I see a lot of musicals, but less plays.
I saw the Cursed Child before it closed in Toronto, and spent half of the first act anticipating a song before I remembered that that doesn’t really happen in plays.
But when I went to NYC, the show that topped my list was The Great Gatsby.
Now that The Great Gatsby book is in public domain, there are multiple musical and play adaptations making their way to stage. The musical version I’m excited most for will have music by Florence + The Machine and directed by Rachel Chavkin (the woman behind two of my favourites: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 and Hadestown) and choreo by Sonya Tayeh (who did Moulin Rouge choreo.)
(So actually, post writing this and pre posting, it was announced that Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada will be leading the other Gatsby musical adaptation. And honestly? I’m so here for this too. I am so rich in Gatsby stage adaptations right now and my life is amazing.)
I wanted to write a Great Gatsby adaptation, but Nick would have just been the narrator. I don’t know if that would have worked. That’s irrelevant.
This production is immersive and interactive, something I was scared about, initially. But I made my little flapper dress, tied my hair with my Bridgerton hair thingy and off I went, ready to immerse and interact.
You’re IMMERSED the moment you step into the ballroom. My second trip, I got caught up talking to Gilda (Anika Braganza) who came to my table, taught me her signature dance move, and then I promised to write her a film.
(Working on it.)
Then she said, “Oh, I’m gonna go sing a song now.” And I remembered that this was a show!
(I just thought we were becoming friends, like I totally forgot what was happening.)
Obviously, they start with a dance.
The moment they did, I started smiling and couldn’t stop. I was in the VIP section (as I am clearly very important and very famous, thank you, thank you) so I was looking down and it just felt so real.
I was up at my table and the thought occurred that this is exactly what a Schoonmaker party would be like. The alcohol, the dancing, people everywhere.
The feeling of freedom that comes with throwing yourself into something, the thought that we are living for now and just now. Everyone dressed to the nines, and just there to have a blast.
Then I thought about how it would look on TV. The energy is palpable, you can feel it seeping from the very first moment of the show. Is that what my books are gonna look like on television? How do I make that happen?
In the Dead Dead Girls author’s note, I say that I could have set the story in any decade. I chose the 1920s because it’s fun, actually. (Also I love making my life hard on myself.) And this production reminded me of that fact.
Even though I write about the worst parts of people; the people who see themselves as judge and jury, the people who take lives of others.
But come on! I also write about Black women finding their way in the world. I write places where queer men and women can be safe. I write about Black women who get to be their own hero and the main characters in their own stories.
I write about women learning to be independent in a time where it feels like it was impossible.
I have been so focused on this mystery and Lou solving it that I forgot to have fun along the way. I forgot how much I love the feeling of freedom, the thought that all of this is temporary so we may as well party. There’s a balance, and I can’t believe I let myself overlook that for a moment.
In Dead Dead Girls, we meet Louise on the dance floor. In Harlem Sunset, we also…meet Louise on the dance floor. I think my dance scenes, out of everything, represent the heart of the 1920s the most.
Hello, I would like to talk about the single tear that rolled down Gatsby’s (Joel Acosta) face when he saw Daisy (Jillian Abaya) for the first time. I almost screamed when I saw it, but I didn’t because I’m a good theatre patron, but I remember feeling so breathless in that moment.
That’s probably the moment I totally forgot that these are actors and this is a story. I mean I was already into the story. This just really solidified it.
That’s what I want when people read my books, the good emotions and the bad. And it’s so impossible to tell if people have that experience reading my books. I want these characters to be as real as these were to me.
(And, to be fair, even if you sit me down and say “Nekesa, I feel for these characters so deeply. If you hurt one more hair on Miss Lou’s head, I will sue you for emotional damage so fast your head will spin,” I would laugh in your face.)
(Please don’t sue me, I am very small and have very little money.)
What I didn’t count on was loving this production so immensely. So much that I had to go twice.
The second time I went, I was armed with a notebook and was ready to take notes on how I could get these feelings into my books.
My notes?
“Atmosphere???
Vibes.”
It really inspired me to throw myself back into the last of my edits for LOU3. I knew what I was missing and that was the fun of the era I chose. I got so caught up in writing a good book that I forgot to write a good book.
I was sitting at my table (again, very important person, very famous) at intermission, and was just thinking that my book has the potential to be this fun, this great (hehehehe.)
I’ve said before that I am so lost on this book, but sitting at the table, watching actors roam around, watching everyone interact, it’s like something clicked. There has to be breathing room. The whole book can’t be all case, all the time. I got so bogged down in solving this case, and making sure this case makes sense, and making sure that everything is where it needs to be.
But writing is supposed to be FUN! Even though I write about murder, it can still be FUN!
I’m close to finishing LOU3 (which, yes, has a title but I’m not telling you yet) and I’m going to work so hard to make sure I’m happy with it.
So much of writing is diving into things. That, yes, usually is reading books. But I’m so lucky that for me, that includes immersing myself in stage shows and being blown away.
Don’t forget to follow me on instagram.
Wait, before I go, can we talk about my lord and savior, this pink suit?
I usually am lukewarm on menswear because it’s basically the same thing in every era. but BY GOD, I love this suit.
The fit? The colour? All the details are perfect and it’s a gorgeous costume piece.
(Obviously, Rafael needs a pink suit. Yes, I am working on this ASAP.)
This is my official apology to menswear across the decades. I’m sorry, menswear.
Okay, thank you.
Bye.