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The Great GatsbyPlay GuideArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1

The Great GatsbyCONTENTS SPONSORSTABLE OF CONTENTS3 WHO WE ARE4 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY4 CHARACTERS6 SYNOPSIS7 F. SCOTT FITZGERALD13 AN INTERVIEW WITH SIMON LEVY17 THE ROARING TWENTIES20 PROHIBITION24 THE JAZZ AGE26 THE AMERICAN DREAM28 NEW YORK IN THE 1920s29 WOMEN IN THE 1920s33 TIMELINE OF EVENTS38 DIRECTING GATSBY42 SYMBOLISM IN THE GREAT GATSBY45 GLOSSARY AND PERIOD REFERENCESIN THE PLAY49 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS53 AMERICA PLAYS! LESSON PLANS59 REFERENCESIt is Arizona Theatre Company’s goal to share the enriching experience of live theatre. This play guide isintended to help you prepare for your visit to Arizona Theatre Company. Should you have comments orsuggestions regarding the play guide, or if you need more information about scheduling trips to see anATC production, please feel free to contact us:Tucson: April JacksonAssociate Education Manager(520) 884-8210 ext 8506Phoenix: Cale EppsEducation Manager(602) 256-6899 ext 6503(520) 628-9129 fax(602) 256-7399 faxThe Great Gatsby Play Guide compiled and written by Jennifer Bazzell, Literary Manager andKatherine Monberg, Artistic Intern. Discussion questions and activities prepared by Cale Epps,Education Manager April Jackson, Associate Education Manager and Amber Tibbitts, EducationAssociate. Layout by Gabriel Armijo.Support for ATC’s Education and Community Programming has been provided by:OrganizationsAPSIndividualsArizona Commission on the Arts Ms. Jessica L. Andrews andBank of America FoundationMr. Timothy W. ToothmanCity Of GlendaleMs. Beth A. BankCommunity Foundation forMr. and Mrs. Franklin L. BennettSouthern ArizonaMr. Brain BlaneyCox CharitiesJana BommersbachDowntown Tucson PartnershipMr. Robert BookerEnterprise Holdings Foundation Ms. Sally BranchFord Motor Company FundMs. Peter Deluca andFreeport-McMoranMrs TamarRala KreiswirthCopper & Gold FoundationMr. and Mrs. Darryl B. DobrasGannettSharon Dupont McCordJPMorgan ChaseMr. and Mrs. Bruce L. DusenberryNational Endowment for the Arts Ms. Laura EvansPhoenix Office of Arts and Culture Mr. and Mrs. Burton FaigenPICOR Charitable FoundationMr. and Mrs. Edward FarmilantScottsdale League for the ArtsMs. Catherine M. FoleyStonewall FoundationMs. Sandra FossTargetMr. and Mrs. Eric FreedbergThe Boeing CompanyMr. Jack FriedlandThe Donald Pitt Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey P. GaiaThe Johnson Family Foundation, Inc. Mr. Henry GallinThe Marshall FoundationMs. Kate GarnerThe Maurice and Meta Gross Foundation Dr. Mary Jo GhoryThe Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Mr. Patric Giclas andThe Stocker FoundationMrs. Gail M. GiclasThe William L. and Ruth T. Pendleton Mr. and Mrs. David Ira GoldsteinMemorial FundMs. Linda GoodeTucson Medical CenterTucson Pima Arts CouncilMrs. Laura GrafmanKristie GrahamMr. and Mrs. Paul GreenMr. Greg B. HalesMr. David HansenMr. Terrence M. HansonMs. Athia L. HardtMs. Brenda HelpsMr. Ken HeronLeigh HerrMr. and Mrs. M. Langdon HillMegan HiltyMr. David IaconisMr. Gary JordanMr. Richard KautzMr. Darrel KiddMr. Randall KincaidMr. Everett L. King IIIMr. and Mrs. Dennis KnightMr. Kenneth KociubaMr. and Mrs. Richard C. KraemerMr. Jeff KunkelMr. Jeff LemonMr. William C. Lewis andMr. Rick K. UnderwoodMr. Ray LombardiMeilani Lombardi AndresMr. Rick LombardoMr. and Mrs. James LovelaceIna ManasterMs. Norma MartensHamilton McRaeMs. Rita A. MeiserMs. Thelma MillerMs. JeanMarie MooreMr. and Mrs. Fred A. Nachman IIIThomas C. PattersonMr. and Mrs. John D. Ratliff Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Chris ReaneyMs. Marsha ReingenDr. and Mrs. Sanford H. RothMs. Jennifer RuddleMr. Fernando Romero andMs. Dina Scalone-RomeroDrs. John and Helen SchaeferMr. and Mrs. Eric E. SchindlerMr. and Mrs. Lewis D. SchorrMr. Michael C. Schroeder andMr. Steven J. EaglesonMr. and Mrs. Michael SeidenSalim ShafiMr. and Mrs. Elliott J. SolomonMs. Jan SpaethMr. Howard N. StewartMs. Terri ThorsonMr. Michael TompkinsMr. Thomas WarneMr. Russ WilesQuinn WilliamsLeslie WoodruffArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 2

The Great GatsbyINTROF. Scott Fitzgerald’sThe Great GatsbyAdapted by Simon LevyDirected by Stephen WrentmoreINTRODUCTION TO THE PLAYConsidered by many to be the Great AmericanNovel, The Great Gatsby is at once titillating,fascinating and shocking in its portrayal of The JazzAge that was soon to disappear from the Americanlandscape. In this first authorized adaptationsince 1926, Simon Levy brings the humor, irony,pathos and loveliness of F. Scott Fitzgerald’sAmerican classic to the stage. Navigate the languidatmosphere of wealth and privilege with NickCarraway as he observes the glittering, elaborateparties of his neighbor, the infamous and illusive JayGatsby. Part of ATC’s AMERICA PLAYS! CelebratingGreat American Stories series, The Great Gatsby’ssharp depiction of the “American Dream” resonatesanew for each generation.Scenic Model by Yoon Bae, designer for ATC’s TheGreat GatsbyCHARACTERSJay Gatsby: A “Midwesterner” by birth, Gatsby’s past isshrouded in mystery, while his present persona exhibits anincredibly rich man with a strong emotional attachmentto a woman from his past. “‘I wouldn’t ask too much ofher,’ [Nick] ventured. ‘You can’t repeat the past.’ ‘Can’trepeat the past?’ [Gatsby] cried incredulously. ‘Why ofcourse you can!’"David Macdonald, the actor who playsJay Gatsby in ATC’s The Great GatsbyDaisy Buchanan: Born to a wealthy family in Louisville,Daisy is a debutante and socialite whose past with Gatsbycollides with her present life with her husband, Tom.“‘Her voice is full of money,’ [Gatsby] said suddenly.That was it. I’d [Nick] never understood before. It wasfull of money — that was the inexhaustible charm thatrose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ songof it ... high in a white palace the king’s daughter, thegolden girl.”Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 4

The Great GatsbyCHARACTERSCostume rendering for Nick by David K.Mickelsen, costume designer for ATC’sThe Great GatsbyNick Carraway: Nick is a true Midwesterner, havingcome East to attend Yale and then work in bonds andexplore New York. Nick is the play’s narrator and it isthrough his eyes that we experience the other charactersand the events of the story. He is the cousin and formerclassmate of Daisy and Tom Buchanan, respectively.“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of thecardinal virtues, and this is mine: I [Nick] am one ofthe few honest people that I have ever known.”Tom Buchanan: A Yale-educated man from a wealthyand respected family, Tom has never had to play bythe rules because the rules don’t apply to someone ofhis social standing. “‘Now, don’t think my opinionon these matters is final,’ [Tom] seemed to say, ‘justbecause I’m stronger and more of a man than youare.’”Jordan Baker: A professional female golf player, Jordanhas little family but money to spare. A friend of Daisyand Tom, Jordan is a knowledgeable source of gossipregarding the social circles in which the charactersmove. “She was incurably dishonest. She wasn’table to endure being at a disadvantage and, giventhis unwillingness, I [Nick] suppose she had begundealing in subterfuges when she was very young inorder to keep that cool, insolent smile turned to theworld and yet satisfy the demands of her hard, jauntybody.”Monette Magrath, the actor whoplays Daisy Buchanan in ATC’sThe Great GatsbyMyrtle Wilson: A fiery woman of a lower social classthan many of the other characters in the play, Myrtleand her husband George live in the valley of ashesnear New York City. “Her laughter, her gestures, herassertions became more violently affected momentby moment, and as she expanded the room grewsmaller around her, until she seemed to be revolvingon a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air.”Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 5

The Great GatsbyGeorge Wilson: The owner of a garage in the valley of ashes, George is a layman inthis world of the excessively wealthy. “’I know,’” [George] said definitely, ‘I’m one ofthose trusting fellas and I don’t think any harm to nobody, but when I get to know athing I know it.’”Meyer Wolfshiem: An associate of Gatsby’s who appears to have ties to variouscriminal organizations. Gatsby said, “He’s the man who fixed the World’s Series backin 1919.”Mr. McKee: Myrtle’s friend.Mrs. McKee: Myrtle’s friend.Mrs. Michaelis: A witness to a crime.Cop/Dancers/Etc.SYNOPSISF. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsbytakes place in 1922. As the horror of the FirstWorld War abates, the Roaring Twenties takecenter stage. Prohibition is in effect and flappershave burst onto the scene. Into this world ofwealth and privilege come Nick Carraway, aMidwesterner drawn by the lure of big city vitality,and Jay Gatsby, a curious tycoon drawn by alure altogether more mysterious. Nick’s worldconsists of working in bonds and socializingZachary Ford, the actor who plays Nick Carraway inATC’s The Great GatsbyArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 6

The Great GatsbySYNOPSISSofia Jean Gomez, the actor whoplays Jordan Baker in ATC’s TheGreat GatsbyScenic Model by Yoon Bae, designer for ATC’s The Great Gatsbywith his cousin Daisy Buchanan; her husband, Tom Buchanan; and their friend, JordanBaker, a female golf professional with whom Nick shares romantic chemistry. Nickalso meets the enigmatic Gatsby, whose mansion next door to Nick’s modest cottage isthe site of constant parties and drunken ribaldry which mask an urgent but unknownulterior motive of the host. Unbeknownst to Nick, Daisy and Gatsby share a romantichistory, one that neither of them has ever forgotten. Gatsby’s appearance on West Egg thissummer is not coincidence, but a calculated attempt to regain his past love. Fitzgerald’sdynamic characters careen toward a devastating conclusion to a story of love, grandeurand tragedy as social worlds collide, and those privileged few of the highest echelon ofsociety make choices that, once decided, can never be taken back.F. SCOTT FITZGERALDFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul,Minnnesota on September 24, 1896, to parentsEdward and Mary and was named after FrancisScott Key, the author of “The Star Spangled Banner,”Fitzgerald’s second cousin three times removed on hisfather’s side. When Edward’s wicker furniture businessin St. Paul failed, he obtained a position as a salesmanfor Proctor & Gamble that brought the family to NewYork, frequently moving between Buffalo and theupstate area for the first 10 years of Fitzgerald’s life. In1908, when Fitzgerald was 12, his father lost his joband the family moved back to Minnesota to live onhis mother’s inheritance from her family’s successfulwholesale grocery business in St. Paul.F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1937.Credit: Carl Van VechtenArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 7

