GATZ FAQ

1. Why is it called GATZ?

Gatz is Jay Gatsby's real name. “James Gatz — that was really, or at least legally, his name,” chapter 6.

2. How long is it?

It's about 6 hours of performance, broken up by a dinner break and two short intermissions. The entire experience lasts about 7 hours and 45 minutes:

Chapters 1, 2, 3	2:00
— break —	0:15
Chapters 4, 5	1:10
— dinner —	1:15
Chapter 6, part of 7	1:25
— break —	0:15
End of 7, Chapters 8, 9	1:25

3. Do you really read every single word of “The Great Gatsby” during the show?

Yes, every printed word in the 9 chapters of the novel, excluding the chapter titles themselves (“Chapter 1,” etc).

4. Which edition of the novel do you use?

The 1995 Scribner Paperback, ISBN 0-684-80152-3.

5. Is there any text in GATZ that is not from “The Great Gatsby”?

Only the lyrics to “The Love Nest,” a song Klipspringer plays on the piano in chapter 5, and some low muttering and background conversation here and there not really meant to be heard.

6. What are the lyrics to “The Love Nest”?

Just a love nest
Cozy and warm
Like a dove breast
Down on the farm
A veranda with some sort of clinging vine
Or a kitchen where the rambling roses twine
Then a small room
Tea set of blue
Best of all room
Dream room for two
Better than a palace with a gilded dome
Is a love nest you can call home

7. I heard that narrator guy actually knows the whole book by heart. Is that true?

Yes.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

• First NYC Performance Benefit, New York City: September 25, 2010

• The Public Theater, New York City: September 26-November 14, 2010

It's official: Gatz is coming to New York.

At long last, ERS brings home its most celebrated work, five years after its creation and ten years after its conception. Performances begin September 26, 2010 at The Public Theater.

James Gatz — that was really, or at least legally, his name.

One morning in the shabby office of a mysterious small business, an employee finds a copy of The Great Gatsby in the clutter on his desk. He starts to read it out loud and doesn't stop. At first his coworkers 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.

6 hours long and with a cast of 13, Gatz is by far ERS's most ambitious endeavor yet — not a retelling of the Gatsby story but an enactment of the novel itself. Fitzgerald's American masterpiece is delivered word for word, startlingly brought to life by a low-rent office staff in the midst of their inscrutable business operations.

...One of the most exciting and improbable accomplishments in theater in recent years.

—Ben Brantley, The New York Times

Time uncommonly well spent...an idea both radical and simple. And it works.

—Jason Blake, The Boston Globe

A meticulous, mesmerising production...

— Sydney Morning Herald

A strangely seductive, often revelatory, and altogether ingenious production...

—Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

...One of the few ovations for which I have unreservedly stood...brilliantly conceived and executed.

— The Independent, London

Breathtakingly good theater...leaves the audience with that melancholy emptiness that comes with the end of something great.

— Het Parool, Amsterdam

Shepherd gives as fine a reading of these lines as one could imagine...Gatz creates its own dramatic universe.

— Variety

In a staging that teems with good ideas, John Collins pulls off an incredible gamble.

— Le Soir, Brussels

Gatz ought to be mandatory for all people of the theater.

— Klassekampen, Oslo

PAST PERFORMANCES

• May 2010 Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore

• Jan-Feb 2010 American Repertory Theater, Boston

• May 2009 Sydney Opera House, Sydney

• May 2009 Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane

• Nov 2008 EMPAC, Troy NY

• Nov 2008 Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

• Sep 2008 Ulster Bank Theatre Festival, Dublin

• Sep 2007 On The Boards, Seattle
• Sep 2007 PICA TBA Festival, Portland
• Sep 2007 Live Arts Festival, Philadelphia
• Jun 2007 Culturgest, Lisbon
• Jun 2007 Vienna Festival, Vienna
• Dec 2006 Studio Bergen/Teatergarasjen, Bergen
• Dec 2006 Trondelag Theater, Trondheim
• Dec 2006 Black Box Theater, Oslo
• Sep 2006 The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
• Aug 2006 Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Zurich
• Jun 2006 The Holland Festival, Amsterdam
• May 2006 KunstenFESTIVALdesArts, Brussels

