Public Theater Extends Gatz for a Second Time

The Public Theater’s off-Broadway production of Gatz, which was already extended by two weeks, has extended for a second time and will now run through November 28. Performances begin September 26, with an official opening on October 6. John Collins directs this epic theatrical adaptation of The Great Gatsby, created by Elevator Repair Service.

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 classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. 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 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.