The Great GatsbyFITZGERALDFitzgerald’s family perceived his intelligence and talentearly in his youth. He attended the St. Paul Academy andwas first published at the age of 13 – a detective story he’dwritten for his school newspaper. At age 15, his familysent him to the prestigious Newman School, a Catholicpreparatory school in New Jersey. During his time there hemet Father Sigourney Fay, who recognized and encouragedhis exceptional brilliance as a writer. After his graduationfrom the Newman School in 1913, Fitzgerald remained inNew Jersey to continue his literary development at PrincetonUniversity. While there he worked industriously to honehis craft, writing articles for the Princeton Tiger, a humormagazine, writing scripts and lyrics for the Triangle ClubZelda Sayre Fitzgerald, at age 17. musicals, and authoring stories for the Nassau LiteraryMagazine, a Princeton publication. However, his intense focus on his development asa writer drew his attention away from his other studies. He was placed on academicprobation, and dropped out of the university in 1917 to join the United States Army asthe U.S. prepared to enter World War I. Afraid that he would not return from the war, inthe time leading up to reporting for duty Fitzgerald frantically drafted his first novel, TheRomantic Egotist. Though it was rejected by Charles Scribners’ Sons publishing company,its originality was carefully noted and Fitzgerald was encouraged to continue submittinghis literary creations.Did You Know?The opening lines of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby are some of the mostfamous in all of English literature. The Great Gatsby begins:“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice thatI’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that allthe people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’”Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 8

The Great GatsbyFITZGERALDThe May 1, 1920 issue of TheSaturday Evening Post, the firstissue with Fitzgerald’s nameappeared on the cover,containing his short story,“Bernice Bobs Her Hair”.Fitzgerald entered World War I and was commissioned asa 2nd lieutenant in the infantry. He was stationed at CampSheridan just outside of Montgomery, Alabama, where he metand fell in love with Zelda Sayre, the daughter of an AlabamaSupreme Court judge. Fitzgerald was discharged from the armyin 1919 at the end of the war, having never been deployed.He resubmitted The Romantic Egotist for publication, and wasagain denied. He moved to NewYork City, intending to embark on anillustrious career in advertising thatwould provide enough incentiveto convince Zelda to marry him.While he was in New York, Zeldabroke off their engagement,unwilling to wait for him to makehis fortune and unwilling to liveon his small income. Fitzgeraldquickly found the advertising job tobe unsatisfactory, however, and afteronly a few months he returned to St.Paul to rewrite his novel.The rewrite of his first work in its new incarnation titled This Sideof Paradise, set at Princeton and cataloguing the love and careeraspirations of Armory Blaine, was published in 1920. With theimmediate success of the novel, Fitzgerald was quickly catapultedThe original cover art for ThisSide of Paradise, 1920.to the position of one of the most promising young writers in America. Wielding his newstatus as an acclaimed author, Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre in New York one week afterthe novel’s publication. The two had one daughter, Frances Scott (Scottie) Fitzgerald, thefollowing year.Did You Know?The closing lines of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby are ALSO some of themost famous in all of English literature. The Great Gatsby ends:“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedesbefore us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—to-morrow we will run faster,stretch out our arms farther….And one fine morning—So we beat on, boatsagainst the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”Interesting fact: The very last sentence of The Great Gatsby graces the tomb ofF. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald in Rockville, Maryland.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 9

The Great GatsbyFITZGERALDFitzgerald reveled in his newfound celebrity status andluxuriated in the decadent, extravagant world of 1920s wealthto which he suddenly found himself admitted. His wild andpromiscuous lifestyle gained him a reputation as a playboy,however, which began to hinder his endeavors as a seriousliterary artist. His primary source of financial support was thepublication of numerous short stories in popular publicationssuch as Esquire and The Saturday Evening Post. Some of hismost famous stories appeared in these publications, including“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “The Diamondas Big as the Ritz.” In 1922, Fitzgerald published his secondnovel, The Beautiful and Damned, a story surrounding theunhappy marriage of Gloria and Anthony Patch. It was thisnovel that firmly engrained him in history as a reporter ofwhat we have come to know as the “Roaring Twenties,” anera of affluence, extravagance, and the wild abandonment ofconservative values.To maintain the momentum of his creativity, Fitzgerald movedto Paris, France in 1924, joining many important artistic andliterary figures of his day including Gertrude Stein, ErnestHemingway, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and Samuel Beckett.The 1922 first edition cover ofThe Beautiful and Damned, thecharacters of Anthony and Gloriadrawn to resemble F. Scott andZelda Fitzgerald.Together they constituted the first wave of expatriate migration to Paris that occurredbetween the world wars as a part of what Gertrude Stein called “the Lost Generation”– those disillusioned by the devastation of World War I that sought artistic and personalfulfillment. The artistic conversation and melding of ideas in Paris provided relief andrefuge for many artists of all genres. While in France in 1925, Fitzgerald published whatcritics and readers generally agree to be his greatest work, The Great Gatsby. The noveldid receive critical acclaim at its publication, but it was not until much later, in the 1950sand 1960s, that it achieved iconic status as a prime example of the Great American Noveland the definitive portrayal of the Jazz Age – a term Fitzgerald coined himself."First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you."– F. Scott FitzgeraldAfter the publication of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s happiness in his marriage deterioratedas Zelda became involved with a French naval aviator. After learning of the affair, Fitzgeraldbegan to experience severe bouts of writer’s block. Having always been a drinker, he beganto seek refuge in the bottle, steadily developing an intense alcoholism. Always seekinga better atmosphere, the Fitzgeralds split much of their time in the late 1920s betweenAmerica and France. Fitzgerald attempted an unsuccessful stint in Hollywood before settlingin a mansion in Delaware in 1927. The following year, Zelda began to train as a ballerina,Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 10

The Great GatsbyFITZGERALDintending to become a professional dancer despite her late start to the art form andprevious lack of experience. The physical and mental training strained both her healthand their marriage, and Zelda began to have increasingly severe manifestations of mentalillness which took further toll on her health and well-being. Zelda was briefly committedto a mental asylum in Switzerland in 1930 and, the following year, was committed to theJohns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland after suffering another mental breakdown. Whilea patient at Johns Hopkins, Zelda wrote the autobiographical novel Save Me the Waltz,which further estranged her from her husband, who saw it as a preemptive revelation ofthe material he was using in his own novel-in-progress. Zelda spent the rest of her life inor as an outpatient of sanatoriums. In 1934, Fitzgerald published his fourth novel, Tenderis the Night, the story of an American psychiatrist in Paris and his problematic marriage toa patient of wealth; the autobiographical novel clearly parallels Fitzgerald’s own life at thetime. In 1936, Zelda entered the Highland Hospital in North Carolina, where she spent theremainder of her life until her death in a fire at the hospital in 1948.Did You Know?F. Scott Fitzgerald was never truly satisfied with the titleThe Great Gatsby. He vacillated between various titles for the novel includingGatsby; Among Ash-Heaps and Millionaires; Trimalchio; Trimalchio in West Egg;On the Road to West Egg; Under the Red, White, and Blue; Gold-Hatted Gatsbyand The High-Bouncing Lover. Zelda and the publisher convinced him to agreeto the title The Great Gatsby, but he tried even until the last minute before thenovel’s 1925 publication to change it.Fully immersed in alcohol and depression, Fitzgerald attempted once more to revive hiscareer in 1937, moving to Hollywood as a screenwriter and freelance storywriter. Whilethis choice did not gain him the critical acclaim he was accustomed to garnering, it didachieve him the financial stability to begin writing his fifth novel, The Love of the LastTycoon, in 1939. The manuscript was approximately halfway completed at the time ofhis death from a heart attack at the age of 44 on December 21, 1940, at the home of hismistress, movie columnist Sheilah Graham.F. Scott Fitzgerald died believing himself a failure, but critics and readers rememberhim today as one of the greatest American novelists of all time. For many readers of hiswork, his life’s journey represents that of the quintessential writer who burned brightly,but briefly. The Great Gatsby remains one of the most-taught novels in high schools andcolleges across the nation, and its themes of American aspiration, ambition, and failurerepresent some of the defining characteristics of classic American literature.-written by Katherine Monberg, Artistic InternArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 11

The Great GatsbyFITZGERALDFitzgerald Novels• This Side of Paradise (1920)• The Beautiful and Damned (1922)• The Great Gatsby (1925)• Tender is the Night (1934)• The Last Tycoon (originally The Love of the Last Tycoon publishedposthumously, 1941)Short Stories and Novelettes• "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" (1920)• "Head and Shoulders" (1920)• "The Ice Palace" (1920)• "May Day" (1920)• "The Offshore Pirate" (1920)• "The Four Fists" (1920)• "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (1921)• "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" (1922)• "Winter Dreams" (1922)• "Dice, Brassknuckles & Guitar" (1923)• "The Rich Boy" (1926)• " He Thinks He's Wonderful" (1928)• "The Freshest Boy" (1928)• "Magnetism" (1928)• "A New Leaf" (1931)• "Babylon Revisited" (1931)• "Crazy Sunday" (1932)• "The Fiend" (1935)• "The Bridal Party"• "The Baby Party"• "The Lost Decade" (1938)Short Story Collections• Flappers and Philosophers (1920)• Tales of the Jazz Age (1922)• All the Sad Young Men (1926)• Taps at Reveille (1935)• Afternoon of an Author: A Selection of Uncollected Stories and Essays (1957)• Babylon Revisited and Other Stories (1960)• The Pat Hobby Stories (1962)• The Basil and Josephine Stories (1973)• The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1989)Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 12

