May 8-17, 2026
The Great Gatsby
With stunning visuals, gorgeous music and an abundance of good dancing, The Great Gatsby features tap dancing, and Academy Award-winning designer Tim Yip's original Art Deco sets and costumes that delightfully capture the sound and exuberant energy of the Jazz Age.
The 1920s roar back to life in this Jazz Age smash.
Step into the glamorous world of the Roaring Twenties with Kansas City Ballet’s stunning new production of The Great Gatsby. Experience the luxury, drama, and tragic romance of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, brought to life on stage. Set in Jay Gatsby’s lavish Long Island mansion, where the champagne flows and the elite gather for extravagant parties, this production unveils a world of glamour, jealousy, and hidden secrets. The Great Gatsby immerses you in the spirit of the Jazz Age and the vibrant energy of 1920s New York, making this an unparalleled theatrical experience. It’s the party to end all parties!
Choreography
Septime Webre
Music
Billy Novick
Costumes & Scenery
Tim Yip
Lighting Design
Trad A Burns
Vocalist
Eboni Fondren
Tap Dancer
Lonnie McFadden
Narrator
Tanner Rose
Live Jazz Accompaniment
Billy Novick’s Blues Syncopators
Presenting Sponsor
VanBrock
Supporting Sponsor
Estelle S. and Robert A. Long Ellis Foundation
Season Sponsors
Muriel McBrien Kauffman Family Foundation
Missouri Arts Council
William T. Kemper Foundation - Commerce Bank, Trustee
National Endowment for the Arts
The Story Of The Great Gatsby
The Story Of The Great Gatsby
Jay Gatsby stands on the shore, eyes fixed on the green light across the bay, a beacon of the love he lost. Across the water, Daisy Buchanan lives a gilded life with her husband, Tom, unaware that Gatsby has built his entire world around the dream of winning her back. As summer unfolds, lavish parties spill across Gatsby’s estate, drawing the curious and the hopeful—including Nick Carraway, Daisy’s cousin, who unknowingly becomes the key to their reunion. But rekindled love cannot erase the past, and when passions collide in a sweltering New York hotel room, the dream begins to unravel. That night, a tragic accident on a darkened road sets fate into motion, sealing Gatsby’s destiny in a moment of mistaken vengeance.
Guest Artists
VOCALIST
Eboni Fondren is a nationally recognized jazz vocalist, bandleader, actress, and creative executive, making her Kansas City Ballet debut in The Great Gatsby. A veteran of Kansas City stages, her career spans jazz, theatre, voiceover, and arts leadership. In January 2026, Fondren was selected as an artist-in-residence at the Escape to Create Residency in Seaside, Florida, and in March 2026 she will present a two-week run of her acclaimed full-length theatrical concert Jazz: The Women Who Shaped Me at Quality Hill Playhouse.
In addition to her performance work, Fondren is a successful professional voiceover artist, with clients including AMC Theatres, the Kansas City Royals, and Wendy’s. She currently serves as president of the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors and as vice president of artist management at Jukeboxx Media, where she is also a featured bandleader with Lost Wax. Wearing many hats, Fondren remains first and foremost a performer and entertainer, deeply committed to giving back to the community that has nurtured her artistry in every facet.
NARRATOR
Tanner Rose, Off-Broadway: Bells Are Ringing (The Lion Theatre, NYC). International: Vi Lieb Musikaler (Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Norway). Local: A Christmas Carol, Peter Pan and Wendy, Smoke (KCRep); The Inheritance (Unicorn Theatre); Cabaret, Godspell (Music Theatre Heritage), Justice at War, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (The Coterie), Grand Horizons (Kansas City Actors Theatre). Regional: Pryor Rendering (Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre); Thoroughly Modern Millie(Broadway Rose Theatre Company, Portland OR); La Cage aux Folles, The Rocky Horror Show (Weitzenhoffer Theatre); The Beth Leavel Christmas Show (Oklahoma City Philharmonic). Television: The Deuce (HBO – streaming now). Rose is an animal care specialist at the Kansas City Zoo caring for the city’s eight African Elephants. This is his debut performance both at the Kauffman Center and with Kansas City Ballet. @thattannerrose
TAP DANCER
Lonnie McFadden is an American entertainer, singer, songwriter, tap dancer, and musician known for his joyful, emotionally rich performances and smooth, unmistakable voice. He has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, and Japan, including a 2004 USO tour with Wayne Newton. Now based in Kansas City, McFadden performs weekly at the upscale jazz supper club bearing his name, Lonnie’s Reno Club, and was the producer and featured artist for the 2018 citywide Charlie Parker Festival.
For more than 15 years, McFadden became a Kansas City icon through performances at venues such as The Phoenix, Black Dolphin, Kauffman Center, Starlight Theatre, and Sprint Center. He has shared the stage with legendary artists including Wayne Newton, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Orlando, Ben Vereen, Herb Alpert, and the Count Basie Orchestra. His performances have also drawn sold-out crowds at Jazz Texas, Feinstein’s, Parker’s Jazz Club, and Blue Strawberry.
McFadden has received numerous honors, including Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Jazz Museum (2016) and Tapology (2017), and was repeatedly named Kansas City’s Best Entertainer by local publications. In 2022, McFadden and his brother Ronald were inducted into the Jazz Walk of Fame in Kansas City’s Historic Jazz District.
Meet the Dancers
Pre-Curtain Talks
Free for all ticketholders, arrive early and hear about the show you are about to see. Learn how music, special effects, and costumes all make magic on stage by attending the pre-curtain talk, Belger Footnotes, hosted by Artistic Director Devon Carney.
Held at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts one hour prior to curtain. No reservation is necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gallery
Stage images, courtesy of Hong Kong Ballet.
Roar into the 1920s with The Great Gatsby
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