Review: The Great Gatsby (Takarazuka, 1991)

The Great Gatsby is a novel I've never been able to like. Its film adaptations are even worse. I had fairly low expectations when I watched this musical. Did it surpass them? ...Yes. Sort of.

This version of The Great Gatsby is a 1991 musical performed by Japan's all-female Takarazuka Revue. It sticks fairly close to the book, with some notable differences. This is one case where I would really have preferred an adaptation wasn't close to the book.

Frankly, I wasn't interested in the story of this musical at all. I watched it for only one reason: I read a translation of a book written by Keaki Mori (who plays Gatsby here), and decided I wanted to see some of her performances. This was the only one I could find. So I watched it even though I don't like the story. Yes, I know how stupid that sounds. No, I don't actually regret it.

Actresses I recognised:
Maki Ichiro (Death in Elisabeth 1996) as Nick
Fubuki Takane (Franz Joseph in Elisabeth 1996) as Meyer Wolfsheim
Yuu Todoroki (many, many roles, including Lucheni in Elisabeth 1996 and Ravic in Arch of Triumph) as Biloxi
Tatsuki Kouju (Rupert in The Prisoner of Zenda 2000) as Raul
Youka Wao (Erik in Phantom 2004) as Eddie

TakaWiki says Mari Hanafusa was also somewhere in the cast. I tried to spot her, but failed. Maybe she was only in the revue (which wasn't included on the recording I watched). Or maybe it's another case of my poor recognisation skills.

Anyway, on to the story.

The recording begins with an interview/introduction with Keaki Mori, presumably about the show. I listened to about a minute, trying to understand something. After that I realised it was hopeless to listen to any more, so I skipped it.

The musical itself starts with Nick arriving in the middle of one of Gatsby's parties. At once one of the problems with the show becomes apparent. The songs, with a few exceptions, are unmemorable. This is a recurring problem with Takarazuka's original musicals. I don't know if they don't have very talented songwriters, or if the songwriters just can't be bothered to do better when the show will probably finish its run(s) and never be revived, but very few original songs stick in the viewer's mind. None of this musical's songs are painful to listen to. But a day after watching it, I could only remember a few bars from two songs, and couldn't remember anything about the others.

Either this recording is poor quality, or the camera wasn't the best. Everything looks blurry. If this was a show from, say, 2011 that would be a major annoyance, but allowances can be made for a show from 1991. What's worse than the picture quality is how the cameraman never seems to be sure what to focus on. It's especially glaring in Gatsby and Nick's first conversation, when the camera focuses on Nick then abruptly jumps to follow him when he moves, and then focuses on Gatsby while Nick is still talking. The viewer is left with the impression that this was filmed by a rather amateur cameraman. Takarazuka has been filming performances since at least the 1970s; surely by the 90s they should have known what they were doing.

What the Dickens is happening in Gatsby's first appearance? A policeman is about to shoot someone, it looks like the party is going to turn into a fight, and then Gatsby just wanders on-stage. Huh? I don't remember any of that happening in the book. Did the director want to give Gatsby a more exciting entrance than just sitting beside Nick?

Gatsby

Nick

Just about everyone in the book drives me up the wall. Here few characters are as immediately infuriating. Even Tom and Myrtle, who usually make me want to scream and throw things, are almost bearable... at first. Daisy in the book started out pitiable then quickly became infuriating. Here she's more pitiable for much longer.

Daisy

I laughed at Nick's terror when Daisy hands him the baby 😆 That's one of the few comical moments in a pretty depressing show.

The staging of the flashback confused me at first. One minute Nick and Jordan are on the phone, the next Daisy and a bunch of new characters have appeared. It took a while to realise what was happening. Once I did realise it, though, I was amazed to find I actually felt sorry for Daisy and Gatsby when they were forced to part.

Probably dialogue explained what was happening in the (very long!) scene in a bar, but I could only guess at parts of it. It was clear enough when Gatsby was convincing Nick to help him, but what were all those other characters doing? 🤷

Any sympathy I had for Daisy very quickly disappears when she meets Gatsby again and is more interested in his expensive house and clothes than in him. Daisy's a spoilt brat, Gatsby's a naïve idiot, Nick's standing by and doing nothing, Tom and Myrtle are just revolting... That's the main reason I can't stand The Great Gatsby in any version. When I read or watch something, I want to find at least one likeable character.

Tom confronting Gatsby lost some of its impact for me because I didn't understand what he was saying, but I got the general idea. Unfortunately I didn't get the general idea of that scene at the golf course.

The musical, unlike the book, isn't confined to only Nick's point of view. We actually get to see Gatsby's death here. I don't think Gatsby and George had a prolonged confrontation in the book, but I suppose the director didn't want to kill off the top star's character as abruptly as in the book.

Gatsby's death and its aftermath is the only part of the book where I actually feel sorry for any of the characters, and even then it's more a sort of melancholy, depressed feeling than sympathy. The show's ending elicits the same feeling. The final scene left me scratching my head, though. What on earth is the point of a long line of people standing between Gatsby and his younger self? 😕

Overall the show is just average. Honestly I expected it to be unbearable, and was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't that bad. It has some decent moments. If I liked the book more, I would probably like the show more.

Is it available online?: Yes, but better not say where.

Rating: 5/10.