Off-Broadway Hit Gatz to Play West End

Gatz, the epic theatrical retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, will bow in London presented by LIFT, London International Festival of Theatre. The production will open at the Noel Coward Theatre on June 8 and run through June 15.

Gatz is described as an eight-hour theatrical event, taking 13 actors and the audience through every word of the classic 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.

The piece was created and developed by the Elevator Repair Service ensemble, which includes Laurena Allan (Myrtle), Frank Boyd (George), Jim Fletcher (Jim), Ross Fletcher (Henry C. Gatz), Mike Iveson (Ewing), Vin Knight (Chester), Annie McNamara (Catherine), Kate Scelsa (Lucille), Scott Shepherd (Nick), Susie Sokol (Jordan), Victoria Vazquez (Daisy) and Ben Williams (Michaelis).

Before heading to London, Gatz will return to the Public Theater for a seven-week engagement this spring. Directed by John Collins and featuring Scott Shepherd as Nick, this production began its initial run at the off-Broadway venue on September 26, 2010, and extended twice before closing on November 28. The return engagement will begin previews on March 14 and run through May 6 in the Newman Theater.