The Great GatsbyOTHER WRITINGS• The Vegetable, or From President to Postman (play, 1923)• The Crack-Up (essays, 1945)• On Negative Capability (essay, 1944)- www.wikipedia.comAN INTERVIEW WITH SIMON LEVYLEVYAdapter Simon Levy answered questions from ATC Literary Manager Jenny Bazzellabout undertaking the creation of a stage version of The Great Gatsby. Read on todiscover the process he took to secure the rights from the Fitzgerald estate, how hedealt with the logistics of adapting such an iconic novel and how he integrated thespecifics of the era into the script.Jenny Bazzell: Yours is the only stage adaptation of TheGreat Gatsby authorized by the Fitzgerald estate. Can youtell us a little bit about what steps were involved in securingpermission for your adaptation?Simon Levy: Like any good story, the journey to obtainingthe stage rights to The Great Gatsby was a long one full ofidealism, luck, perseverance, disappointments, proving one'sself to the guardians at the gate, overcoming obstacles, andultimately, passion. When I first approached the FitzgeraldEstate in the early '90s they said no, The Great Gatsby wasoff-limits. However, because of my passion and idealismand love of Fitzgerald, they told me I could do anotherSimon Levynovel, with severe restrictions attached of course. Theyhad to approve it first. So, essentially, I would have to do it on spec. I'd just finishedreading Tender is the Night, which I adored and, sadly, identified with. I'd been goingthrough some of the things Dick Diver encounters in the novel, so I was very passionateabout it. Everyone thought I was crazy. "Impossible," my colleagues said. "It's unwieldy,unadaptable." Well, nothing makes me more passionate than the "impossible." I figured Icould whip it out in a few months and see what the Fitzgerald Estate thought, then worryabout the rest. 2 1/2 years later (I'm giving you the short version), I finally presented a draftI was proud of, the Estate approved it, we staged it at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles,it was a hit, and won the PEN Literary Award for Drama. I went back to the Estate, awardsin hand, and asked for Gatsby again. Again they said no. "But pick something else," theysaid. "Like what?" I asked. "How about The Last Tycoon?" "But it's an unfinished novel,"I said. "So finish it." Another challenge! 1 1/2 years later (I was getting faster) The LastTycoon was produced at the Fountain Theatre to critical and popular success. So I wentArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 13

The Great GatsbyLEVYCostume rendering for Daisy byDavid K. Mickelsen, costumedesigner for ATC’s The Great Gatsbyto the Fitzgerald Estate once again with awards in hand... and thistime they said yes, with the caveat that they would have to approveit first. 2 years later I presented them with a draft, which they lovedand approved as the official stage adaptation of the novel.JB: With a work as rich in language and imagery as The GreatGatsby how did you make decisions regarding what to keep andwhat not to include in your adaptation?SL: The challenge of honoring Fitzgerald and this massively iconicnovel, as well as honoring the craft of theatre, required getting deepinto the novel, into Fitzgerald himself, into all the essays and bookswritten about the symbolism and metaphors and themes. I readeverything! I wanted to know, intuitively and intellectually, whatworked and what didn't with all the other adaptations (film, TV,theatre, opera, ballet), and with other successful and unsuccessfulstage adaptations of other famous novels. For a period of my lifeI became a walking encyclopedia on adaptation. But at the endof that journey I realized that, ultimately, I needed to know whoI was in this adaptation. What sang to me? Where was my heartinside these characters, these enormous ideas? What did I wantto say about Illusion vs. Reality, the pursuit of the AmericanDream, greed, the advantaged vs. the disadvantaged, Westvs. East, disillusionment and the irrecoverable past, and mostimportantly, love and betrayal? Over the last 6 years there havebeen so many rewrites, but at the heart of them the centralquestion has always been how do I use the language of theatre(the "plastic elements" as Tennessee Williams used to call them)to honor the beauty of Fitzgerald's prose. Fitzgerald's plotis what it is - illusion, love, pursuit of the American Dream,adultery, betrayal, death, disappointment, and the need to "beaton" - so one uses or adapts or creates dialogue to be true toFitzgerald, to tell The Story (all of which has been agonizedover and tested again and again), but the success of the stageadaptation will not be so much in What is said but How itis presented so that it honors the themes and symbols andmetaphors that make this the great American novel.JB: There has only been one previous production of yourscript. What did you learn from that?SL: Like any playwright/adapter, the primary thing I learned isthat I needed to keep rewriting! Rhythm is essential to anythingActor Marta Reiman, who playsMyrtle Wilson in ATC’s productionof The Great Gatsby.I create. That production showed me where the hiccups are: Sometimes it was a word, a line, anentire scene, even a character. I did a major rewrite after that.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 14

The Great GatsbyLEVYWarehouse filled with barrels of illegal alcoholduring the days of Prohibition.JB: Gatsby is the titular character of thenovel and the play adaptation, and yet he’san elusive individual, described by multiplecharacters in both texts in numerous ways. Noone can seem to agree on exactly who or whatGatsby is. Did that present a challenge as youworked on your adaptation?SL: It became one of the major challenges.Obviously, when we read a novel we imagine.When we watch a play we see. That whichis elusive in a book becomes corporeal onstage. An actor can't play mystery or beingmysterious, he has to play actions and wants,so there's no getting around that on stage.However, what you can do is PRESENT Gatsby mysteriously, which is why I open theplay with him half-turned away from the audience, in shadow, silhouette. The openingstage direction is:The haunting cry of a SAX.A MAN appears out of mist, out of a dreamscape, staring off into a blinking greenlight, dressed in a white tuxedo, half turned away from us so he's not completelyvisible. It's important he be insubstantial, ghostly, an illusion.SPOT up on NICK CARRAWAY in the mist. He carries a suitcase.It's why I have Gatsby "appear" and "disappear" throughout the play, or have him inshadow in the background. Ultimately, it's the director who theatricalizes this, uses stagelanguage to create the illusion. It's not so much the What but the How.JB: The 1920s is such a fun era in American history. Between bootleggers, flappers andProhibition, the period is inherently theatrical. How did you work specifically to includeelements of the era in the adaptation?SL: It's absolutely essential that any production of the adaptation recreate the 1920s...because it's inherently theatrical... and fun! Throughout the text I've integrated specificsabout the clothes, the music, dances, songs, the parties,the drinking, and capturing the carefree abandonmentof that period. Originally, I wanted a live sax player tounderscore the play, to always be present, to symbolicallyrepresent the period. He was an actual character, TheSaxman. I also wanted him to be African American, tomake a political and cultural statement, which is a themeFitzgerald has in the novel. But some felt it was unwieldyand too expensive; I was fought on it and the idea gotdiluted. I still think it's a wonderful idea and absolutely William Peden, the actor who plays TomBuchanan in ATC’s The Great GatsbyArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 15

The Great GatsbyLEVYright for the tone of the play. However, I cut the character fromthe current draft so that directors had more freedom with howthey wanted to present the music that is absolutely essential to theproduction. In my Author's Note at the front of the play, I say:the described stage setting is the idealized vision of the playplayed out against a larger-than-life mythic backdrop wherespectacular production elements substitute for the lyricbeauty of Fitzgerald's descriptive prose; however, symbolismand metaphor, which are central to the novel, may berealized in many ways, and I leave it to the imagination ofdirectors to tell the story as simply or elaborately as theychoose. It's my intention that scenes overlap, linger, evenplay simultaneously sometimes so we play freely with timeand space. If possible, it would be exciting to have a livemusician (sax, clarinet) to represent the passion and soundof the Jazz Age as music is integral to the telling of this story.One should approach this play the way you would a musical.Actor Kevin Black, who playsGeorge Wilson in ATC’sproduction of The Great Gatsby.JB: Will there be anything in the adaptation that you think will surprise audience membersthat perhaps they are not expecting? And will you be able to make it to Arizona to see thework onstage?SL: What often happens with iconic novels, especially this one which is celebrated for itsexquisite prose and lofty themes, is that we romanticize them. We look at them through agauze of awe and respect. We fall in love with style and form. We forget that great storiesare about great characters caught up in great plots. At the heart of this novel is adultery,betrayal and love. Gatsby loves Daisy. Daisy loves Gatsby (and Tom). Tom loves Daisy (andMyrtle). Myrtle loves Tom. Wilson loves Myrtle. Jordan loves Daisy. And Nick loves Daisy(and Gatsby). Look at all the terrible things we do for love! What I hope will surprise (orremind) the audience is that these are deeply flawed people, like us; people who havestinky feet and who make terrible mistakes, destroy lives, or who have to pick up after thedestroyers. There is pain and humiliation and death. Yes, it all happens against a backdropof beauty and illusion, against the sights and sounds of the Jazz Age, inside the quest forthe American Dream - but as important as Form is to this novel and this stage presentation,it's the Content that we will always carry with us, a remembrance of great and singularcharacters!I absolutely wouldn't miss the production. Not only because I admire Arizona TheatreCompany and its dedication to an art form I love, but because it'll be fun just to be anaudience member!Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 16

The Great GatsbyTWENTIESTHE ROARING TWENTIESAt the conclusion of World War I in 1919, Americafound itself on the brink of an unparalleled era ofwealth and affluence. This transitional time provideda welcome and necessary contrast to the atrocitiesof a war that had reached a scale of global carnageunprecedented in human history. Fresh from awartime economy that boosted industry and putpaychecks in the pockets of millions of soldiers, theconcept of consumer goods erupted in the Americanmarket. People had excess cash and suddenly founda panoply of things to purchase with it, as the rapidgrowth of industry; such as automobile manufacturing,coupled with governmental policies designed tostimulate growth began to give rise to the consumerismIllustration of a flapper by Russell Pattersontitled “Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire.”that quickly became a tenet of American capitalism. Not only were the American peopleseeking an outlet for disposable income, the American psyche was also seeking arefuge and a means of relief from the horror and bloodshed of the war still fresh in theirminds. This combination of means and need provided the impetus for a decade of wildabandonment of the social and moral values of the previous age – which had led to theconflict that so scarred the globe – in exchange for newfound gaiety, freedom, artisticexploration and the smooth, unexpected sounds of jazz. The Roaring Twenties arrivedforcefully in the wake of war, and rearranged the societal norms of an entire nation.“If we ever get back [from the war] and I don’t particularly care, we’ll be ratheraged—in the worst way. After all life hasn’t much to offer except youth and Isuppose for older people the love of youth in others.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, froma letter to his cousin CeciA still, used to produce illegalalcohol during Prohibition days.The early 1920s saw the development in America of masseverything: mass production created products efficientlyenough for the common man to afford them and massbroadcasting in the form of radio enabled the commonman to be informed of the existence of such products.Electrical recording in 1925 sparked the music industryto branch into home entertainment and advances in filmand aviation allowed communication across previouslyimmutable boundaries of time and distance. Thesenew technological forays provoked the need for animmediately adaptive infrastructure: road constructionbegan so people could use their new cars, electrificationprogressed so people could listen to their newphonographs, and local governments invested deeplyin these aspects of a new and improved world situation.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 17

