Play Guide [356k PDF] - Arizona Theatre Company

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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
Page 1 and 2: The Great GatsbyPlay GuideArizona T
Page 4 and 5: The Great GatsbyINTROF. Scott Fitzg
Page 6 and 7: The Great GatsbyGeorge Wilson: The
Page 8 and 9: The Great GatsbyFITZGERALDFitzgeral
Page 14 and 15: The Great GatsbyLEVYCostume renderi
Page 16 and 17: The Great GatsbyLEVYright for the t
Page 18 and 19: The Great GatsbyTWENTIESThe urbaniz
Page 20 and 21: The Great GatsbyThe luxury of the 1
Page 22 and 23: The Great GatsbyPROHIBITIONit took
Page 25: The Great GatsbyJAZZDuke Ellington,
Page 35 and 36: The Great GatsbyTIMELINEJune 28, 19
Page 37: The Great Gatsby**1922 (the year in
Page 41 and 42: The Great GatsbyDIRECTINGJB: This a
Page 43 and 44: The Great GatsbySYMBOLISMalso a no-
Page 45 and 46: The Great GatsbyGLOSSARYGLOSSARYAno
Page 47 and 48: The Great GatsbyGLOSSARYDid You Kno
Page 49: The Great GatsbyGLOSSARYLewis Gun:
Page 54 and 55: The Great GatsbyLESSON PLANS• Ask
Page 56 and 57: The Great Gatsby• Ask students: d
Page 58 and 59: The Great Gatsby5. His/her most emb

Play Guide [356k PDF] - Arizona Theatre Company

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