The Great War and The Great Gatsby.

"The Great War/The Great Gatsby" was an unusual but interesting body of work at the legendary Carnegie Hall. Narrated by John Monsky and backed by an orchestra as well as actors/singers, this two hour show ran the gambit of video, song and narration.

Directed by Michael Mayer, the St. Luke's Orchestra was very tight the entire evening. Capturing the mood of this storied theater that has acoustics that are second to none, the orchestrations, the conducting brought forth the undertones of the evening in deft style!

The evening is not just music and singing, however; the video and narration are just as important in the shows development. Monsky gives us an in depth history of this horrific war. He frames the show to "The Great Gatsby" which turns 100 years old this month. The plot here is Jay Gatsby as a soldier, he recounts his thoughts of the war; he tells about his friend who he lost and what the war meant to him.

The songs chosen for the performance were songs from the era... songs like "Pack Up Your Troubles", "Over There", "Ballin' the Jack" , "Keep The Home Fires Burning" and so many more. I thought with such a talented orchestra and a explosive acting- singing combo that there should have been more of it. At times I felt that Mr. Monsky made it more about him and his son than celebrating the courageous soldiers and the overwhelming talent that was onstage.

With such great songs, projection, a talented orchestra as well as actors, why not just make the show music and dancing with less talking? At times Monsky would ask children, grandchildren and relatives to stand up and be recognized. At first I thought this was clever; to recognize soldiers, relatives and such. In the second act this become a little to cumbersome. With only a hand full of songs we received more lecture in American history then singing. The celebration in victory should have been set to music. I realize Mr. Monsky is a historian from Yale, it was too much history and not enough music though.

The show is clearly at its best when the singers are acting, dancing to the notable numbers for the evening. Gracie McGraw, Diego Andres Rodriquez, Micaela Diamond and the rest of the company all have tremendous singing ranges. The gifted singers also are well choreographed by Emily Maltby. The vibe is clearly from yesteryear; the actors take us back in song and dance. The video brings out the melodramatic and sometimes ruins the mood of song. Maybe a split of the production between history lecture and video separated by music would have been a better answer. The first act which had more songs was easily the better of the two acts.

Carnegie Hall has had several shows like this as of recent. I saw "Pride and Prejudice" last year at "The Great Hall". An overwhelming amount of talent made that show one for the memory books. Last night too started out with the same feeling. It was when John Monsky commanded to much of the stage is when the audience grew a bit "antsy". If "Great War" stayed more on story-song versus lecture, this show too would have been a more memorable one.

A "Docu-show" like this one is a complicated one... what is the right amount of mix? What projection is just the right amount? Too much story? Where do we put the songs in the book? Choosing wisely is what will carry it over the top. Monsky had a lot of "skin in the game". He was overly passionate; he even went to visit the graves of fallen soldiers. Maybe he had too much "Skin" because his personal touch, his deep feelings about this subject matter clouded his judgement towards the production of "The Great War"