The Great GatsbyTWENTIESThe urbanization that had begun with the development ofindustry in the previous decades peaked, and for the first timemore Americans found themselves in urban centers than inrural landscapes. The quick exchange of ideas facilitated bypopulation concentration piggybacked on the need for a newAmerican identity in the world, and innovation in art, music,and literature poured out of American minds, particularly inthe expatriate community in Paris, giving America some of itsmost highly regarded works of all time. The need to explore,to express, and to push against the norms of the careful pastgave us the 1920s that we think of: a world of flappers andspeakeasies, wild parties, illegal substances (which includedalcohol under Prohibition from 1920-1933), and decadence.A South CarolinaRepresentative doing theCharleston with two flappersin front of the U.S. Capitol.The Lost GenerationWorld War I left Americans, particularly young adults, with a heavy senseof disillusionment and futility, transforming them into what Gertrude Steindubbed “The Lost Generation.” Many creative minds of the day sought artisticand literary fulfillment in Paris, including a large expatriate community ofAmerican authors seeking an atmosphere more supportive of the artist’sendeavors. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, SamuelBeckett, Ezra Pound, and many others made their way to France in the lullbetween the World Wars and produced some of the greatest American worksof all time, creating a body of literature that exemplifies the human conditionand the American state of mind in the post-war years.Famous American Writers From the 1920s:• F. Scott Fitzgerald• Gertrude Stein• Edith Wharton• Eugene O’Neill• Robert Frost• Sinclair Lewis• Sherwood Anderson• James Joyce• T.S. Eliot• Willa Cather• William Carlos Williams• H.L. Mencken• Ernest Hemingway• Alain Locke• Anzia Yesierska• William Faulkner• Langston Hughes• Countee CullenArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 18

The Great GatsbyTWENTIESThe newfound culture of consumerism, and subsequent greed,gave birth to the social satire of Sinclair Lewis, SherwoodAnderson, Edith Wharton, and H.L. Mencken, whose workspaved the way for the Stephen Colberts and Jon Stewartsof today. The integration of sound in American film, firstattempted in The Jazz Singer in 1927, allowed the creationof movie stars, and the debut of Walt Disney’s MickeyMouse in 1928 changed popular culture forever. The ideaof a mainstream culture began to mature as jazz, originallya product of African American communities, began to beincorporated into white America and the Harlem Renaissance,a period of massive development in African American literaryand artistic culture, took off. States’ racial demographicscontinued to shift drastically with The Great Migration ofAfrican Americans from southern states that had begun at theend of the Civil War and continued throughout the 1920s.Fashion in the 1920sThe 1920s brought with it a strong deviation from Victorian ideals as well asVictorian appearances. Women’s fashion exploded in the 1920s, bringingthe knee length, bare-armed dresses of the flappers, short bobbed haircutsfor women, and the first acceptable modern use of cosmetics. Men beganto abandon their formal daytime apparel, and athletic apparel becameacceptable for daily wear for the first time.The Chrysler Building in New YorkCity, representing the Art Decostyle that arrived in the U.S. in thelate 1920s.The rising popularity of jazz brought with it a rise in the popularity of dance, and thesubsequent need for new and lively music produced an entire generation of musicians thatbecame famous as performers, vocalists, and orchestra leaders, including Duke Ellington,Bing Crosby, and Louis Armstrong. Blues and an early form of country music debutedduring this same time making famous such performers as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey,Jimmie Rodgers and Charlie Poole. Conversations regarding the need for racial equalityand tolerance of sexual orientation became accepted social discourse, in some circles, forthe first time.Art in the 1920sThere were two distinct artistic movements whose roots are grounded in the 1920s.The first, surrealism, began in post-World War I literary and artistic circles, andwas related to the earlier Dada movement. Surrealist works feature unexpectedjuxtaposition, non sequitur, and the element of surprise. Art Deco also began toemerge in art and architecture, though it didn’t catch on in the U.S. until the latterpart of the decade. It is characterized by bold forms and unusual materials such asaluminum, stainless steel, and zebra skin.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 19

The Great GatsbyThe luxury of the 1920s brought on by massive and impetuousspending in a quickly developing world reached a point whereit could no longer be maintained. After rapid increases andpositive speculation in the stock market spurred massive spendingand investing, stock prices suddenly collapsed on October29, 1929, a day known as Black Tuesday. From the height ofan era of unprecedented affluence, America found itself thrustunceremoniously into the midst of the Great Depression whichtook the jobs and livelihoods of millions across the country in theearly 1930s. Social attitudes swung back toward a conservativebase as once again the “mistakes” of the past brought the UnitedStates to an era of desperation and need, the glittering memoryof the Roaring Twenties crushed beneath the weight of theDepression.-written by Katherine Monberg, Artistic InternPROHIBITIONA crowd gathering on Wall Street justafter the Stock Market Crash of 1929.The Great Gatsby is set during the 1920s, a time well-known for the United States'enactment of the 18th Amendment which established national Prohibition. What exactlywas Prohibition?“When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supportedby public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil effects ofalcohol would be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly come to believethat this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; thespeakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared;many of our best citizens have openly ignored Prohibition; respect for thelaw has been greatly lessened; and crime has increased to a level never seenbefore.” – John D. RockefellerOriginsFollowing the American Revolution of 1779, alcoholconsumption climbed in the United States. In the 19th century,the average American drank three times as much hard liquor asthe average American today. Additionally, many saloonkeepersoffered sideline services at their establishments, includinggambling, cock-fighting, and prostitution, that enticed men andkept saloons in business. Concern regarding the quantity andfrequency of drunkenness grew as some individuals saw suchbehavior as a threat to social order and familial harmony. Somewomen were especially alarmed by the drinking behavior oftheir husbands, which sometimes led to abuse and frivolousLiterature advocating Prohibition spending. Thus the temperance movement was born. Initially,emphasized the dangers of alcohol asthe temperance movement encouraged moderation and restrainta threat to family harmony and values.in the consumption of alcohol; eventually these crusades ledArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 20

The Great GatsbyPROHIBITIONto the formation of the infamous Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, whose agendaincluded full-fledged campaigns for local bans on alcohol. These campaigns werereasonably successful, with many states adopting statutes banning the sale of alcohol.However, many of these local temperance initiatives were met with resistance, notably the1855 deadly Portland Rum Riot in Maine in which one man was killed and seven otherpeople injured. Despite these setbacks, efforts to achieve prohibition would eventuallyextend to the national government.“The statistics of every state show a greater amount of crime and misery attributableto the use of ardent spirits obtained at these retail liquor saloons than to any othersource.” –Crowley v. Christensen, 1890Prohibition agents destroying barrelsof alcohol, 1920s.Toward a National ProhibitionIn 1913, the Anti-Saloon League announced that it would strivefor national prohibition through a constitutional amendment.They partnered with the Woman’s Christian Temperance Unionand in 1916 gained the two-thirds majority from Congress thatwas necessary to initiate the amendment. World War I propelledthe temperance movement and activists tried to persuade thepublic that patriotism required self-sacrifice, including abstinencefrom alcohol. In 1919, less than one year after the conclusionof the war, the 18th Amendment was ratified. Interestingly,while women at the time were unable to vote or hold politicaloffice, the 18th Amendment’s success was due largely to femaleinfluence. The 18th Amendment went into effect on January 16, 1920. This was shortly followedby the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920 that gave women the right to vote.Did You Know?Prohibition parties still exist today. They support candidates running for publicoffice and their political platforms are posted on their websites.Life During ProhibitionProhibition is marked as the period in which the manufacture, sale and transportation ofalcohol was illegal in the United States. Prohibition shut down the business of brewers,distillers, vintners, and wholesale and retail sellers of alcoholic beverages. By regulatingprivate businesses, many people felt that 18th Amendment infringed upon their freedomsestablished in the Bill of Rights. Technically speaking, the 18th Amendment did not forbidalcohol consumption. This loophole made it possible for many citizens to obtain alcohollegally from various sources. Some individuals stockpiled alcohol in the nearly one yearArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 21

The Great GatsbyPROHIBITIONit took to put Prohibition into effect. Also, alcohol remained legal for medicinal purposesand doctors wrote whiskey prescriptions for a myriad of ailments. Finally, the law alsopermitted the distribution of alcohol at sacramental ceremonies. Needless to say, thenumber of patients and church/synagogue attendees skyrocketed during Prohibition, as didthe number of pharmacies and self-proclaimed rabbis. No concerted attempt was made tostop this behavior, so it continued without interrogation.Throughout the novel, various characters suspect that at least part of the sourceof Gatsby’s wealth stems from bootlegging. All of the characters consider alcoholconsumption as a normal part of their excess-driven lives; however, Gatsby’spossible connection to bootlegging is sometimes used as an excuse for disdain.Alcohol was also attainable throughother means, albeit illicit. Prohibition didnot eradicate drinking, it simply forcedit underground. A new type of gangsterarose from Prohibition; awareness that thedemand for alcohol exceeded its availabilitypresented a lucrative opportunity. Organizedcrime groups smuggled alcohol from theCaribbean or Canada. They also establishedunderground bars called “speakeasies.”Speakeasies required a password for entryand were equipped with an elaborate systemof alarms in case of police raids. The groupsDuring Prohibition, liquor consumption for medicinal andreligious purposes was still legal. “Whiskey Prescriptions,”like this one, were common.that controlled the liquor industry, such as the Purple Gang of Detroit, were idealizedand achieved celebrity status during Prohibition. But these gangs brought many graverepercussions to American society due to the threats, violence and secrecry at all costs thatwere required of their businesses.“Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food andwater.” – Comedian W. C. FieldsConsequences of ProhibitionWithout regulation, the quality of black marketalcohol declined and on average 1,000 Americansdied each year due to poisioning. In addition,hundreds of gang related murders took place eachyear. Al Capone, perhaps the most well-knownbootlegger of Prohibition, ran Chicago operationsand considered himself a “public benefactor.”However, members of Al Capone's gang murderedseven rival bootleggers on February 14, 1929 in whatProhibition authorities pour illegal liquorinto a sewer, 1920s.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 22

The Great GatsbyPROHIBITIONcame to be known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” This event is representative oframpant violence present during Prohibition. Although the government had hired federalProhibition agents (police) to raid speakeasies and arrest bootleggers, these agents’salaries were inadequete, which led to a high rate of bribery. In addition, the justicesystem failed to keep up. Prisons were overcrowded and defendants were kept there forextensive lengths of time awaiting their trial dates.“I make my money by supplying a public demand. If I break the law, mycustomers, who number hundreds of the best people in Chicago, are as guiltyas I am. Everybody calls me a racketeer. I call myself a businessman.”– Bootlegger Al CaponeProponents of Prohibition had anticipatedthat the dry era would bring economicprosperity because former drinkers wouldput their money into other industries.This hypothesis did not come to fruition;instead, many industries suffered as aconsequence of Prohibition. Prohibitionalso led to the elimination of thousands ofjobs and stinted state tax revenues whosebudget was dependent on excise taxes inliquor sales.Advertisement for the Prohibition Party from the 1920s. Littleknown fact: the Prohibition Party still exists today!The goal of the temperance movement was to safeguard society from the harmful effectsof alcohol and improve Americans’ quality of life. It took almost 100 years of activismbefore the 18th Amendment was ratified, but the genuine prohibition of alcohol failedto materialize, and ironically created the opposite effect: it fostered intemperance,criminality, political corruption, and hypocrisy. The failure of Prohibition can beattributed to a lack of public support and the government’s ineffective enforcement ofthe law. Even prominent citizens and politicians later admitted to having used alcoholduring Prohibition, including President Warren Harding who had publically supportedthe temperance movement.“There is as much of a chance of repealing the eighteenth amendment as there isfor a humming bird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied toits tail. This country is for temperance and prohibition and it is going to continue toelect members of Congress who believe in that.”– Senator Morris Sheppard, 1930Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 23

