Scott Shepherd (Photo: Joan Marcus)

Gatz

By Deirdre Donovan

Gatz is back! The Elevator Repair Service's (ESR) verbatim reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby returns to the Public Theater for its swan song. Directed by John Collins, and starring Scott Shepherd as Nick, this encore production is truly a gift to theatergoers who enjoy a good read.

The Elevator Repair Service's return to the Public Theater to restage Gatz enjoys perfect timing. It comes just ahead of the centennial of The Great Gatsby's publication. This production thus becomes both an homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald's great literary achievement and a salute to the Public Theater who championed Gatz long before it became an international hit.

Those theatergoers visiting Gatz are in for one hefty day-and evening--of theater! It's a seven-hour show with three intermissions plus an hour-and-a-half dinner break. While that might sound like an impossibly long time to sit in a theater seat, the time surprisingly zips by, thanks to the brisk direction of ESR's founder and artistic director John Collins.

Gatz starts in a shabby office with a bored office worker named Nick picking up a paperback copy of The Great Gatsby. He begins to read it in a flat-toned voice. As he continues to recite the words, however, something happens. He gradually begins to put inflection into his voice, pauses in the right places, and magically breathes life into the different characters. His fellow office workers, who overhear him reading aloud, slowly get hooked on the novel. And, one by one, they morph into the novel's characters. And, one by one, they morph into the novel's characters.

Cast members of Gatz (Photo: Joan Marcus)

Although theatergoers who are familiar with Fitzgerald's novel may at first seem to have an advantage in watching Gatz, ERS have made it their responsibility to make sure their drama connects with everybody. So, whether you have read Fitzgerald's book a zillion times or have never encountered it in print (or its film or stage versions), no homework is needed to savor this "bookish" adaptation of the classic. What's more, it's important to remember that Gatz is in stark contrast to Fitzgerald's Jazz Age novel. The office drone Nick, and his office mates, are all working class folks who hardly mirror the glamourous people who populate The Great Gatsby.  

The set (by Louisa Thompson) is a 180 degree turn from the pleasure palace where the fictive tycoon Jay Gatsby lives and lavishly entertains his celebrated guests. There is the plain wooden desk at center stage that Nick (Shepherd) sits at for most of the scenes, and other desks of his office mates a few feet away. Upstage from the office proper is a semi-open room that offers a visual connection to the main office. At stage left are several rows of drab looking filing cabinets that extend into the wings. The industrial lighting (by Mark Barton) only accentuates the office's seediness.  

What makes the show fly is the imagination of its 13-member ensemble. Even though in a conventional casting for a staged or film production of The Great Gatsby, it's unlikely that any of the ERS actors would be seen as ideal for any of the principals, they are ideally suited for playing the office crew in Gatz who morph into Fitzgerald's famous characters. In fact, it's fun to witness the resourcefulness of the performers as they insinuate themselves into their individual roles. They have no fancy costumes (by Colleen Werthmann) to hide behind and they rely on their actorly skills to transform themselves into Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, and others. In fact, some company members are significantly older-and balder--than the characters they play. No matter. Gatz thrives on improvisation and going with the theatrical flow.

Cast members of Elevator Repair Service in Gatz (Photo: Joan Marcus)

The acting is superb. Shepherd is well-cast as Nick, embodying the relatable narrator with a Midwestern attitude who wants to see the good in everyone. Shepherd, who is our guide through The Great Gatsby, has a mellifluous voice that brings out Fitzgerald's beautiful language.

The supporting cast is equally top-notch. Jim Fletcher, as the tycoon Jay Gatsby, has the physical stature to play the part and delivers his lines with just the right understatement to convey the mystery at the core of his character. Tory Vazquez inhabits Daisy with the appropriate flightiness. Pete Simpson is persuasive as Daisy's white supremacist husband Tom. Susie Sokol's Jordan is the epitome of the cynical "New Woman" of her day, a professional golfer who becomes Nick's girlfriend. In fact, there are no weak links in this cast. What's more, the entire ensemble demonstrates that they have the extraordinary stamina to sustain their acting, hour after hour after hour.

Gatz, the international hit that has wowed theatergoers all over the globe, has lost none of its edge. Its only flaw is that its run at the Public Theater is far too brief.

Gatz

At the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, Manhattan

For more information, visit www.publictheater.org

Running Time: 7 hours, with 3 intermissions and a 90 minute dinner break

Through December 1