The details
How long does The Great Gatsby run at The Citadel?
The Citadel's production of The Great Gatsby runs through November 22.
Who plays Gatsby in The Citadel's The Great Gatsby?
Duncan Cox plays Gatsby in The Citadel's production of The Great Gatsby.