The Great GatsbyJAZZDuke Ellington, a jazz musician of theHarlem Renaissance. Photo taken in1953.The cultural quest for a fresh identity and a newplace in the world sent young Americans into moraland physical spaces previously unexplored. Coupledwith the advent of mass entertainment in the formof the radio broadcast, mainstream culture was ripefor the introduction of the previously forbidden.Young people sought new means of expression tocommunicate the extremity of the experiences withwhich the war had left them. Jazz, traditionally an artform of the African American community, satisfiedthe newfound desire to push against previouslyimmutable boundaries through its introduction intowhite mainstream culture.Contrary to the classical music and show tunes popularized during the previous decades,jazz was unlike anything that mainstream American culture had ever heard before.With its loud, syncopated, sultry tones, jazz provided the soundtrack to the moral andbehavioral exploration of a new era. Some critics blamed jazz’s unexpected melodiesand the freedom of its rhythm for the unconstrained behavior that accompanied it. Thewild, raucous abandonment of classical rules of musical theory was indicative of anunraveling of the rigid society left behind in the wake of the war.The origins of the word “jazz” are mysterious. While historians agree it began as aslang term and that originally it seems not to have referred to music, the exact wordfrom which it derives is uncertain. One theory supports the idea that the wordderives from “jasm” meaning energy and vigor that dates to the nineteenth century.Even when the word transitioned to its more modern usage, alternative spellingssuch as “jass” “jas” and “jasz” were common until 1918.Jazz, which originated in New Orleans, migrated to theNew York area in the 1920s as a facet of the HarlemRenaissance, which created some of the greatest jazzmusicians of all time. Duke Ellington, Joe “King” Oliver,and Louis Armstrong all made their fame and fortune inthe Jazz Age, becoming some of the most recognizednames in American music.“Jazz I regard as an American folk-music.”– Composer George GershwinJazz great Joe “King” Oliver, in a portraitArizona Theatre Company Play Guidefrom around 1915.25

The Great GatsbyJazz represented more than a simple change of taste in musical style; it was statement ofchange, independence, and generational autocracy. It collided directly with the ideals ofthe previous generation, destabilizing the sense of order, propriety, and convention that hadculminated in the devastation of World War I. If the old ways of the world had led to suchcatastrophe, then a new philosophy had come to take its place – a philosophy of freedom,of beauty, and of jazz.-written by Katherine Monberg, Artistic InternDREAMTHE AMERICAN DREAM“The world, as a rule, does not live on beaches and in country clubs.”– F. Scott Fitzgerald in an undated letter to his daughter ScottieAmerican life and literature since the time of thenation’s inception are scattered with the idealismof success attainable through merit and the qualityof one’s character. This concept that hard work,integrity, and intelligent decision-making will berewarded by financial and personal success is thevery foundation upon which the American Dreamrests. The Great Gatsby interrogates this version of“success” and raises questions about the derivation ofhappiness and personal fulfillment from the financialsecurity provided by the attainment of such a Dream.Actor Katie McFadzen who plays Mrs. McKeeand Mrs. Michaelis in ATC’s production of TheGreat Gatsby.“I look out at it—and I think it is the most beautiful history in the world. It isthe history of me and my people…It is the history of all aspiration—not just theAmerican dream but the human dream and if I came at the end of it that too is aplace in the line of the pioneers.” – From F. Scott Fitzgerald’s notes for his last novel,The Last TycoonArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 26

The Great GatsbyDREAMCostume rendering for Gatsbyby David K. Mickelsen, costumedesigner for ATC’s The Great GatsbyHistorically, the capitalist endeavors that would financiallyadmit one to the top tiers of American society proved tobe somewhat superficial; simply having money was notenough to admit one to the highest social circles, whichvalued a sense of lineage. Particularly in the upsurge ofwealth brought on by the industry boom in the 1920s inwhich fortunes were made for working men, the sociologyof wealth became important. An appreciation of “oldmoney” – and the family names that were associatedwith it – took on a sense of quality and depth. The upperclass sought to maintain their status atop the socialhierarchy by constructing a new qualification of quality:the age of their wealth. "New money" was looked downupon by the established wealthy of the day, who sawit as vulgar and gaudy, lacking in the grace, poise, andsophistication established only by generations of practice.Particularly, individuals with money that had been earned in a “questionable” fashion– i.e. in enterprises of dubious legal standing such as bootlegging, organized crimeand prostitution – faced a less than warm reception into the top of the social strata. The1920s then became a space of cultural conflict as the quick influx of all things “new” –the new woman, the nouveau riche with their new money, and a new system of moraland behavioral values – contrasted directly and immediately with the norms of theprevious decades.The 1%While the increase in wealth experienced in the U.S. post-World War I did generallyraise the per capita income across the board, the making of spectacular fortunesthat we see in The Great Gatsby is not representative of the collective whole. Therewas an unequal distribution of wealth, even in such wealthy times, that maintaineda financial upper class that contemporary social politics still take note of today. Withthe modern world awash in conversations regarding the 99% and the 1%, The GreatGatsby reminds us that this conversation, while certainly specific to today’s world,is not entirely new. Are Daisy, Tom, Jordan and even Gatsby the 1920s historicalparallels of Occupy Wall Street’s 1%?The revision of American personal and cultural identity revealed the American Dream as aslightly more complex construction in which success in the capitalist sphere was not enoughto open every societal door, and this failure of the American Dream to live up to its utopianpromises required a new vision to fit a new America. The Dream and the mentality ofAmerican youth changed, taking on additional layers that included fulfillment, acceptance,and happiness as separate goals, no less important than material wealth, but no longernecessarily obtainable with it simultaneously. The Dream was re-forged with a streak ofpragmatism and disillusionment: it became a motivational tool – something to be dreamed ofand worked toward with the newfound knowledge that money, while it has its benefits, isn’teverything.-written by Katherine Monberg, Artistic InternArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 27

The Great GatsbyNEW YORKNEW YORK IN THE 1920sBy 1918, half of the cars in the U.S. werethe Ford Model T. Sales skyrocketedin the early 1920s as a result of massmanufacturing and subsequent affordability.In the 1920s, New York City was the primeexample of the new, urban center of culture,creativity, industry, and wealth that the RoaringTwenties so cherished. Home to nearly 6 millionpeople, it was a center of commerce andmanufacturing. The 1920s saw New York’s firsttroubles with traffic, as the city’s infrastructurepanicked to keep up with the huge influx ofmotor vehicles brought about by the suddenaffordability provided by the mass manufacturingof automobiles.New York also represented the destination of200,000 African Americans leaving southernstates to find jobs and homes in the North,particularly in Harlem, where the HarlemRenaissance was in full swing developing into anexus of African American art, music, and culture. As a center of emerging music, namelyjazz and the blues, Harlem lured many great musicians of the day to New York includingLouis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Duke Ellington.“I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night and thesatisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives tothe restless eye. I like to walk up Fifth Avenue and pick out romantic women fromthe crowd and imagine that in a few minutes I was going to enter their lives, andno one would ever know or disapprove…At the enchanted metropolitan twilightI felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others—poor young clerkswho loitered in front of windows waiting until it was time for a solitary restaurantdinner—young clerks in the dusk, wasting the most poignant moments of night andlife.” –F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great GatsbyIn addition to the already vibrant culture of NewYork massive immigrant population streamed intothe city. Though immigration began to meet seriousrestrictions in the 1920s, immigrants provided much ofthe labor force that enabled New England’s boomingindustry to thrive. New York City itself consisted ofmany neighborhoods split along ethnic lines as recentimmigrants tended to group together in communities offamiliar language and culture.Costume rendering for malecharacters by David K.Mickelsen, costume designerArizona Theatre Company Play Guidefor ATC’s The Great Gatsby28

The Great GatsbyTIMELINEJune 28, 1919 The Treaty of Versailles is signed, officiallyending the First World War.1920 The Good Humor Bar is introduced. Customerswent wild for the taste of this chocolate coveredice cream treat on a stick.1920 U.S. food prices fall 72% over the next twoyears causing devastating losses for farmers andfood sellers.1920 Countless unwitting investors are victimized byCharles Ponzi“The Ponzi Scheme.” Financial wizard CharlesPonzi made the incredible claim that he could offer a 50% return oninvestments in the first forty-five days and a 100% return after ninety. Heclaimed to be using the investments to purchase reply coupons in Spainfor a penny and then reselling them for six cents. He was exposed as afraud and investors lost an average of 88% of their initial investment.Ponzi received a three and a half year sentence and his name has becomesynonymous with pyramid schemes and scams.1920 The Harlem Renaissance flourishes bringing new African American artistsinto recognition and popularity.1920 Babe Ruth joins the New York Yankees. In hisfirst year he hit 54 home runs and set a newMajor League record for his slugging average.1920 The Ford Model T, which had been wildlypopular since it entered the auto marketin 1908, now offers a battery starter as anoptional upgrade.Iconic baseball player GeorgeHerman “Babe” RuthJan 10, 1920Aug 18, 1920The League of Nations holds its first meetingto formally ratify the Treaty of Versailles. TheUnited States Senate votes against joining theLeague of Nations.The 19th Amendment is passed, grantingwomen the right to vote. No longer quietcompanions, women begin to take activeroles in the democratic process. Malepoliticians begin to have to adjust to a vastlydifferent population of voters.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 35

The Great GatsbyTIMELINENov, 1920Republican Warren G. Harding is elected president in a landslide election.1921 Congress passes the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921 greatly limitingEuropean immigration. Anti-immigrant sentiments had been high due tothe war and a spike in unemployment. Under the provisions of this act, aquota system is developed to limit the amount of new immigrants from aforeign country to three percent of the current number of residents in theU.S. from that country according to the previous census.1921 Chanel No. 5 is introduced and quickly becomesthe world’s leading perfume. It is unique in thatit is a non-floral scent unlike any other on themarket.1921 Edith Wharton’s novel, The Age of Innocence, isawarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. She writesabout a young bachelor, Newland Archer, whoseengagement is threatened when he becomes closewith Countess Ellen Olenska, a divorcee and thesubject of intense gossip among the elite socialcircles of New York.1921 The Arrow shirt enters clothing stores as aresponse to the growing demand for shirtswith non-detachable collars.1921 U.S. cigarette consumption reaches 43billion, despite the fact that 14 states havemade them illegal and additional bills tooutlaw them are pending in twenty-eightother states.Margaret Gorman wins thefirst early version of the MissAmerica Pageant1921 The Inter-City Beauty contest, whichwould later grow into the Miss AmericaPageant, is held for the first time inAtlantic City. Young women are evaluatedby a panel of judges who score them onboth appearance and personality. Thecontest was followed by the Bather’sRevue, a bathing-suit competition.Sixteen-year-old Margaret Gorman sweptthe competition and walked away withboth the Inter-City Beauty prize and theGolden Mermaid Trophy for the bathingsuit contest.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 36

