Derek Klena Will Be the Next ‘Jay Gatsby’ in THE GREAT GATSBY on Broadway

Pop the champagne! BroadwayWorld has just learned that Tony Award nominee Derek Klena (Moulin Rouge!, Jagged Little Pill, Wicked) will play Jay Gatsby in the smash hit musical The Great Gatsby beginning December 5, 2026. 

Klena makes his return to Broadway after a triumphant season pitching (and singing!) for the Savannah Bananas. At the conclusion of his engagement in The Great Gatsby on March 14, 2027, he will return to the Savannah Bananas for the 2027 season. A beloved stage performer, Derek Klena originated the role of Nick Healy in Jagged Little Pill on Broadway, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. His most recent Broadway credits include Christian in Moulin Rouge!, Fiyero in Wicked, and the original Broadway casts of Anatasia and The Bridges of Madison County. His television credits include “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin,” “City on a Hill,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Quantico,” and “Blue Bloods.”

The musical’s current star Ryan McCartan (Heathers The Musical, Wicked, “Liv & Maddie”) will play his final performance in the titular role on December 4, 2026. Continuing alongside Klena in the cast are China Anne McClain (Descendants franchise, “Black Lightning”, “A.N.T. Farm”) as Daisy Buchanan; Olivier Award-nominee Corbin Bleu (High School Musical franchise, Kiss Me Kate) as Nick Carraway; Naturi Naughton-Lewis (“Power”, Fame, ’s “Queens”) as Jordan Baker, Max Monnig (Glory of the World) as Tom Buchanan; Linedy Genao (Bad Cinderella, On Your Feet!) as Myrtle Wilson; Charlie Pollock (Urinetown, “The Good Wife”) as George Wilson; and original cast member Eric Anderson (Moulin Rouge, Waitress) as Meyer Wolfsheim.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless, seminal novel is an award-winning and record-breaking Broadway musical, in the “dazzling, lush and bewitching production” (New York Times) of The Great Gatsby. Hailed by Entertainment Weekly as “A Great, Big Broadway extravaganza that explodes with life and energy,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel has landed on the Broadway musical stage for the first time ever in The Great Gatsby, the hit show transporting sold-out audiences on “a glitzy, glamorous romp through the Roaring 20s.”  The story follows eccentric and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby, who will stop at nothing in the pursuit of the lost love of his youth, Daisy Buchanan. Through its fascinatingly nuanced characters – driven by complex inner lives, erupting with extravagance and longing – this epic tale has always been destined to sing. Now, it is alive on the greatest American stage, with grand, Tony Award-winning production design befitting the 21st century.

The production’s standout ensemble features Alexis Hasbrouck (Moulin Rouge Nat’l Tour), Nathaniel Hunt (Moulin Rouge National Tour), Brandon J. Large (Aladdin Nat’l Tour), Traci Elaine Lee (Shucked),  Alicia Lundgren (Funny Girl), Dariana Mullen (The Great Gatsby at Paper Mill), Dan Rosales (Trevor: The Musical), Dave Schoonover (Bad Cinderella), Sara Sheperd (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Kyla Stone (Harmony), Preston Taylor (Moulin Rouge Nat’l Tour), Damani Van Rensalier (Hamilton), Matt Wiercinski (Anastasia Nat’l Tour), and Jonathan Young (Les Misérables Nat’l Tour). Kurt Csolak (Funny Girl), Joshua Dawson (MJ Nat’l Tour), Morgan Harrison (Beetlejuice), Justin Keats (Moulin Rouge Nat’l Tour), Drew Lake (The Great Gatsby in Korea), Emily Anne Nester (The Great Gatsby Korea), Alex Prakken (New York, New York), and Elena Ricardo (Water for Elephants) round out the cast as swings.  

Through an electrifying jazz and pop-infused score, featuring music & lyrics by Tony Award nominees Jason Howland (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Little Women) and Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square), The Great Gatsby was adapted for the Broadway stage by Jonathan Larson Grant-winning playwright Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones), award-winning director Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and choreographer Dominique Kelley (“Mariah’s Magical Christmas Special”, “Dancing with the Stars”).

The Broadway premiere of The Great Gatsby is presented by acclaimed producer Chunsoo Shin and his award-winning global theater producing company, OD Company. A pioneering figure in international theater, Mr. Shin was the first musical producer ever awarded the Korean Pop Culture and Arts Prime Minister Award, one of Korea’s highest honors in the arts.

The musical’s award-winning production design features scenic & projection design by Drama Desk Award winner Paul Tate de Poo III (Spamalot, Tommy at The Kennedy Center), costume design by Tony Award winner Linda Cho (Anastasia, A Gentleman’s Guide…), sound design by Tony Award winner Brian Ronan (Beautiful, The Book of Mormon), lighting design by Cory Pattak (Spamalot), and hair & wig design by Drama Desk Award winner Charles G. LaPointe (The Cher Show, Spongebob Squarepants) & Rachael Geier. Arrangements are by Jason Howland, Orchestrations are by Jason Howland and Kim Scharnberg (Jekyll & Hyde), the Music Director is Daniel Edmonds (Strictly Ballroom), and the music producer is Grammy Award winner Billy Jay Stein for Strike Audio (Beautiful – cast album). Fight & Intimacy Coordinator is Rocío Mendez. Casting is by C12 Casting (Gutenberg, & Juliet) and the Production Stage Manager is Brian Bogin (The Great Comet, Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & The Pool). Mark Shacket (Funny Girl, Slave Play) of Foresight Theatrical serves as Executive Producer.

One of the most popular novels of all time, The Great Gatsby is a New York Times and USA Today perennial best seller. It has sold over 30 million copies worldwide since its release in 1925 and continues to sell over 500,000 per year. The novel has been translated into over 42 different languages, and has been adapted into television shows, radio plays, video games, and multiple films – including the blockbuster Baz Luhrmann feature film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Of the Broadway production, The Estate of F. Scott Fitzgerald says, “This production is a big, bold, Broadway version of The Great Gatsby. It’s thrilling to see these indelible characters and iconic moments from the novel come to life on stage.  This stage production, which honors the novel and its history while also speaking clearly to today’s audiences, is a terrific new iteration of this classic work.” 

The world premiere engagement of The Great Gatsby was the highest grossing show in Paper Mill Playhouse history. That production, which ran October 12–November 12, 2023, also broke the theater’s all-time record for ticket sales in a single day and sold out the entire run before its very first performance. The Broadway run – which started previews Friday, March 29, 2024, and opened on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at The Broadway Theatre – continued the show’s record-breaking path, twice smashing The Broadway Theatre’s box office records for weekly sales, in 2024 and 2025. Since opening, the production has sold over 1 million tickets, welcoming patrons from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Its success has since gone global, with productions launched in London’s West End; Seoul, South Korea; and on U.S. National Tour.

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