Play Guide [356k PDF] - Arizona Theatre Company

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