The Great Gatsby**1922 (the year in which The Great Gatsby takes place)TIMELINEJanuary 11January 13January 24January 29February 2February 5February 8February 27March 11March 18President Warren Harding speaks at thededication of the Lincoln MemorialFirst successful insulin treatment of diabetes.Flu epidemic claims 804 victims in Britain.Christian K. Nelson patents the Eskimo Pie.Union of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Hondurasand El Salvador dissolves.James Joyce publishes Ulysses (novel) in Parison his 40th birthday.DeWitt and Lila Wallace publish the firstissue of Reader’s Digest.President Warren G. Harding introduces thefirst radio in the White House.The Supreme Court of the United Statesrebuffs a challenge to the NineteenthAmendment to the United States Constitutionwhich had extended voting rights to womentwo years earlier.Mohandas Gandhi is arrested in Bombay for sedition (incitement ofresistance to or insurrection against lawful authority).In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for sedition(he would serve only 2 years).April 13 State of Massachusetts opens all publicoffices to women.May 30 In Washington, D.C., the LincolnMemorial is dedicated.June 28 The Irish Civil War begins.August 22 General Michael Collins, President ofthe Irish Provisional Government andCommander-in-Chief of the ProvisionalArmy, is assassinated.August 23 Revolt against the Spanish in Morocco.September 13 – 15 Fire, probably started by Turkishtroops, destroys most of Smyrna. Death toll estimated 100,000.September 18 Hungary joins the League of Nations.October 28 In Italy, with the March on Rome, fascism obtains power and BenitoMussolini becomes Prime Minister.October 31 Benito Mussolini becomes the youngest Premier in the history of Italy.November 1 Ottoman Empire is abolished.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 37

The Great GatsbyDIRECTINGJB: The Jazz Age is a fascinating historical period, full of all kindsof societal shifts in relationship to women, society and war. Howdo you see these issues being raised in the play?SW: They are an inherent undercurrent in the play but they arealso made manifest in Nick’s observations. What I find fascinatingin Gatsby is that he’s the societal opposite of a character we knowwell – Willy Loman [from Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman].This idea of the American Dream which centers around monetaryachievement is explored and debunked by Nick Carraway. What’sexciting to me about these characters is that we see an echelonof power players in society, in Europe and in America (andparticularly in New York), in a sense, these are the 1%, exploringa new form of nihilism in response to the First World War. Theidea of people asking “What’s good for me?” overtaking “What’sgood for us?” And because death has become an inherent partof life in a way that no generation before or after has ever seenThe script of The Great Gatsbyby Simon Levy on designer YoonBae’s workspace.(because of the number of people who died in the First World War), the idea of what itmeans to be alive is explored in this story. So the theatricality of the Jazz Age as well as thecreation of jazz as a musical style which is happening in the basements, the speakeasiesand the illegal liquor parlors of New York, physicalize the metaphor of above and belowthe surface which is very helpful.JB: It does occur to me listening to you that The Great Gatsby isn’t like Shakespeare,where you can move the action of the play to another era and it still works. You can’treally move the story of The Great Gatsby to any other time or place.SW: Why would you bother? What would you be trying to say? As a director, I believeyou can say more about where we are now as a society by leaving The Great Gatsby inperiod. You’re still commenting on this economic downturn that we’ve just experiencedand the parallels of our lives now to the First World War. But this world of economicexcess juxtaposed against those with less. That’s what’s interesting - that Carraway is not awealthy man, but he has access to the excessive wealth in a way that is tempting but alsodisgusting. It’s similar to the way Faust learns too late from Mephistopheles that the grassis not greener. It’s interesting that you don’t really see moments of happiness with Gatsby,a man who has achieved more than Croesus. People think that if they won the lottery,they’d be happy, that their problems are solved, but that’s basically what Gatsby’s doneand he’s not. There’s an inherently moral message in this which I find very compelling anduniversal. This is not an American story, it’s a universal narrative. From the book we getthe feeling of a country at a crossroads, and a sense of a culture finding its feet. And thetwenties were an extraordinary period. The moral frameworks that had been set up in theprevious hundred years were being tested. It’s during this era that we get the Rockefellersand the oil barons and America becomes the powerhouse and the center of invention.It’s the great moment in American history in all the possibilities and all these moments ofpotential. And this play captures all these ideas.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 40

The Great GatsbyDIRECTINGJB: This adaptation of The Great Gatsby by Simon Levy (the only adaptation authorizedby the F. Scott Fitzgerald estate) makes use of nine actors. What are the challenges andbenefits inherent in that cast size?SW: The first is that it requires the production team (everybody, including the actors,director, all the designers and technical teams) to be inventive to create a sense of NewYork society with a limited number of bodies. But it also allows us to capture the idea ofNew York society with three or four characters we know really well, as opposed to manycharacters we don’t. Just like, for example, in Shakespeare’s Henry V, he doesn’t try torepresent the entire English army when he talks about the forces that beat the French atAgincourt. He introduces us to a couple of rogues like Pistol and Falstaff and then theking himself walks through the camp at night meeting random cloaked and namelesssoldiers. It’s an age old theatrical tradition that allows us to concentrate on a singlenarrative and the characters who tell it. What nine actors demands is the developmentof an ensemble rather than leading actor, leading actress and conventions that we wouldmore traditionally see in the cinema. And this idea is very tethered to my idea of TheGreat Gatsby being a fast-moving story that shifts scenes quickly and that the charactersare chameleon within that.JB: The Great Gatsby is a quintessentially American story – dealing with ideas of theclass structure of America, and ideas like The American Dream. Having been born andraised in Britain, did these themes still resonate immediately with you? What themes inthe play particularly speak to you?SW: The biggest thing for me is that this isn’t a novel I grew up with as a kid. So whatI’ve done is approach it objectively and as an outsider. Approaching it as an artistwithout having a history tied to the story means I wasn’t polluted with anything I wastaught or know. I’m approaching it directly from the material in front of me. So I’m nottrying to produce my Gatsby. Therefore for me as an artist, the quest is to create themost compelling, exciting and precise interpretation of this play rather than an idealizedremembrance of what I knew as a youth. Furthermore, because everybody I have spokento has an idea of what Gatsby is, I know it’s impossible to satisfy that desire in everybody.Instead, what I have to do is explore a way to make this story vital and important to ourtimes while still leaving it rooted in the period. What that story means to different peopleis the question the audience should have when they leave the theatre. What I’d like isthat the play should take people back to when they first read it. If you read The GreatGatsby as a freshman in high school and you looked at it through freshman eyes, what’sinteresting to me is for you to think about questions like how has the story changed foryou since you first visited it. What experiences have changed you and how has Gatsbyaffected you throughout your life? And since no work of art is inherently an answer butmerely the playground for more questions, whilst one could waste one’s time trying tocreate a definitive Gatsby, I believe it’s far more interesting to allow that Gatsby, whoeverhe may be, to remain in the minds of the audience.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 41

The Great GatsbySYMBOLISMSYMBOLISM IN THE GREAT GATSBYDr. T. J. Eckleburg: Fitzgerald describes the billboardadvertisement for the oculist thus: “But above the gray landand the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly overit, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J.Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue andgigantic—their irises are one yard high. They look out of noface, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacleswhich pass over a nonexistent nose. Evidently some wildwag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice inthe borough of Queens, and then sank down himself intoeternal blindness, or forgot them and moved away. But hiseyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days, under sun andrain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground.” Scholarsoften note that observation is an important theme whichA view of the valley of ashes,where George and MyrtleWilson live.runs through The Great Gatsby. Nick’s role as narrator and observer of all of the othercharacters presents him in a position of watching over everything that happens that fatefulsummer. Similarly, Gatsby is an observer at his parties, not truly taking part, but watchingover the festivities from a detached vantage point, rather than engaging in the drinkingand socializing in which his guests participate. Finally, theorists often liken the eyes of Dr.T. J. Eckleburg to the eyes of God in that the gigantic eyes are taking in all around them,perhaps silently judging the going-on that pass (including the car accident late in the book).However, the state of the eyes as described by Fitzgerald leads the reader to questionFitzgerald’s intention in that the billboard seems to be long forgotten and irrelevant, nolonger an actual useful advertisement. Perhaps Fitzgerald implies that whoever should bewatching is no longer interested.“It is sadder to find the past again and find it inadequate to the present than it is to have itelude you and remain forever a harmonious conception of memory.” – F. Scott FitzgeraldThe valley of ashes: The valley of ashes was a real place known as the Corona Ash Dumpduring Fitzgerald’s lifetime. It literally was a burning site for disposal of trash. Fitzgeralddescribes it in the novel: “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes growlike wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms ofhouses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of menwho move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line ofgray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest, andimmediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrablecloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight.” The desolation andisolation of the spot bleakly described by Fitzgerald corresponds with the lack of warmthand respect in the relationship of the inhabitants George and Myrtle. The valley of ashes isArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 42

The Great GatsbySYMBOLISMalso a no-man’s land between the glitz and glamour that is New York City and the partiesand revelry of Gatsby’s mansion. It is a divider between the two things and also the routeto get from one to the other. Additionally, in the dusty, forgotten valley of ashes the caraccident happens that wipes away the one energetic component of the area. In reality, inthe late 1930s, in preparation for the World’s Fair in New York in 1939, city leaders hadthe area turned into a public park dubbed Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, which existsto this day.“My idea is always to reach my generation. The wise writer writes for the youth of his owngeneration, the critics of the next, and the schoolmasters of ever afterward.”— F. ScottFitzgeraldEast/West Egg divide: The fictitious locations of East andWest Egg are representative of real places on Long Islandat the time, but Fitzgerald created pseudonyms for them.Most likely Fitzgerald based West Egg on Great Neck, wherehe lived at one point, and East Egg on Manhasset Neck. Inthe novel, Nick describes the area thus: “It was a matterof chance that I should have rented a house in one of thestrangest communities in North America. It was on thatslender riotous island which extends itself due east of NewYork—and where there are, among other natural curiosities,two unusual formations of land. Twenty miles from the citya pair of enormous eggs, identical in contour and separatedonly by a courtesy bay, just out into the most domesticatedbody of salt water in the Western hemisphere, the great wetbarnyard of Long Island Sound. They are not perfect ovals,—like the egg in the Columbus story, they are both crushedflat at the contact end—but their physical resemblance mustActor Remi Sandri who plays thecharacters of Meyer Wolfsheimand Mr. McKee in ATC’sproduction of The Great Gatsby.be a source of perpetual confusion to the gulls that fly overhead.” Nick makes clear thatthe two are exactly the same in natural configuration, but it is human beings that havedifferentiated the two through their association with old and new money. For instance,Nick says, “I live at West Egg, the –well, the less fashionable of the two, though this isa most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast betweenthem.” While nature did nothing to designate one as superior to the other, peopleunderstand that it is preferable to live on East Egg because it has longer been associatedwith wealth and social status. Nick clarifies, “Across the courtesy bay the white palacesof fashionable East Egg glittered along the water…” The bay serves as an imaginarydividing line that is all but impossible to cross. No matter how much money members ofthe nouveau riche on West Egg acquires, they will not be good enough to cross the waterand live on East Egg, merely because they are not “old money”. The divides betweenthe two societies are clearly indicated by the geographical distinctions between the twolocations and the inhabitants therein who are accepted socially.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 43

