Made to Last Lyrics – Great Gatsby, The

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Act II confrontation at the Plaza Hotel where secrets spill and alliances wobble.
2. Tom, Gatsby, Daisy, Jordan, and Nick trade barbs as the facade cracks.
3. Music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Nathan Tysen; part of the 2024 Broadway cast album.
4. Motivic callbacks to earlier numbers frame Tom vs. Gatsby as class war meets love test.
5. The title phrase undercuts Gatsby’s dream and Tom’s swagger - what here is built to keep?

Creation History

The number sits at the business end of Act II, the Plaza showdown where Tom corners Gatsby and Daisy falters. Onstage it plays like a boxing match in tuxedos: accusations against a rhythmic engine that punches in short, syncopated lines. The album release through Masterworks Broadway landed June 2024, a clean capture of the Broadway arrangement that leans into dance-band propulsion and crisp ensemble interjections. The track’s billed vocals include John Zdrojeski, Jeremy Jordan, Eva Noblezada, Samantha Pauly, and Noah J. Ricketts - the principal quintet you hear sparring across the stereo field.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Plaza Hotel. Tom needles Gatsby as a fraud and drags his criminal ties into the light. Gatsby hangs everything on Daisy saying the one sentence he needs: that she never loved Tom. Jordan and Nick try to referee, but truth and ego race each other. Daisy wavers. The lyric’s refrain - “made to last” - becomes a test she refuses to grade on command.

Song Meaning

This is the reckoning. Class, money, and myth crash into intimacy. Tom sings like a prosecutor - rhythmic, clipped, armed with receipts and rumor. Gatsby fights back with faith in a story he’s rehearsed for five years. Daisy’s silence is the loudest instrument in the room. The hook flips between prophecy and taunt: either the affair is flimsy or Tom’s marriage is built on sand. The track’s shine is deliberate - glamour wrapped around rot - a theme the score keeps circling.

Annotations

“You’re the one who double-crossed her”

Tom’s long trail of infidelity is baked into the subtext; the line calls out the open secret others have been tolerating.

“All this from a cheap impostor”

Old money vs. new money isn’t just class snobbery - it’s Tom aiming at Gatsby’s origin story and his partnership with Wolfsheim, a lever he’ll keep pulling.

“And he’ll run out of gas”

A pun with teeth. Gas stations, wrecked cars, Myrtle’s fate - the show keeps foreshadow near the surface, then cashes it in.

“He ripped the fender off his car and the chambermaid with him broke her arm”

Jordan’s line turns the room; Tom’s violence and hush-it-up wealth are no longer rumor but record.

“She decides what’s made to last”

Nick and Jordan crystallize the power balance: Daisy’s choice - not Tom’s bluster or Gatsby’s script - will call the game.

Style & instrumentation

Show-chorus brass punches, a rhythm section in tight quarters, and patter writing that lets the barbs land on downbeats. Tom’s lines sit squarely; Gatsby stretches phrases toward melody when he tries to flip the room. Ensemble comments tag like corner men between rounds.

Emotional arc

Start: Tom sets terms. Middle: Gatsby declares his version of history, then gets hit with the bootlegging card. End: the group chant “tell him” collapses into an abyss where Daisy won’t rescue anyone. It’s the moment the dream loses altitude.

Key Facts

• Artist: Original Broadway Cast of The Great Gatsby - A New Musical
• Featured: John Zdrojeski, Jeremy Jordan, Eva Noblezada, Samantha Pauly, Noah J. Ricketts
• Composer: Jason Howland
• Lyricist: Nathan Tysen
• Producer: Masterworks Broadway release
• Release Date: June 28, 2024
• Genre: Broadway pop, jazz-tinted
• Instruments: Pit orchestra with rhythm section, reeds/brass, keys
• Label: Masterworks Broadway
• Mood: Combative, swaggering, destabilized
• Length: approx. 3 to 4 minutes
• Track #: 16 on the cast album
• Language: English
• Album: The Great Gatsby - A New Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Music style: Patter-chorus showdown with big-band color
• Poetic meter: Mixed - syllabic patter against regular-stress refrains

Canonical Entities & Relations

Questions and Answers

Where does the song sit in the show’s arc?

Late Act II. It is the Plaza confrontation where Tom exposes Gatsby’s business and Daisy refuses to erase her marriage.

Why the title phrase?

It’s a stress test. Tom claims the affair won’t hold; Gatsby insists his love is the enduring thing. The chorus throws the verdict back to Daisy.

How do the vocals map to character?

Tom gets square, percussive lines; Gatsby reaches for soaring phrases; Daisy’s fewer but pivotal entries carry harmonic warmth that melts when pressure rises.

Any callbacks to earlier numbers?

Yes - lines that echo the spend-it-now ethos of “New Money” and the destiny language of “For Her,” now turned against Gatsby.

What’s the most revealing lyric turn?

“Tell him” stacking into near-chant while Daisy says nothing. Silence as verdict - and doom.

How should a listener track the form?

Intro taunt, volley of accusations, Gatsby’s push for Daisy’s declaration, Tom’s bootlegging reveal, ensemble chant, drop-out ending. Clean sections, rising stakes.

Is this scene faithful to Fitzgerald’s chapter?

It preserves the Plaza blow-up where Daisy cannot say she never loved Tom and Tom airs Gatsby’s criminal ties. The musical tightens pacing and gives Jordan and Nick more musical agency.

Which performers are on the commercial track?

John Zdrojeski, Jeremy Jordan, Eva Noblezada, Samantha Pauly, and Noah J. Ricketts - the Broadway principals captured on the album.

Awards and Chart Positions

According to Playbill and the Tony Awards archive, the production’s design haul boosted the album’s visibility during summer 2024. New York Theatre Guide’s winners list mirrors those design citations.

How to Sing Made to Last

Tempo & key: around 99 BPM, centered near F sharp major on the studio release. Style: patter-forward confrontation with big-band accents.

1. Tempo: Rehearse at 92, then 99. Keep the groove planted; let the syncopations pop without rushing the text.
2. Diction: Consonants carry the argument. Shadow-vowel your endings so lines stay propulsive.
3. Breath: Map breaths before every ensemble entrance. Gatsby’s longer phrases need low, quiet inhales.
4. Flow & rhythm: Think “square shoulders.” Tom’s phrases sit on the beat; Gatsby leans ahead when pleading. Use that contrast.
5. Accents: Punch money, car, and crime words. Release on “tell him” so the chant feels inevitable, not shouted.
6. Ensemble balance: On the stacked refrains, keep altos and tenors tucked under leads; clarity beats volume.
7. Mic craft: Step off the mic on crescendoing accusations; come close for the confessional asides.
8. Pitfalls: Over-heroizing Gatsby or reducing Tom to a snarl. The power comes from precision and restraint.

Additional Info

The official album credits place the recording under Gatsby Broadway LLC with an exclusive license to Masterworks Broadway. IBDB logs “Made to Last” with Tom, Gatsby, Jordan, and Nick - a tidy hint at whose voices dominate. And for context across the season, People magazine recently covered cast changes and promotional content around the show, a reminder that publicity keeps the recordings cycling through new ears.

Sources (plain names): Apple Music; Spotify; YouTube; IBDB; Tony Awards; New York Theatre Guide; Playbill; People magazine.