Artist’s interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel will come out ahead of the book’s centenary
Florence Welch, who has always embraced a certain Jazz Age chic and joie de vivre, will bring her interpretation of the Great American Novel, The Great Gatsby, to theatrical stages next year.
The artist is collaborating with Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman, on music for a show simply called Gatsby. She is also writing the production’s lyrics which feature a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok (Cost of Living). Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin is attached to direct, and another Tony winner, Sonya Tayeh, will provide choreography. Gatsby will premiere at Harvard University’s American Repertory Theater in 2024.
“This book has haunted me for a large part of my life,” Welch said in 2021 when news first broke of her involvement in the project. “It contains some of my favorite lines in literature. Musicals were my first love, and I feel a deep connection to Fitzgerald’s broken romanticism. It is an honor to have been offered the chance to recreate this book in song.” At the time she made the announcement, the producers said a soundtrack album for the production would also be forthcoming.
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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s celebrated book, published in 1925, entered the public domain in 2021, allowing anyone to use it as source material or quote from it without the consent of his estate.
In 2018, Welch told Rolling Stone that her biggest indulgences were “vintage clothes, books and I drink so much coffee.” When asked if she’s successful at getting rid of old books, she said yes. “Do you do the thing where you go to people’s houses and go straight to their bookshelves and secretly, silently judge them on their book choices?” she asked in response. “I have such a fear of somebody doing that to me, so I keep mine really well curated.”
