The Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby opened at Cincinnati's Aronoff Center on Tuesday and is set to run through September 27. Jake David Smith stars as Jay Gatsby, with Senzel Ahmady as Daisy Buchanan, bringing F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jazz Age classic to Procter & Gamble Hall for a two-week stand.
According to WKRC, the show has brought Gatsby and Daisy to the Aronoff stage as part of the musical's ongoing North American tour. The production is described by cincinnatiarts.org as based on the classic American novel by Fitzgerald, and is billed as a Tony Award-winning new musical. It features direction by Marc Bruni, choreography by Dominique Kelley, and a book by Kait Kerrigan, with an original score composed by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen described as jazz- and pop-influenced.
A Familiar Daisy Returns to the Role
For Ahmady, stepping into Daisy Buchanan's shoes in Cincinnati isn't new territory. Per CityBeat, she has previously played Daisy on Broadway and in South Korea, making her one of very few cast members to have played the same role multiple times on stage. Ahmady told the outlet the touring production diverges from Fitzgerald's book, noting, “We tell the story through a 2026 lens.”
The same report describes the production's opulent sets and Tony Award-winning costumes designed by Linda Cho, elements that have become signature visual touches of the stage adaptation. The show runs two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission, according to the Cincinnati Arts listing.
Who Can See It, and Where the Tour Heads Next
Cincinnati.broadway.com notes the production is recommended for audiences ages 10 and up; infants aren't allowed in the theater, and children age 5 and older are permitted but must have their own ticket. The Aronoff stop is one stretch of a much larger journey for the show, which opened on Broadway in 2024 and is now touring across North America, per broadwayworld.com.
The tour is planned to visit more than 50 cities, including Chicago, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Boston and Dallas, according to cincinnati.broadway.com. Cincinnati audiences have through September 27 to catch Gatsby's green light glowing at the Aronoff before the production packs up for its next stop on the road.
