(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse has announced the complete cast and creative team for its world-premiere production of The Great Gatsby, based on the iconic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The highly anticipated production will play October 12-November 12, 2023 at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive, Millburn). Opening night is Sunday, October 22.
Fitzgerald’s novel has fascinated and captivated readers since its publication in 1925. Set in the Roaring Twenties, eccentric millionaire Jay Gatsby (Jordan) will stop at nothing in his tragic pursuit of Daisy Buchanan (Noblezada), a wealthy young woman who he loved in his youth. Surrounded by characters with incredibly complex and nuanced inner lives, passions, and longings boil, and then erupt – spurring the unimaginable fates that befall them.
The Great Gatsby features a book by Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones), a jazz- and pop-influenced original score by Tony Award nominees Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square), and direction by Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical). The production will be choreographed by Dominique Kelley (Television: “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Masked Singer”). Music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations are by Mr. Howland. Daniel Edmonds (Shucked, Paradise Square) is Music Director.
Joining previously announced Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee and Theatre World Award winner Jeremy Jordan as Jay Gatsby and two-time Tony Award nominee and Theatre World Award winner Eva Noblezada as Daisy Buchanan will be Sara Chase as Myrtle Wilson, Stanley W. Mathis as Meyer Wolfsheim, Samantha Pauly as Jordan Baker, Noah J. Ricketts as Nick Carraway, Paul Whitty as George Wilson and John Zdrojeski as Tom Buchanan.
The cast will also feature Lauryn Adams, Raymond Edward Baynard, Ayla Ciccone-Burton, Austin Colby, Colin Cunliffe, Natalie Charle Ellis, Curtis Holland, Brianna Kim, Dariana Mullen, Pascal Pastrana, Mariah Reives, Julio Rey, Dan Rosales, Maya Sistruck, Jake Trammel, Jake Urban, Tanairi Vazquez and Katie Webber.
The Great Gatsby features scenic and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III (Broadway: The Cottage, Spamalot), costume design by Tony Award winner Linda Cho (Broadway: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Harmony; Paper Mill: Chasing Rainbows), lighting design by Cory Pattak (Broadway: Spamalot), sound design by two-time Tony Award winner Brian Ronan (Broadway: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Book of Mormon), hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe (Broadway: Hamilton, MJ: The Musical) and Rachael Geier, and fight and intimacy direction by Rocío Mendez (Broadway: POTUS, Ain’t No Mo’). The production stage manager is Brian Bogin. Casting is by C12 Casting.
The Great Gatsby is produced by special arrangement with Chunsoo Shin, award-winning Korean theater producer and OD Company president.
Jeremy Jordan (Jay Gatsby) is best known for his Tony and Grammy-nominated portrayal of Jack Kelly in Newsies on Broadway, as well as his many roles on television including series regulars on CW’s "Supergirl”, NBC’s “Smash” and Disney’s “Tangled.” He recently reprised the role of Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, having helped re-open it in September of 2021. Most recently, Jeremy can be seen as tenacious record industry giant, Neil Bogart, in the feature film Spinning Gold. Other films include The Last 5 Years opposite Anna Kendrick, Joyful Noise with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, American Son with Kerry Washington, and Newsies live on stage. Additional Broadway credits include Bonnie & Clyde (Theatre World Award), West Side Story, Waitress, American Son, and Rock of Ages. He has guest starred on numerous television shows, including “The Flash,” “Elementary” and “Law and Order: SVU.” Jeremy’s concerts and cabaret shows have won awards and acclaim worldwide. He is also the lead singer of “Age of Madness,” a new rock band which launched last year.
Eva Noblezada (Daisy Buchanan) was recently featured in the Amblin feature Easter Sunday and as the lead in the Apple TV+ animated film Luck. Previously, she starred for director Diane Paragas in the acclaimed Sony Pictures film Yellow Rose. She won a Grammy Award and was nominated for a Tony Award for starring on Broadway in Hadestown. It was Eva’s second Tony nomination in her first two Broadway roles, following her earlier nod in the title role of Miss Saigon in 2017. She also starred in Hadestown at the National Theatre in London as well as in the West End revivals of Miss Saigon and Les Misérables.
