She’s already starred in a South Korean production of The Great Gatsby. Now Senzel Ahmady is coming to Houston, courtesy of Broadway at the Hobby, to play the role of Daisy Buchanan in the musical on its North American national tour.
For those who don’t remember their English class in high school, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic book, set in the 1920s, tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a millionairee, who’s obsessed with his onetime love, Daisy. Daisy has gone on to marry Tom Buchanan, a rich man who’s not a great guy.
The show with music and lyrics by Tony Award nominees Jason Howland (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and Nathan Tyson (Paradise Square) with book by Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones) is still running on Broadway with tickets available through November. The show, which won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design (by Linda Cho)has became known for its lavish presentation . Fun fact: Cho had to add a waistline to the flapper dresses so the actors could do the required choreography.
As excited as Ahmady is to play the role, she has no illusions about her character Daisy, although like the book, most people misinterpret what she’s all about.
“I would describe her as more complex than people think. I think when people come into Gatsby, most people are expecting this big love story between Gatsby and Daisy, which it is.
“I think that what they don’t realize is that Daisy’s much more despicable than they think,” she says, laughing. “I honestly want people leaving the show not liking Daisy because she does have so many flaws. There are a lot of things going on in her mind that lead her into making these decisions that kind of make you think: ‘What?’
“That’s what’s so much fun in playing her because there’s so much more going on inside than people think,” Ahmady says, adding: “She does play that innocence card but she’s much smarter than she looks and she plays that game throughout the whole show.”
Asked why Daisy wants to stay with her husband Tom, Ahmady says, “I think it’s because she knows better than to leave. I sing a song [as Daisy] called ‘For Better or Worse.’ And she sings about finding out that Gatsby is alive and she’s telling her friend Jordan that for better or worse I have to stay with my husband.”
“I can’t even get a divorce; it’s not even something that really exists. I would be very frowned upon if I left my husband. She has a child, her daughter Pammy, so she doesn’t really have the choice to leave.”
Of course, as Ahmady points out, Daisy doesn’t share any of this with Gatsby.
Asked to describe Gatsby, Ahmady says: “I would describe Gatsby as a yearner. I think he’s just so head over heels about Daisy. I think throughout the story he gets so caught up in this obsession with Daisy that it starts to be less about Daisy and become Tom actually.
“During the plaza scene at the end you see Gatsby and Tom going at it and Daisy’s just smack dab in the middle of them, silent. I think it’s just Gatsby wanting to be Tom and be rich and have this beautiful house and have a wife and kid, not actually being with Daisy.”
The musical digs deeper into some characters like Myrtle that only elicited a brief mention in Fitzgerald’s book, Ahmady says.
Asked about any challenges she has in performing as Daisy, Ahmady says
“I think the challenge is going through the roller coaster of emotions that Daisy goes through. Especially when you get to the end of the show and you’re in that plaza and Gatsby and Tom are yelling at you.
“At the end of the show I have this song ‘Beautiful Little Fool’ and it’s Daisy telling her cousin Nick about how hard it is to be a woman and how she hopes that her daughter can be a beautiful little fool and doesn’t have to realize the consequences of the state that you’re in.
“Gatsby is such a classic American story and to see the first Broadway musical iteration of it is so, so cool. It’s been 100 years since the book has been out and it’s so exciting that it’s a hit on Broadway and this is the first time it’s touring the country and I think this is a really exciting time.”
Performances are scheduled for March 3-8 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-315-7625 or visit TheHobbyCenter.org or BroadwayAtTheHobbyCenter.com. $55-$209.