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Gatz makes for new, exciting experience
Great novels are often adapted for the stage, dialogue sprung to life and beloved characters filled out across the stage. But often, the foundational elements of a text can be lost. Often, the narrative itself—not only the dialogue itself or the scene come to fruition—is the meat of the story, the descriptive experience. Certainly this is true of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, a novel as widely recognized for its literary elements as its ability to capture the mood and setting of a time in history. Adapting the novel for the stage has been attempted in the past, but the epic presentation by the American Repertory Theater and performed by famed theater ensemble Elevator Repair Service is Fitzgerald at his finest.
Gatz is a theatrical tour-de-force, as much sensory experience as it is traditional play. The story begins in the low-rent office of a mysterious small business and finds an employee picking up a tattered copy of The Great Gatsby. As he begins to read aloud, his co-workers don’t take notice, but gradually the story begins to make those listening question whether he is simply reading the words on the page or if the book is doing something to him. What makes Gatz truly remarkable is that the text of Gatsby is read—from start to finish—in its entirety. This makes for a vast (and lengthy) experience, clocking in at nearly six hours. But it is the experience itself that makes Gatz so special. Viewings can either be spread out over two nights (featuring performances of a first and second half) or enjoyed in an all-day experience that includes a one-hour intermission and one-hour break for dinner—the perfect opportunity to discuss the theatrical experience in real time.
Gatz is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience theater like you never have before. Part of the America: Boom, Bust and Baseball series at A.R.T., Gatz will be performed at the Loeb Drama Center. For more information, please visit www.americanrepertorytheater.com.