Florence + The Machine’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ musical will premiere in 2024
Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine has revealed that the musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby will premiere in the US as early as next year. According to reports, Gatsby will open to the public at Harvard University’s American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Great Gatsby has had no shortage of adaptations over the years. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925, the novella encapsulates the extravagance and superficiality of the jazz age. Today, it is regarded as one of the great American novels of the 20th century.
“This book has haunted me for a large part of my life,” Welch said in a 2021 statement. “It contains some of my favourite lines in literature. Revealing the motivation behind this new stage adaptation, the singer said: “Musicals were my first love, and I feel a deep connection to [F. Scott] Fitzgerald’s broken romanticism. It is an honour to have been offered the chance to recreate this book in song.”
Welch had the chance to work with Baz Luhrmann on his intoxicating 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, contributing a track called ‘Over The Love’ to the movie’s antithetical soundtrack. Luhrmann’s adaptation stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy.
The Great Gatsby entered the public domain in 2021, meaning anyone can now use source material or quote from the book without permission from the Fitzgerald estate. Welch has always had a passion for literature. In 2018, she told Rolling Stone that her biggest weaknesses were “vintage clothes, books and I drink so much coffee”.
When it comes to getting rid of old books, she’s apparently rather cutthroat. “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. “I have such a fear of somebody doing that to me, so I keep mine really well curated.”
In other news, Florence + The Machine are set to headline this year’s Rock En Seine in Paris alongside Placebo, The Chemical Brothers, The Strokes and Billie Eilish.
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