The Great GatsbySYMBOLISM“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at thesame time and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott FitzgeraldColor: In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald utilizes colors throughout the novel in veryprecise ways.• White: This color appears regularly throughout the novel, which logically as well assymbolically makes sense as white and soft colors are common to the color palateof summer wear (as opposed to darker, heavier colors for winter). Fitzgerald oftenuses white in association with the female characters’ clothing. Throughout the novel,Daisy and Jordan often appear in white dresses as they lounge during their listlessdays. Ironically, the women are both of dubious moral character and Fitzgerald seemsto cloak them in white perhaps to “cover up” or distract from their indiscretions.However, Fitzgerald also links his male characters with white when they are trying toput their ‘best foot forward.’ Nick wears his “white flannels” the first time he attendsone of Gatsby’s parties and Gatsby wears white when he reunites with Daisy for thefirst time. White has historically been a symbol of innocence, purity and virginity.Fitzgerald’s implication is fascinating in that the reunion between Gatsby and Daisyreignites their love, which could be said to have a purity of focus; however, anyrelationship between them must be adulterous.• Green: Fitzgerald’s use of the green light at the end of the dock which entrancesGatsby and draws him toward Daisy vividly symbolizes life and growth. Green isthe color of spring, romance and awakenings, or in this instance, re-awakenings. Thevitality and strength of Gatsby’s desire and the perfection with which he imaginesDaisy (a flower – also associated with greenery) allows for the symbolic green light tohaunt the reader’s imagination.• Yellow: The three major appearances of yellow in the novel take the form ofthe house in which George and Myrtle live, the glasses of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg andthe “death car.” The implication of using this color in this fashion is that there issomething corrupt about the color yellow. Additionally, all three of these yellowimages come together at the scene of the fatal car accident, in that the yellowcar runs over its victim outside of the yellow home/gas station under the yellowspectacles of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. Fitzgerald’s imaginative use of yellow in lieu of themore obvious red or black speaks to his inventiveness as an author.• Pink: Gatsby appearing in a pink suit strikes a chord with many modern readers ofthe novel. A pink suit is an untraditional choice for a modern man. Tom comments onhis suit indicating that he cannot be an Oxford man because of the color of the suit,seemingly stating that the color is not something that a man of class would choose.Gatsby attempts to fit in with the wealthy elite but his mistaken outfit choice signifieshis status as nouveau riche. The pink suit, along with his over-the-top mansion anduse of the endearment “old sport” all work together to portray Gatsby as trying toohard to fit into a world in which he does not truly belong.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 44

The Great GatsbyGLOSSARYGLOSSARYAnon: Soon, shortly.Terms to KnowAtonement: To make up for a wrong-doing or sin.Bond man: Nick Carraway has moved to New York to becomea bond man; that is, an investment broker who sells stocks andbonds. In the early twenties the stock market was booming andthis would have appeared as a lucrative opportunity.Brute: A savage, violent, or unreasonable person.Communicative: Ready to talk or provide information; relatingto the exchange of information.Cynical: Doubtful or distrustful of others’ motivations; bitter orpessimistic.Designer Yoon Bae’s workspace whileon designing The Great GatsbyDecrepit: Old, worn out, dilapidated.Denizen: Inhabitant of a particular place.Desolate: To be dismally empty.Did You Know?The term “bootlegger” was widely used in the 1920sto refer to someone who made or sold illegal alcohol,but the term actually dates back to 1889 referring toboots in which a flask could be secretly stored.Divan: A long, low sofa without a back or arms.Ether: An inhaled general anesthetic (something that makesan individual unconscious for surgery).Exhilarated: Very happy; elated.Exulting: To express excitement or happiness over aFlapper with bootlegs, a termsuccess.describing boots in which flasks ofalcohol could be concealed, from whichArizona Theatre Company Play Guidethe term bootlegger is derived, meaninga facilitator of illegal alcohol trade.45

The Great GatsbyGorgeous: Attractive or pleasant.GLOSSARYHulking: Overly large or clumsy.Hydroplane: A floatplane, which is anaircraft that can take off and land on water.Did You Know?Cunard and White Star Lines were both British shipping lines. The White StarLine is infamous for having owned the Titanic, which sunk to the bottom of theAtlantic in 1912.Incessantly: Endlessly.The world’s first hydroplane (1910)Ingratiate: To make yourself well-liked through flattery.Jonquils: A type of daffodil flower.Liaison: An illicit meeting; often a sexual relationshipoutside of marriage.Menagerie: A collection of wild animals, or anycollection that is strange or different.Midas: The mythical greedy ancient king who turnedwhatever he touched into gold.Morbid: Disturbing or unpleasant, especially when itrelates to death.Nordic: Relating to or coming from Scandinavia, Finland,Iceland, or the Faroe Islands.From A Wonder Book forBoys and Girls by NathanielHawthorne, a representationof King Midas turning hisdaughter to gold.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 46

The Great GatsbyGLOSSARYDid You Know?Scholars of The Great Gatsby believe that Fitzgerald based his character MeyerWolfshiem on real-life gangster Arnold Rothstein (1882-1928). Rothstein was closelyassociated with a securities fraud called the Fuller-McGee Case in 1922, which mightexplain part of the source of Gatsby’s wealth. It is interesting to note that Fuller of theFuller-McGee Case was a resident of Great Neck, Long Island. Wolfshiem's real-lifemirror was involved in LOTS of different illegal activities, as, though sources vary intheir estimation of his role in the actual fixing of the World Series of 1919, he certainlyprofited from the illegal activity, among various other illegal enterprises. He wasmurdered on November 5, 1928, reportedly for refusing to pay a gambling debt for agame he claimed was rigged.Orgastic: A term coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby, it is most likely across between “orgiastic” and “orgasmic.”Pomp & Circumstance: Splendid celebration, often the subject of a lot of fuss.Rajah: An Indian king or prince.Refresher: A refill of a drink.Renunciation: A rejection of a belief, claim, or action.Retracted: To take back a statement, usually because it was untrue or unjustified.Sauterne: A sweet, golden dessert wine.Scorn: To feel as if something or someone is worthless or repelling.Spirit of Ammonia: These smelling salts are a combination of ammonium carbonate andperfume. These are sniffed in order to stimulate consciousness, namely to relieve faintness.Daisy is given spirits of ammonia the day before her wedding.Submerged: Underwater.Unaffected: Feeling no effects or changes.Vitality: The state of being strong or energetic.Vulnerable: Exposed to physical and emotional harm.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 47

The Great GatsbyGLOSSARYWorld War I ReferencesDid You Know?Many scholars of The Great Gatsbybelieve that Fitzgerald created thename of Gatsby’s mentor, Dan Cody,by combining the names of DanielBoone (left) and Buffalo Bill Cody(right), both significant figures inOld West history and mythology.Allied: Also known as the Entente Powers, the Allied forcesincluded the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and eventually Italy,Japan, the United States, and several smaller countries. The Alliesfought against the Central Powers.Argonne Forest: A mountainous forest in northeastern France where the Meuse-ArgonneOffensive took place. This battle was the largest American operation of WWI, involvingover 1,000,000 soldiers. This battle was the final campaign in the American effort and itled to the Allied victory.Did You Know?The book mentioned in The Great Gatsby by Tom, The Rise of the Colored Empireby a fictitious author named Goddard, is a reference to a real-life book and authorof Fitzgerald’s era. The actual book was titled The Rising Tide of Color Against White-Supremacy by Stoddard, published in 1920. This book postulated that populationgrowth among “colored” peoples would result in the demise of the “white” race.Kaiser Wilhelm: The last German Emperor and King of Prussia. Kaiser Wilhelm was largelyresponsible for WWI. The German defeat in the war marked the end of his monarchy, which wasreplaced by the democratic Weimar Republic.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 48

The Great GatsbyGLOSSARYLewis Gun: This light machine gun was introduced in WWI and named after U.S. ArmyColonel Isaac Newton Lewis.Montenegro: A country located in southeastern Europe. During World War I, Montenegrosided with Serbia and the Allies. It became occupied by Austria-Hungary in 1916, wasliberated in 1918, and was annexed into Serbia shortly thereafter. Gatsby claims that hewas even decorated by the small country of Montenegro.Ninth Machine Gun Battalion: A part of the Third Division during WWI that was presentat Château-Thierry. Fitzgerald’s character Nick Carraway served in this group during WWI.Seventh Infantry/Third Division: In WWI there were a total of 93 divisions, each ofwhich had two brigades. Each brigade had two infantry regiments and one machine gunbattalion. Jay Gatsby states that he was a part of the Seventh Infantry and implies that hesaw Nick at Château-Thierry where their respective groups met.The character Nick was apart of the Third Division’s Ninth Machine-Gun Battalion at Château-Thierry.Souilly: A town in northeastern France that was the headquarters of the American FirstArmy towards the end of the war. It was from Souilly that the Meuse-Argonne Offensivewas operated.St. Mihiel Salient: St. Mihiel is another town in northeastern France. The battle of St.Mihiel Salient took place from September 12-15, 1918. It was one of the first U.S. solooffensives in World War I and was aimed at attacking German troops.The trenches: A ditch in the ground that provides defensive shelter from artillery duringwar. World War I introduced the idea of trench warfare, in which soldiers would digtrenches, put up barbed wire and man the area with machine guns. Trench warfare wasdifficult psychologically and had a profound impact on many of the men who experiencedDiscussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions-glossary prepared by Allison Hrabar, Education Intern and Shannon Rzucidlo, Education InternIn • The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses rich images to help tell the story. In thenovel the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are mentioned numerous times, and wereincluded in the scenic design for ATC’s production. Why do you feel this detail of thenovel was particularly stressed and how does your understanding of the charactersand their predicaments change with the visual presence of those eyes? How do theeyes serve as a metaphor to represent something beyond their literal meaning?Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 49