Sara Chase (Myrtle Wilson) is best known as mole woman Cyndee Pokorny on the hit Emmy-nominated Netflix series “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Kimmy Schmidt: The Interactive Special.” She returns to Paper Mill fifteen years after her debut in Godspell. Broadway: First Date (original Broadway cast recording). Off Broadway: The Toxic Avenger (original cast recording). Other credits: “The Office,” “Arrested Development,” “The Other Guys.” Sara is an award-winning Peeps diorama artist whose work will be on display next spring in NYC. Training: Upright Citizens Brigade/Boston University.
Stanley W. Mathis (Meyer Wolfsheim) appeared in Paper Mill’s 2005 production of Cinderella. Broadway: Oh, Kay!; Jelly’s Last Jam; The Lion King; Kiss Me, Kate; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Wonderful Town; Nice Work If You Can Get It; The Book of Mormon. He has performed nationally and internationally from the Bermuda Theater Festival to the Royal Court Theatre in London. Television: “Law & Order,” “Gossip Girl,” NBC’s “Rise.” Film: Magic Sticks, Dark Streets, Brother to Brother, Steve McQueen’s Shame. Stanley just finished an acclaimed run of Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago.
Samantha Pauly (Jordan Baker). Broadway: Six: The Musical, originated the role of Katherine Howard (Drama Desk Award, Grammy nominee). West End: Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s critically acclaimed revival of Evita (Evening Standard Theatre Award, WhatsOnStage Award, Olivier nomination). National Tours: Bat Out of Hell (Valkyrie). Regional: Rent as Mimi (Broadway Sacramento), Six as Katherine Howard (Joseph Jefferson Award), Evita as Eva Perón, Honeymoon in Vegas as Betsy Nolan, (Marriott Theatre), Hairspray as Amber Von Tussle, Elf: The Musical as Jovie (Paramount Theatre), many more. TV: “Chicago PD” (NBC). Represented by Stewart Talent and Lohne Graham Management.
Noah J. Ricketts (Nick Carraway). Paper Mill debut! Broadway: Kristoff in Disney’s Frozen, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Off-Broadway: Omar in To My Girls (Second Stage Theater). Regional: Michael in Tick, Tick...Boom! (Bucks County Playhouse). Television credits include the breakout role of Frankie in the highly anticipated Showtime series “Fellow Travelers,” Kai in “American Gods” (Starz), “High Fidelity” (Hulu), and “Christmas Déjà Vu” (BET). His film work includes the horror comedy Summoning Sylvia, The Sixth Borough, and The Fiji Incentive. In concert: Houston Symphony, Kentucky Opera, Stage Entertainment Russia. BFA: CCM.
Paul Whitty (George Wilson). Paper Mill Playhouse debut Broadway: Camelot, Come From Away, Once, Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Amélie, The Full Monty. Off-Broadway: Once, Bayonets of Angst, Violet, Twelfth Night. Regional: Pittsburgh CLO, Muny, Old Globe, A.R.T., Berkeley Rep, CTG, Actors Theatre, Two River, Le Petit. Film/TV: “Come From Away,” Song One, “Law & Order: SVU,” “FBI: Most Wanted.” BFA, UNCSA. For the ladies of my life: Katie, Amelie, Robin, and Franny.
John Zdrojeski (Tom Buchanan). Pronunciation: “struh-JE(H)-ski.” Broadway: Good Night, Oscar. Off-Broadway: Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Playwrights Horizons—Obie Special Citation); Before We’re Gone (13th Street Theatre); Monster (Potomac Theatre Project). Regional: Good Night, Oscar (Goodman); Romeo and Juliet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Huntington Theatre Company); 10x10 New Play Festival (Barrington Stage Company). Film/TV: The Breakdown Parables, “Evil,” “Billions,” “The Code,” “Madam Secretary.” A singer-songwriter as well whose debut album, Misters, was released in December 2022 and is available on all streaming services. Education: Boston University (BFA) and NYU (MFA).
