Casting announced for Ruby in the Dust Theatre’s original adaptation of GATSBY: THE MUSICAL

Photo credit: Roy Tan

Casting has been announced for Gatsby: The Musical; Ruby in the Dust Theatre's captivating musical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, which runs at Southwark Playhouse from 8 December 2021-8 January 2022.

Alongside period glitz and glamour, a smoky jazz score and a sprinkling of wry humour will be a strong cast of West End talent. Leading on the stage as Daisy Buchanan will be Jodie Steele (Heathers, Six: The Musical) who tells the story through Daisy’s eyes. Jay Gatsby will be played by Ross William Wild (Spandau Ballet; Million Dollar Quartet) while Luke Bayer (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Rent) takes the role of Nick Carraway. Tom Buchanan will be brought to the stage by Bradley Clarkson (Guys and Dolls Dreamcoats & Petticoats) and Robert Grose (Kinky Boots, Smokey Joe’s Café) will bring to life the notorious gangster Woolfe. 

This original retelling is intertwined with the sophisticated harmony and yearning beat of jazz, skillfully harnessed by composer Joe Evans and musical director Victoria Calver. Arranged and Orchestrated by Henry Brennan, this quintessentially American art form perfectly parallels the novel's themes of enchantment, heartbreak and optimism. 

Julie Yammanee (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Lazarus – The David Bowie Project) will be playing the tragic figure of Myrtle Wilson, with Juan Lobo (In the Heights, Lend Me a Tenor) as George Wilson. Freddie Love (Carmen, A Little Night Music) as Jordan Baker and Oliver Mawdsley (Miss Nightingale, Mr Bugg Presents; Peterloo) as Owl Eyes also bring the 1920s Speakeasy atmosphere to the stage, alongside Tristan Pegg (The Merry Wives of Windsor) and Ash Weir, taking on all the other roles.

Gatsby: The Musical saw previous successes as a sell-out concert at Crazy Coqs in Piccadilly and an online streamed concert performance at Cadogan Hall.

Writer and Director Linnie Reedman said: “Gatsby has become, over the years, synonymous with glamour, glitz and parties. What a lot of people forget, however, is that the ‘Roaring Twenties’ came immediately after a World War. And a global pandemic. It was a period of upheaval and great change. I think the story of a crushed American dreamed, juxtaposed against individual hope and optimism is essentially pertinent today…” 

This production is a fresh understanding of characters and a story made compellingly resonant with the Roaring Twenties we find ourselves in once again. 

For more information and to book tickets, please click here.