Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful, Paradise Square) will step into the role of Myrtle in Broadway's The Great Gatsby beginning July 15 at the Broadway Theatre.
Kennedy will temporarily cover the role while original Broadway cast member Sara Chase (The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) is on a medical leave of absence through the summer. Chase is expected to re-join the company in September.
In an Instagram post, Chase wrote that her absence is due to being in final rounds of chemotherapy (she was previously diagnosed with fallopian tube cancer). "This was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I gave it my all for as long as I could, and now it's time to focus just on recovery. I will miss this cast, the crew, the audience, and everyone at the Broadway Theater tremendously. Hope to see you all soon."
The Great Gatsby features music and lyrics by Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square) and Jason Howland (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and a book by Jonathan Larson Grant winner Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones). Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) directs with choreography by Dominique Kelley (Mariah’s Magical Christmas Special).
Set in the Roaring '20s, the musical follows eccentric millionaire
Jay Gatsby, who will stop at nothing in his tragic pursuit of Daisy
Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth.
The Broadway cast is led by Jeremy Jordan (Newsies) as Jay Gatsby and Eva Noblezada (Hadestown) as Daisy Buchanan with Noah J. Ricketts (Frozen) as Nick Carraway, Samantha Pauly (Six) as Jordan Baker, John Zdrojeski (Good Night Oscar) as Tom Buchanan, Paul Whitty (Come From Away) as George Wilson, and Eric Anderson (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) as Wolfsheim.
The ensemble includes Raymond Edward Baynard (MJ: The Musical), Curtis Holland (Mean Girls), Jeff Kready (Company), Traci Elaine Lee (Shucked), Dariana Mullen (The Great Gatsby at Paper Mill), Ryah Nixon (BOOP! The Musical), Pascal Pastrana (A Beautiful Noise), Kayla Pecchioni (Paradise Square), Mariah Reives (Funny Girl), Dan Rosales (Trevor: The Musical), Dave Schoonover (Bad Cinderella), Derek Jordan Taylor (Funny Girl), Tanairi Sade Vazquez (On Your Feet!), and Katie Webber (Rock of Ages). Kurt Csolak (Funny Girl), Carissa Gaughran (Pretty Woman national tour), Samantha Pollino (Sweeney Todd), Alex Prakken (New York, New York), Jake Trammel (The Great Gatsby at Paper Mill), and Jasmine Pearl Villaroel (After Midnight) round out the cast as swings.
The Great Gatsby also features scenic and projection design by Paul Tate de Poo III, costume design by Linda Cho, sound design by Brian Ronan, lighting design by Cory Pattak, and hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe and Rachael Geier.
Arrangements are by Jason Howland, orchestrations are by Howland and Kim Scharnberg, the music director is Daniel Edmonds, and the music producer is Grammy winner Billy Jay Stein for Strike Audio.
Casting is by C12 Casting, and the production stage manager is Brian Bogin. Mark Shacket of Foresight Theatrical serves as executive producer.
The new musical won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical.
