Dazzling 'Gatsby' brings Daisy actress from Seoul show to Playhouse Square

Actress Senzel Ahmady has pivoted dramatically in the leading lady roles she's played on national tours, from a beloved, fiercely independent princess to an emotionally complex, self-destructive romantic lead.

Ahmady, 23, will soon sweep into Northeast Ohio with the rest of the Roaring Twenties cast from the national tour of "The Great Gatsby," which opens June 9 at Playhouse Square. She's playing the wealthy socialite Daisy Buchanan, who ends up in a love triangle with her arrogant husband Tom and her prewar love, the mysterious, obsessive Jay Gatsby.

Ahmady previously played Daisy in the Korean production of "The Great Gatsby" in Seoul, where the musical ran for three months last year. The actress, a native of Green Valley, California, landed her first national tour at age 19 as Jasmine in "Aladdin," which she performed in for nearly two years, including at Playhouse Square.

For the Korean production of "Gatsby," the cast rehearsed for a month in New York before a month of technical rehearsals in Seoul preceding the show's opening. Ahmady said she fell in love with Seoul, which she misses every day.

"I always joke around that it was my study abroad that I never did in college," Ahmady said by phone May 27 from the U.S. tour in Pittsburgh.

"It was an amazing experience and about half of us (Seoul cast members) are now doing the show on tour now" in the United States.

Longtime fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald novel

Ahmady, a longtime fan of the ultimately tragic "Great Gatsby" novel, loved the story so much, she threw a Gatsby-themed New Year's Eve party in 2019.

"I had read it in (high) school. I loved it," Ahmady said of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary masterpiece, upon which the musical is based.

Now, she's thrilled to be playing Daisy for audiences across the country in the first national tour of "The Great Gatsby."

"It's really fun to get to be a part of a project that still kind of feels like it's a baby," Ahmady said.

She encourages those who may not be musical theater fans but grew up loving the book to come see the show: "It's an easy story to follow along to, very catchy songs."

"The Great Gatsby" opened in 2024 on Broadway, where its run continues. Ahmady saw the original cast of "The Great Gatsby" — which starred one of her idols, Eva Noblezada as Daisy — a year before she auditioned for the musical.

"She's half Filipino and I am as well, so I was always fond of her growing up," said Ahmady, whose mother hails from the Philippines and whose father comes from Afghanistan.

"Growing up, I didn't always really see many people that looked like me on the stage," she said. "I've gotten so many people that come to the stage door that are either Afghan or Filipino and they just tell me how excited they are to see me on stage. It always makes me just so, so happy because theater is not something that many immigrants do, and I think it's really awesome when they do do it."

Landing the Daisy role, feeling the responsibility

Heading into auditions for Daisy, Ahmady wondered if the creative team would think she was too young for the role.

"I was kind of just living in the moment and just doing it, because in my head I thought I was kind of just doing it for fun," Ahmady said. "It was a great lesson for me that sometimes, with auditions, you just can't overthink it and you just have to go in there and just be yourself and do the material to the best of your abilities and leave it all up to the creative team."

Playing Daisy, this actress feels a sense of responsibility.

"It's a very iconic story and book and film, and I think it comes with the same responsibilities that came with doing 'Aladdin,' (with) the story that people were already so fond of and knew," Ahmady said.

She stressed that Daisy is a self-destructive character who makes a series of bad choices that hurt people. Daisy, who has a reckless nature, is one of several key characters with moral shortcomings.

"I think that people forget that Daisy is kind of a villain when they come and see the show," said Ahmady, who talked for hours with the creative team about why the impulsive Daisy is the way she is.

Modern updates for 'Gatsby' musical's book

The Estate of F. Scott Fitzgerald says "The Great Gatsby" musical "honors the novel and its history while also speaking clearly to today's audiences" in "a terrific new iteration of his classic work."

For example, the roles of Jordan, a female golfer, and Myrtle, the wife of a gas station owner, are not well fleshed out in the original novel, although they play key roles in the "Gatsby" story. The musical "The Great Gatsby" has worked to change that.

"Our book writer, Kait Kerrigan, really wanted to change that and kind of get the women a little bit more agency," Ahmady said. "She felt that their voices needed to be heard a little bit more and so she fleshed out the relationship more between Jordan and Daisy, which I thought was really beautiful. "

Ahmady is part of a 31-member cast whose U.S. tour opened in January. She plays opposite Jake David Smith as Jay Gatsby. Joshua Grosso plays Daisy's cousin, the narrator who's on stage for nearly the whole show.

"The Great Gatsby," which features exciting Jazz Age party scenes, has been described as an "extravaganza that explodes with life and energy" by Entertainment Weekly. It features glamorous '20s costumes by Linda Cho, opulent sets by Paul Tate dePoo III and a jazz and pop-infused score.

It's a grand world that makes Ahmady feel like she's stepped into the '20s, including wearing Cho's custom-made, Tony Award-winning costumes.

"I love getting to put them on every day and it really transports you into the world and makes you feel like the character," she said.

As Daisy, Ahmady also does quite a bit of dancing.

"It's so fun and the way that they translated the (period) choreo to this show and made it modern at the same time, I think is absolutely perfect," she said.

The musical's score evokes the music of the '20s while telling the "Gatsby" story through a 2026 lens.

"It's definitely a vocal roller coaster and absolutely the hardest stuff that I've ever had to sing, every night," Ahmady said.

This actress is busy offstage lately, too. She was a vocal performance major at New York University for two years before leaving to start "Aladdin" rehearsals. Now, she's continuing her vocal performance studies online with Berklee College of Music.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Musical:"The Great Gatsby"

When:Opening 7:30 p.m. June 9, continuing through June 28, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays

Where:Connor Palace, 1615 Euclid Ave., Playhouse Square, Cleveland

Onstage:Starring Jake David Smith, Senzel Ahmady, Joshua Grosso, Leanne Robinson, Will Branner, Tally Sessions, Edward Staudenmayer, Lila Coogan

Offstage:Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, music/lyrics; Kait Kerrigan, book; Marc Bruni, director; Dominique Kelley, choreographer; Paul Tate de Poo III, scenic/projections design; Linda Cho, costume design; Brian Ronan, sound design; Cory Pattak, lighting design; Charles LaPointe and Rachael Geier, hair/wig design; Jason Howland, arrangements/music supervision; Jason Howland and Kim Scharnberg, orchestrations

Cost:$34.80-$174

Information:216-241-6000 or playhousesquare.org

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'Great Gatsby' to bring Jazz Age party to Playhouse Square