The Great GatsbyDISCUSSION• Much of the play is punctuated by jazz music. What is the origin of this style of music?Why do you think this genre of music was chosen to underscore the action? Write anexploratory essay looking at the origins of jazz and its relevance to 1920s America, andspecifically The Great Gatsby.• Simon Levy gives this stage direction in the beginning of his adapted script: “Thedescribed stage setting is the idealized vision of the play played out against a largerthan-lifemythic backdrop where spectacular production elements substitute for thelyric beauty of Fitzgerald’s descriptive prose; however, symbolism and metaphor,which are central to the novel, may be realized in many ways, and I leave it to theimagination of directors to tell the story as simply or elaborately as they choose.”• What directorial choices did you notice in this production of The Great Gatsby thathighlighted the symbolism and metaphor of the novel? Write a brief essay about thecreative choices made in this production in relation to the original concept of thenovel. Provide specific examples of theatrical elements—lighting, music, and scenicdesign—that were used to replace Fitzgerald’s elegant and descriptive prose. Whataspects of the production were successful at capturing the world of Gatsby? Was thereanything from the book that was not translated to the stageTheatre/Arts Activities• Think of an important event in your life and choose a symbol that could represent it.Write a story or scripted scene about that event and incorporate your symbol usingfigurative language. Alternatively, compose a song, or create a painting or sculpturethat contains your symbol.• Find a section from your favorite book that contains both dialogue and descriptivelanguage. Try to develop an adaptation of that section into a script for a play. Usetheatrical elements-- lighting, music, and scenic design—to replace the descriptiveprose. Present your scene to the class and discuss the challenges you encountered andjustify the choices you made.• Find an example of someone who had achieved The American Dream —it can bea fictional character, someone from pop-culture, politics, or someone you knowpersonally. Using a shoebox you will create a visual display of that person’s life.Research your individual and on the outside of the box use pictures, documents, orarticles that portray the individual’s public appearance. On the inside of the box,decorate it to display what you think that person feels on the inside.Select a character from• The Great Gatsby with whom you least identify. In the firstperson - as Gatsby, Daisy, Nick, Tom, Jordan or someone else from the book – writea monologue that defends your behavior. Try to convince the audience that you are anoble human being. Present your monologue to the class and try to use your body andvoice to take on attributes of your character. Discuss with your class the challenges ofrelating to a character and playing him/her.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 52

The Great GatsbyLESSON PLANS• Ask students to stand up and arrange themselves into a group, girls at the back, boysat the front, and look around the room. Explain that they represent the population ofAmerica on the eve of WWI. Ask the boys to move off to the side – they’ve just goneoff to war; girls, step up – you’re taking over the workforce back home. Instructor thentaps two or three boys on the shoulder and asks them to sit down. They represent theAmerican casualties during WWI. Have students look around, reflecting on how theyfeel in this new situation: boys with their friends and brothers losing their lives and notreturning home with them, girls with a newfound sense of responsibility and power intheir society.• (Students can all sit/return to the group.) Ask students: how would you feel, if so fewof you returned from the war? If you stayed at home, how would you feel if so fewreturned? Boys, how did it feel returning to find the girls holding more power? Girls,same question? What would you do now? Discuss responses.• Instructor leads discussion back to aftermath of WWI in America and the “carpe diem”attitude that was fostered by explaining that partying was the country’s collectiveresponse to the war. They decided the rules of life didn’t apply to them much any more,and they started partying, dancing, drinking – even though Prohibition was still ineffect (ask if anyone knows what Prohibition was; explain when they don’t; started as away to conserve resources for the war effort, wasn’t repealed until 1933).• Prep CD player and jazz music as you tell students that the author of The GreatGatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the person who first referred to this period as “the JazzAge”. Introduce the music you’re about to play and let the students listen for a bitbefore asking them their impressions of the style, how it makes them feel, what theyimagine when they hear it.• As the music plays (quietly) briefly introduce the characters of Jay Gatsby, DaisyBuchanan, and Tom Buchanan. Tell the students that you’re going to be reading quotesfrom the novel that each character said about the other. Ask them to listen to thesequotes and try to get an idea of these people in their heads. Read the selected quotesfrom The Great Gatsby (Appendix A).• Tell students that in just a minute they’re going to be working in small groups to answersome questions about these people they now have in their minds. Divide studentsevenly into groups of 4 or 5 and ask them to pick someone to be the recorder for thegroup; make sure they have a writing utensil and ask them to sit in their groups. Assigna character to each group (Gatsby, Daisy, or Tom – try to get roughly the same numberof groups assigned to each). Explain Character Questionnaire (Appendix B) as you passit out to student groups, and ask them to spend the next 3-5 minutes filling out theiranswers, based on the quotes they heard from the novel.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 54

The Great GatsbyLESSON PLANS• As students finish the Questionnaires, bring their attention back to the group and moveto the board. Ask for a few volunteers to share bits from the Questionnaires. Then movethem to the final question, about the characters’ goals/dreams. Write each character’sname on the board and list student responses under each name. Lead a discussionabout the responses and ask students to reflect on any common threads, why therewere similar/different responses if they were all given the same quotes to start from. Tryto guide students toward a consensus for each character and indicate or write that onthe board. Then ask students to think of a color or an image that might represent eachcharacter’s goal/dream.• Collect the groups’ Questionnaires and ask students to return to their desks to get penand paper out. Once they’re settled again, ask them to spend a minute thinking abouttheir own goals and dreams in life. Ask them to think of a color or image that couldrepresent their goal/dream, and then write about it in three sentences. Give the studentsa minute to write, and then collect their responses.• Wrap up, answer any questions they may have, and remind students that we will berevisiting these written exercises during our post-show workshop after they attend theStudent Matinee of The Great Gatsby.Restoring GatsbyPost-Show LessonExploring The Great Gatsby through AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American StoriesThe following discussion guides and activities are designed to help students explore topicsand themes from Simon Levy’s stage adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby inorder to gain a better understanding of the story, characters, and historical context of thenovel and how these topics and themes can relate to their own lives in the present day.Materials You Will Needcopies of the novel The Great Gatsby or selected pieces of dialogue (Appendix C)space to move/have students work in small groupschalkboard or whiteboardDay Two – Post-Show Workshop• Have the students form a circle or a group somewhere in the room for the discussion.Get them started on a discussion of the play – start with general impressions, what theyliked most, differences from the novel, but lead them to a discussion of how symbols,colors, and iconic images from the novel were used or created on stage.• Ask students to think back to the Character Questionnaires they completed during thefirst workshop and rewrite the three characters (Gatsby, Daisy, Tom) on the board, alongwith their goal/dream.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 55

The Great Gatsby• Ask students: did these characters get what they wanted? Why or why not? Was thisinevitable – could these characters have gotten what they wanted by changing theiractions? Tell students that the show’s director saw a connection to modern societythrough his analogy of the 99% v the 1% - but now we’re interested in how they, thestudents, would connect this story to current society.• Ask students to think of current equivalents for these characters – people in the news orpopular culture/media that are today’s version of Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom. Brainstorm alist and write them on the board.• Tell students that what we’re going to do next is to retell the story of The Great Gatsbyusing these modern versions of the central characters. We’re going to create a modernday Great Gatsby. But first, we need to decide which parts of the story we’re retelling.Ask them to identify key scenes from the beginning, middle, and end of the story andwrite them on the board (there are many “correct” answers, but we’re looking for:Nick’s first party at Gatsby’s; the Plaza Hotel scene with Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Nick, andJordan; when Nick leaves Gatsby’s house just before Gatsby’s death). Tell students thatwe’ll be splitting into four groups – Beginning, Middle, Real End, and Ideal End – andthey will spend a few minutes in their groups recreating these scenes, or creating anew ending in which the characters actually get what they want.• Divide students into four groups (more if needed) and assign them to Beginning,Middle, Real End, and Ideal End by distributing paper with a line of dialogue from eachscene. As you assign groups, explain that they have these pieces of paper with a line ofdialogue to help them create their scenes. They need to assign themselves characters,based on our brainstormed list of contemporary Gatsbys, Daisys, and Toms, and spend5-10 minutes rehearsing their scene. (Be sure to walk the room, checking in with eachgroup as they work to answer questions or help guide them in their “staging” of theirscene – reminding them that they can add other characters, pantomime, backgroundaction, etc. to help them tell the story of their scene. Ideal End groups may need extrahelp since they’re creating from scratch.)• Once groups seem to have gone through their scene at least once, ask everyone but theBeginning group to sit where they are and give their attention to the first scene. Haveeach group perform for their fellow students – applaud like good audience membersfor each group – and then lead a discussion of this modern retelling of The GreatGatsby. What changed from the original? How were characters able to accomplishtheir goals/dreams in the Ideal Ending? Would that have worked in the novel?• Honing in on the changes that these new characters made in the students’ scenes inorder to get what they want, ask students to think about ways they can go after theirhopes and dreams.Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 56

The Great GatsbyAppendix ACharacter Quotes from The Great GatsbyTOMTom: “I know I'm not very popular. I don't give big parties. I suppose you've got tomake your house into a pigsty in order to have any friends-in the modern world.”Daisy: “A brute of a man. A big hulking specimen of a –“Gatsby: “I don't trust him old sport.”DAISYTom: “The trouble is that sometimes she gets foolish ideas in her head and doesn't knowwhat she's doing.”Daisy: “I've had a very bad time, Nick, and I'm pretty cynical about everything.”Gatsby: “Her voice is full of money.”GATSBYTom: “I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn't far wrong.”Daisy: “Oh you want too much! I love you now isn't that enough?”Gatsby: “I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying toforget the sad thing that happened to me.”Appendix BCharacter Questionnaire1. Character’s Name: ____________________________________________________2. Age: _____________3. Do they have any siblings? Circle one: Yes NoIf yes, how many? _____________4. Greatest achievement of their life so far: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 57

The Great Gatsby5. His/her most embarrassing moment: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6. Most prized possession: ______________________________________________________7. Favorite food: ___________________________________________________________8. What animal represents this character? _________________________________________9. What color would you assign to this person? ___________________________________10. What is this person’s greatest hope or dream? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Appendix CBeginning, Middle, and End – Lines of DialogueBEGINNING SCENE (GATSBY’S PARTY):“This is an unusual party for me. I haven’t seen the host.”MIDDLE SCENE (SUITE IN THE PLAZA HOTEL):“There’re things between Daisy and me you’ll never know, things that neither of us canever forget.”ENDING SCENE (THE POOL):“I suppose Daisy’ll call too.”Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 58

The Great GatsbyREFERENCESReferences for the Play Guide include:_ http://www.biography.com/people/f-scott-fitzgerald-9296261?page=2_ “Geniuses Togeter: Literary Expatriates in Paris.” http://www.lib.unc.edu/rbc/french_expatriates/paris.html_ http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html_ Bruccoli, Matthew J. “A Brief Life of Fitzgerald. The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society.http://www.fscottfitzgeraldsociety.org/biography/index.html_ http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=437_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouveau_riche_ www.wikipedia.org_ http://www.1920-30.com/art/_ www.wikipedia.org_ http://www.1920-30.com/_ http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_6_2.html_ http://www.livingcityarchive.org/htm/decades/1920.htm_ http://library.thinkquest.org/C005846/categories/worldnews/worldn.htm_ http://www.wwnorton.com/college/music/jazz/ch/05/outline.aspxArizona Theatre Company Play Guide 59