Kait Kerrigan (Book) is best known for her musical (book and lyrics) with Bree Lowdermilk, The Mad Ones, which includes cult-hit songs “Run Away with Me” and “Go Tonight.” She wrote additional lyrics for The Time Traveler’s Wife, opening on the West End in October 2023. Other musicals include Indigo, Justice, the pop-up immersive house party The Bad Years, and children’s shows: Henry & Mudge, Earthrise and Rosie Revere, Engineer & Friends. Her plays include Father/Daughter and Imaginary Love. The Great Gatsby is Kerrigan’s first musical collaboration with her husband, lyricist Nathan Tysen.
Jason Howland (Music, Music Supervision, Orchestrations, Arrangements) is a Grammy- and Emmy-winning producer and arranger and a Tony-nominated composer, producer, and orchestrator. Composer: Paradise Square (Broadway), Little Women (Broadway), Ikuru (Tokyo), Tokyo Love Story (Tokyo), Christmas in Connecticut (Goodspeed), Last Days of Summer (Kansas City Rep). Musical director/arranger credits on Broadway include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Grammy Award), Shucked, Paradise Square, Bonnie and Clyde, Wonderland, Jekyll & Hyde, Les Misérables, The Civil War, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Taboo, and others. Proud father of Nina and Noah.
Nathan Tysen (Lyrics). Broadway/West End: Paradise Square (Tony nomination), Amélie (Olivier and Grammy nominations), Tuck Everlasting. Off-Broadway: The Burnt Part Boys, Fugitive Songs. Regional: Dreamland (or a musical riff on Shakespeare’s Midsummer set during the declassification of Area 51), Stillwater. TV/Film: “A Killer Party,” “Sesame Street,” “Elmo’s World.” Upcoming: Love Is Strange, Blown Sideways Through Life, Revival, The Untitled Joe Hill Project. Awards from the Kleban, Ebb, Rodgers, and Larson foundations. Writer/director for Lovewell Institute, creating original musicals with young adults. MFA NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, BFA Missouri State University. Husband to writer Kait Kerrigan, father to Lucy and Tess.
Marc Bruni (Director). Paper Mill: Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Other credits include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway, West End, US/UK tours, and Australia (Helpmann, Green Room awards for direction); Trevor: The Musical (Disney+, Stage 42); Love All (La Jolla); Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, How to Succeed…, 50 Years of Broadway (Kennedy Center); The Nutty Professor (Ogunquit); The Tale of Despereaux (Old Globe, Berkeley); Hey, Look Me Over!, Paint Your Wagon, Pipe Dream, and Fanny (Encores!); The Explorers Club (MTC); Old Jews Telling Jokes (Westside Theatre, Royal George Chicago); The Sound of Music (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Aspen); and eight musicals at St. Louis Muny. Graduate of Dartmouth College. SDC member.
Dominique Kelley (Choreographer). Theater credits include Oklahoma!, Indecent, and Rattlesnake Kate (Denver Center); Sophisticated Ladies and Singin’ in the Rain (Zach Theatre); Wild Women Blues (Germany); and Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Ebony Rep). Favorite TV: “Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Perry Mason,” “The Masked Singer,” “American Music Awards,” “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” Recording artist choreography: Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Usher, P!nk, FKA Twigs, Camila Cabello. Film: Gone with the Bullets, Jo Bole So Nihaal. Cirque du Soleil’s Volta. Sports team choreography: NY Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, L.A. Clippers, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Rockets, L.A. Chargers.
Daniel Edmonds (Music Director). Broadway: Shucked, Paradise Square. West End: The Showgirl Within. Songwriter: many songs, including Lea Salonga’s latest single, “Dream Again.” Film: scores for The Suitor, Monolith, Butcherbird, and the song “Man to Man” from Super Awesome. Other theater: new version of The Wind in the Willows (composer); MD of the world-premiere productions of King Kong, Strictly Ballroom (with Baz Luhrmann), Dream Lover; MD of Beautiful, Chicago, and Pippin in Australia; music supervisor of Only Heaven Knows and You & Me. In development: Wild About You (music supervisor, arranger, orchestrator, music producer of the concept album). Other highlights include piano for Lea Salonga’s PBS Great Performances special.
