Derek Klena takes over the title role in The Great Gatsby at the Broadway Theatre on December 5, the night after Ryan McCartan plays his last performance as Fitzgerald’s self-invented millionaire.
The change was reported on November 5 by BroadwayWorld and TheaterMania. It is a limited engagement, running through March 14, 2027, and it is timed around baseball: Klena joined the Savannah Bananas, the touring exhibition team, at the end of 2025, and the run fills the gap before he goes back to them for their 2027 season.
McCartan’s final performance is Friday, December 4. He first took over as Gatsby in January 2025 and has returned to the part for several further stints since.
Klena brings a long run of Broadway leads with him. He originated Nick Healy in Jagged Little Pill, which earned him a 2020 Tony nomination, as well as Dmitry in Anastasia and Michael in The Bridges of Madison County. He has also played Fiyero in Wicked and Christian in Moulin Rouge!, and Off-Broadway he originated Eddie Birdlace in Pasek and Paul’s Dogfight.
The musical, with a book by Kait Kerrigan and music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, opened at the Broadway Theatre in April 2024 with Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada in a staging by Marc Bruni. It is also on the road across North America, where Austin Colby took over as Gatsby in Philadelphia.
