Before Performances Begin, Gatz Extends Its Public Theater Run by Two Weeks

A month before performances begin, the Public Theater has announced a two-week extension of Elevator Repair Service’s Gatz. A theatrical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famed novel The Great Gatsby, the production begins performances September 26 and will now run through November 14. Opening night is October 6, directed by John Collins.

Gatz is described as a two-part, six-and-a-half-hour theatrical event, taking 13 actors and the entire audience through every word of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby. A small business employee finds a copy of the book in the clutter of his desk, starts to read it out loud, and doesn’t stop. At first his co-workers hardly notice. But after a series of strange coincidences, it’s no longer clear whether he’s reading the book or the book is transforming him.

Gatz was created and developed by its ensemble, which includes Laurena Allan (Myrtle), Jim Fletcher (Jim), Ross Fletcher (Henry C. Gatz), Mike Iveson (Ewing), Vin Knight (Chester), Aaron Landsman (George), Annie McNamara (Catherine), Kate Scelsa (Lucille), Scott Shepherd (Nick), Susie Sokol (Jordan), Victoria Vazquez (Daisy), Ben Williams (Michaelis), and Gary Wilmes (Tom).

The show includes scenic design by Louisa Thompson, costume design by Colleen Werthmann, lighting design by Mark Barton and sound design by Ben Williams.

Gatz received an acclaimed production at the American Repertory Theatre in Boston in February 2010. The play will be presented as a marathon theatrical event, with two intermissions and a dinner break, four times a week.