Paul Tate dePoo III (Scenic & Projection Design) is a Cuban American scenic, projection, and production designer originally from Key West, Florida. Recent designs include The Cottage (Broadway); Spamalot (Broadway); resident designer for the Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage: The Music Man, Tommy, Footloose, Next to Normal, 50 Years of Broadway, Guys and Dolls, Sunset Boulevard; Usher’s Las Vegas residency (production design); Cosí fan tutte (Santa Fe Opera); Turandot (Austria, Vienna); Titanic, Sweeney Todd (OD, Seoul, South Korea); Evita, The Sound of Music, Murder on the Orient Express (Asolo Rep); Beau (TBD Pictures); Angels in America (amfAR); Grand Hotel (Signature Theatre – Helen Hayes Award).
Linda Cho (Costume Design). Paper Mill: Chasing Rainbows. Broadway: Doubt; Harmony; Summer, 1976; POTUS; Take Me Out; Grand Horizons; The Great Society; The Lifespan of a Fact; Anastasia (Tony nomination); A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (Tony Award); The Velocity of Autumn. Off Broadway: Half God of Rainfall (New York Theatre Workshop). Regional: Babbitt (La Jolla Playhouse), The Pianist (George Street Playhouse). Opera: Samson et Dalila (Met Opera), Turandot (Washington National Opera) Other: TDF’s Irene Sharaff Young Master Award, Ruth Morley Design Award. Advisory committee of the American Theatre Wing. MFA, Yale School of Drama.
Cory Pattak (Lighting Design). Broadway: Upcoming Spamalot revival. Off Broadway: The Lucky Star, Final Follies, Stalking the Bogeyman, Handle with Care, Skippyjon Jones, Unlocked. Regional: Eight shows as the resident lighting designer for Broadway Center Stage at the Kennedy Center, A Wonderful World (New Orleans, Chicago), Rent in Concert (Kennedy Center Concert Hall), Weston Playhouse, Portland Stage, Ordway, Goodspeed, KC Rep, Everyman, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Asolo Rep, Miami New Drama, Alabama Shakespeare, Tuacahn, Ogunquit Playhouse. Other: In the Heights in Puerto Rico, shows for Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises. National Tour: Flashdance. International: Sunset Boulevard, Singin’ in the Rain, Pretty Woman (Brazil).
Brian Ronan (Sound Design) has designed the sound for over 40 Broadway shows. They include Some Like It Hot, Funny Girl, Mean Girls, Springsteen on Broadway, The Last Ship, Beautiful, The Book of Mormon, Anything Goes, American Idiot, Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, and Cabaret. His international, regional and Off Broadway credits are extensive. Brian is the recipient of the Obie, Lucille Lortel, two Drama Desks, London’s Olivier, and two Tony Awards. He is married to Paper Mill veteran director/choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter.
Charles G. LaPointe (Co–Hair & Wig Design). Paper Mill: The Wanderer, Chasing Rainbows, Newsies, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Holiday Inn, The Sting, The Color Purple, 1776. Numerous Broadway, touring, West End, and international productions including Hamilton (Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Award), MJ: The Musical, Six, How to Dance in Ohio (upcoming), The Cher Show (Drama Desk Award), The Band’s Visit, Beautiful, Ain’t Too Proud, Beetlejuice, SpongeBob Square Pants (Drama Desk Award), Jersey Boys, A Gentleman’s Guide…, Anastasia, In the Heights. Television: “The Wiz Live!” (Emmy Award nomination), “Jesus Christ Superstar Live!” (Emmy Award nomination, Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Award).
Rocío Mendez (Fight & Intimacy Director). (they/she) Member of Unkle Dave’s Fight-House and proud New Yorker committed to building confidence in brown and black girls through storytelling. Rocío was recently nominated for two Drama Desk Awards and currently is the resident intimacy director at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Rocío is also an award-winning actor. Credits include Broadway: POTUS, Ain’t No Mo’; Metropolitan Opera: Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Eurydice, Rigoletto, Rodelinda, Lucia; Off Broadway/Regional: Merrily We Roll Along, How to Defend Yourself, (NYTW); The Bandaged Place (Roundabout); The Harder They Come, Merry Wives, Romeo y Julieta (Public Theater).
