Video: Inside Rehearsals for THE GREAT GATSBY with Jeremy Jordan & Eva Noblezada

The pey's going on

The party's going on. Oh, maybe on and on and on and on and on and on and on

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World, Jeremy Jordan and Evil Noble Zada, starring the world premiere of the new musical

The Great Gatsby, which will open on October 22nd at Paper Mill Playhouse

Playhouse and we drop by the rehearsal room to bring you a sneak peek and meet the company

I am so incredibly excited. I haven't gotten to premiere a new musical since I can't

even remember. I mean it's been almost probably 10 years at least and so it's really a joy

to get to be in the room and getting to develop it. And the team is incredibly collaborative

I mean I don't think I've ever worked with a team that was this collaborative. You know, where everybody's ideas are heard and we're all just kind of

like trying to build this thing as perfectly as we can make it, you know

And we're really excited. And you've heard some of the music. It's absolutely gorgeous

And you know, there's a lot more where that came from. This team, everyone involved, I've never been a part of a production before from the ground

up that feels so equally collaborative, which makes us all Bringer A Game, which honestly

raises the stakes even more for what is possible which is amazing there no better feeling than being on a stage and feeling like there are no limits And this team only encourages that kind of attitude

which is so amazing. I mean, what better musical to have no limit

than the Great Gatsby. I'm super excited. I mean, this is like one of my favorite books of all time

so to see it turn into a Broadway musical is very special

I'm so excited. I feel like I wake up with anxiety every day. I'm just ready to like do the show

I'm ready to do performances. I'm ready to add. everything, put everything together

I'm so excited because it's really good, I think. And everybody is on their A-game, the choreography, the singing, the acting, the writing

It's really good. It's thrilling. I mean, I can't even describe. I'm beside myself

The chance to get to play this part and to bring this to life is such a gift, and I feel

very honored to be a part of it. I am beyond over-the-moon excited to do this show with these people

The creative team from the get-go has been just the most collaborative group of humans I've ever met

And then to have Jeremy Jordan and even Oblizada leave this team of people

Everybody is so kind and generous and in it. And everybody gives 100% all the time

And it's beautiful. I've never had an experience like this. We're so excited

We love the paper mill. We have such an unbelievable cast, such an unbelievable production. this is such a rare gift of an opportunity such a big title such a big idea We just been loving every minute of it Yeah I mean first of all I moved to Jersey five years ago So my commute to the paper mill is going to be amazing

This is also the first time I've worked on a professional piece with my wife, Kay K. Kerrigan, is doing the book. So that has been a dream

And then, you know, this cast, the set, you know. Outrageous. It's a big show

I think one of the things that I was drawn to is the way that

the book and the musical treatment takes what musicals do best and puts it on this story

And especially with regard to the female characters, the female characters in the novel

because they're seen through Nick Carraway's perspective, are not given as much agency

to be able to let their feelings be known in a direct way

And so what Kate and Nathan and Jason have done is to allow in this treatment an ability

for us to get inside their heads and allow them to sing their feelings and be able to get a sense

of what the plight of women is in the 20s. And so that's, I think, one thing that's very unique

about this treatment. For me, in a lot of the original movies, the people of color was just

the help, and they were only poor. So in our version, everybody is represented. All marginalized groups

are in there. And not only in life, we have our highs and our lows, but it's great to see

ourselves reflected on stage in a wonderful light. that this is a world premiere of such a well title is beyond exciting And what we try to do is be the best host to provide an environment where the creative team and the artists can really do the work to make the best show possible

And what's really heartening for me and for all of us at Pabermil is the audience has gone along with us on this journey to understand and know about what new works are and they flock to it

Now they want to be there and see it first before it goes to Broadway or moves on

And that is an amazing environment for us as, you know, theater administrators

but also for artists to go in front of an audience knowing they are chomping at the bit

because no one's seen this before. They are the first eyes on it and this show delivers

Thank you