For me ... tonight there is one story / one play in particular that kicked it all off / the funky little chain reaction that led someone like me / To be standing before you now.
While Paul Tate DePoo III's gorgeous Art Deco set, Linda Choo's sequinned costumes, and Dominique Kelley's snappy choreography provide a bone fide Jazz Age spectacle, the show perhaps inevitably sacrifices the subtleties of F. Scott Fitzgerald's feted novella in the transition to full blown musical.
Lara Price's life story, from escaping Vietnam's war to becoming a successful blues singer, is filled with resilience and cultural richness, perfect for musical adaptation.