Brian Bogin (Production Stage Manager). Paper Mill debut! Most recently the premiere of Anna Deavere Smith’s Love All at La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Marc Bruni. Over 20 Broadway/national tours including Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool; Hello, Dolly!; Frankie and Johnny…; The Waverly Gallery; Straight White Men; On Your Feet!; …Great Comet; Allegiance; The Book of Mormon; Constellations; War Horse; Elf; Wicked; The Phantom of the Opera; Chicago; Spamalot; Urinetown; Good Vibrations; Soul Doctor. Select Off Broadway: Heart, To My Girls, Trevor: The Musical, Heisenberg, The Toxic Avenger: The Musical. Thanks to Michael, Rebecca, and Via for saying yes. Love to Colin.
C12 Casting (Casting) is Carrie Gardner, Stephen Kopel, Jillian Cimini, Neal Buckley, and Sujotta Pace. Broadway: Gutenberg! The Musical!; I Need That; & Juliet; Shucked; Moulin Rouge!; A Christmas Carol; Good Night, Oscar; Jagged Little Pill; 1776; Peter Pan Goes Wrong; Trouble inMind; Caroline, or Change; Birthday Candles; The Book of Mormon; The Play That Goes Wrong; Sunday in the Park with George; Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Off Broadway: The Refuge Plays, Primary Trust, The Wanderers, English, Exception to the Rule, the bandaged place, Usual Girls, Merrily We Roll Along, Kingdom Come.
This production is made possible by special arrangement with Chunsoo Shin, a celebrated Korean musical theatre producer who is the founder and president of OD Company, a global theatre producing company in South Korea. He was the first Korean producer to become a lead producer on Broadway. He is acknowledged as an influential musical producer in Korea’s theater industry. Broadway: Doctor Zhivago, Holler If Ya Hear Me. Korea: Sweeney Todd, Man of La Mancha, Jekyll & Hyde, Dreamgirls, Titanic, The Story of My Life, and more. In Development: The Lights in Firenze, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (La Jolla), and more. He is the founding president of the Korean Association of Musical Producers.
Paper Mill Playhouse offers its audiences the opportunity to enhance their theater experience with behind-the-scenes views of mainstage productions, including Q&As held live in the theater with cast members. Paper Mill Prologues and The Director’s Viewpoint will be available to everyone on-demand in the Paper Mill Playhouse mobile app.
Award-winning access programs and services are available at all Paper Mill Playhouse productions, including audio-described performances, American Sign Language interpreted and open-captioned performances, Braille and large-print programs, and assistive listening devices.
Paper Mill Playhouse offers three-, four- , and five-show subscription packages, available now starting at just $111. Each subscription package includes a different level of special benefits – see www.PaperMill.org for details. Accessibly priced youth subscriptions are available for children under 18 with the purchase of an adult subscription. Tickets and subscriptions may be purchased by calling 973.376.4343, online, or at the box office.
Programs, dates, and artists are subject to change.
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE, recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is a nationally renowned not-for-profit theater under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Michael Stotts (Executive Director). A beloved New Jersey arts institution since 1938, Paper Mill creates and produces groundbreaking new musicals and reimagined classics. Several productions have gone on to Broadway and launched national tours, including Disney’s Newsies, Les Misérables, Honeymoon in Vegas, A Bronx Tale, and Bandstand. The theater is also the home to an award-winning center for musical theater education and artist training, with outreach programs that impact thousands of students each year. As one of the nation’s premier musical theaters, Paper Mill fosters a creative environment to advance the art form, educate students, develop future theater lovers, nurture inclusion, and provide access for all.
They acknowledge that their theater stands on the traditional land of the Lenni-Lenape, and they honor the Indigenous people who inhabited it for thousands of years before European settlers arrived.
Paper Mill Playhouse programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
