On 18 and 20 October a premiere of the musical «The Great Gatsby» based on the Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s novel of the of the same name took place at the Big Stage of the Music Hall Theatre. For the first time in Russia the theatre presented a story of the American dream and its collapse in the genre of musical.

The plot is based on the story of love of Jay Gatsby for charming Daisy Buchanan, a high society girl. This love story unfolds against a background of magnificent scenery, conveying the spirit of the rebellious era. This is the New York of the Roaring Twenties with its skyscrapers and Long Island's Gold Coast among villas of moneybags.

The idea of creation of the production has been put forth by the director of the theatre Julia Strizhak. «There are many interpretations of this famous plot, including those at theatre venues, in the cinema, and even in ballet performances. We realized that it was necessary to create a musical, as this story is very suitable for music material», - Julia Nikolaevna told.

A well-known composer, Prize Winner at the international and All-Russian competitions Vladimir Baskin was invited for creation of a musical score. He has composed original music for the play in just six months. Fitzgerald himself called the time in which he lived «the jazz age». The musical includes original jazz compositions inspired by that rebellious  and freedom-loving «the jazz epoch».

The production director of the musical was Natalia Indeykina, laureate of the St. Petersburg's Highest Theatre Prize «Golden Sofit». Her musical «The Picture of Dorian Gray» has a great success in the Music Hall Theatre. The new production brings up the philosophical theme of fate in human life, as well as the problem of social inequality, relevant at all times. «The story of «The Great Gatsby» really hits today's time, - Indeykina says . - We have no nuances, there is only a pronounced black and pronounced golden colours. But I haven`t observed transition between them in society for a long time. I see two lives, they exist separately from each other, colliding in irreconcilable and tough conflict».

The musical recreates the spirit of the «rebellious» era and the historical entourage in which fatal events take place. Exact copies of retro cars and furniture immerse the audience into the beginning of XX century. Theatre designer Julia Goltsova embodied on the stage the elegance of art deco. She managed to create truly bright and spectacular scenery. The author of the costumes that recaptured the atmosphere of the «roaring twenties» was Tatiana Kudryavtseva. Video installations created by Vadim Dulenko give a special dramatic effect to the performance.

The premiere of «The Great Gatsby» at the Music Hall Theatre was a great success, it attracted a capacity crowd. The audience welcomed the creators and performers of the musical with prolonged applause and shouts «Bravo!». Everyone who attended the premiere, noted the excellent stage direction, heartfelt acting, spectacular costumes, choreography and visual effects.

On the day of the premiere, guests of the theater were met on the red carpet. On a festive evening there was a special dress code - Gatsby chic, which allowed spectators to go back a hundred years and find themselves on the "Gold coast" of Long Island. Music and retro cars at the entrance, provided by the «Lenfilm» Studio fully are in exact accordance with the atmosphere of the play.

The premiere was attended by the guests of honor such as Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Culture Konstantin Sukhenko, Consul General of France in St. Petersburg Mr. Hughes de Chavagnac, anchorwoman Nika Strizhak and members of political and cultural elite of our city.