The English 2 Honors classes of Lakeland Regional High School went to see The Great Gatsby on Broadway on May 8, 2025. After finishing the novel in class, the classes were shocked by a truly stunning and splendid show.
For many students of LRHS, The Great Gatsby is a very familiar name. The 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a triumph in the world of American literature, earning itself a place among the greatest literary works ever written. Because of the novel’s place in the world of American lit, it should be no surprise that the story would get its very own Broadway musical adaptation.
Given that many LRHS students in their sophomore year have read this work and were surprised to enjoy the now 100-year-old novel as much as they did, English teacher Ms. Laura Fucilli knew a trip to see the show would be an unforgettable experience for her students. She shares, “When I realized that the centennial of The Great Gatsby was coming up in the spring, I was inspired to celebrate 100 years of Gatsby. I knew that the play was running on Broadway and in the back of my mind, I thought it would be really cool to go on a class trip to see the play. I may have said it aloud in class one day and when a student happened to bring it up again weeks later that we should see the play, I thought, why not?”
When asked how she made the trip happen, Ms. Fucilli says, “I could tell there was a lot of interest in seeing the show, so I wasted no time in getting our trip on the Board agenda. Once we narrowed down the best dates on the calendar as a class, I had a lot of help from a concierge on the Broadway.com website finding shows that would accommodate my classes. A lot of performances were sold out in the student section in the springtime due to the play’s popularity, but we were lucky enough to secure 35 tickets in the orchestra seats for a discounted price. A few days after I booked the tickets for our May 8th show, the prices started going up, so the timing was everything!”
About the Show
Directed by Marc Bruni and featuring a score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen , the play provides both a stunning and faithful adaptation of the original novel, maintaining the original spirit of the book. The score was truly excellent with there never being a weak musical number in the play.
One standout performance was that of Modern Family star Sarah Hyland, who played Daisy in the play, with her character arguably being much more likable in the play than in the book. Ms. Fucilli says that she “loved the way Daisy’s character in particular became a more sympathetic figure throughout the play, and Sarah Hyland’s powerhouse vocals and vivid facial expressions made me feel so much for her character!”
Even minor characters like Meyer Wolfsheim, played by Eric Anderson, and Myrtle Wilson, played by Linedy Genao, were given their own musical numbers in the play, making them much more developed than they were in the book. With a superb ensemble, choreographed by Dominique Kelley, the experience is mesmerizing.
The sets and costumes were also excellent, with Beth Wojciechowski of the The Review saying, “The 1920s opulence of the costumes and the set, and the level of detail in that aspect only made the show even more extraordinary. The set of ‘The Great Gatsby’ is the most elaborate set that I have ever seen on Broadway, and it was very reminiscent of Golden Age Broadway theater in that respect.”
Now while the play was certainly a great time, it is not immune from some criticisms. Variety argues that the play lacks the depth of the source material, with it saying, “the creatives have committed wholeheartedly to the spectacle of the story, but forgot the substance… they’ve made a devilish bargain, trading the novel’s soul for flashy visuals.”
Overall, though, the play was a truly astonishing and extraordinary experience, providing a memory for the English classes that will never go away. Ms. Fucilli concludes by saying that she “felt so lucky to have a chance to see the play with such an incredible group of students. It was an experience that we will savor in our memories for a long time to come.”