PRESS

The New York Times 5 February 2010
A Novel 'Gatsby': Stamina Required by Ben Brantley

The Boston Globe 12 January 2010
'The Great Gatsby' Meets 'The Office' by Don Aucoin

Sydney Morning Herald 29 Dec 2009
Stage Provides Rich Pickings as Market Went Belly Up by Jason Blake

Sydney Morning Herald 18 May 2009
Mesmerising Take on Gatsby by Jason Blake

Chicago Tribune 17 November 2008
At six-plus hours, stage take on 'Gatsby' a great one indeed by Chris Jones

Time Out Chicago 13-19 Nov 2008
Fitz of Passion by John Beer

Chicago Sun-Times 15 November 2008
Baring the heart, soul of 'Gatsby' by Hedy Weiss

Irish Times (Dublin) 4 October 2008
'Gatz' is great, but 'Metamorphosis' has altered too much by Fintan O'Toole

The Independent (London) 3 October 2008
Observations: A joyful day in the company of the Great Gatsby by Larry Ryan

Irish Times (Dublin) 29 September 2008
Review of Gatz at the Project by Peter Crawley

ArtForum: Best of 2007 December 2007
On the Ground: New York by Debra Singer

The New York Times Magazine 9 December 2007
The Unadapted Theatrical Adaptation by Jason Zinoman

The New York Times 16 September 2007
This Week Ahead: September 16-22 by Jason Zinoman

The Village Voice 12-18 September 2007
Avant-Garde, PA by Alexis Soloski

The Bulletin 4 September 2007
Technical, Classical Brilliance Opens Festival by Jim McCaffrey

Publico (Lisbon) 4 July 2007
The Great Gatsby in the Theatre: A Brilliant Marathon by Rita Martins

Die Presse (Vienna) 17 June 2007
A Triumph of Literature over Time by Anne-Catherine Simon

Klassekampen (Oslo) 12 December 2006
The novel as novel by Therese Bjørnboe

Variety 1 October 2006
Gatz by Quinton Skinner

Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Zurich) 28 August 2006
A Slice of Happiness in the Tristesse of the Roaring Twenties by Alexandra Kedves

Landboote (Zurich) 28 August 2006
Under the Spell of a Novel by Stefan Busz

Tages-Anzeiger (Zurich) 28 August 2006
Textual Fidelity Reborn Through the Medium of Soap Opera by Tobi Müller

The New York Times 16 July 2006
'Gatz' and 'The Great Gatsby' Vie for Broadway Stages by Jason Zinoman

Het Parool (Amsterdam) 16 June 2006
Seven Hours of Tremendous Theater by Simon van den Berg

8Weekly (Amsterdam) 16 June 2006
Gatz — Elevator Repair Service by Mieke Zijlmans

Trouw (Amsterdam) 16 June 2006
Wonderfully Intoxicated by the Sober Language of Fitzgerald by Hanny Alkema

Walker Art Center interview 8 June 2006
Elevator Repair Service's Gatz

NRC Handelsblad (Amsterdam) 2 June 2006
She Only Loves Me by Kester Freriks

De Volkskrant (Amsterdam) 29 May 2006
Gatsby Marathon: Reading It Out Loud by Karin Veraart

Le Soir (Brussels) 24 May 2006
A Very Digestible Brick

Yale Alumni Magazine Nov 2005
Gatsby, Every Last Word Of It, On Stage by Alejandra O'Leary

CAST

• Nick, Scott Shepherd
• Jim, Jim Fletcher
• Lucille, Kate Scelsa
• Jordan, Susie Sokol (also Sibyl Kempson)
• Daisy, Victoria Vazquez (also Lucy Taylor)
• Tom, Gary Wilmes (also Robert Cucuzza)
• Chester, Vin Knight (also John Collins)
• George, Aaron Landsman (also Frank Boyd)
• Catherine, Annie McNamara (also Kristen Sieh)
• Michaelis, Ben Williams
• Myrtle, Laurena Allan
• Ewing, Mike Iveson
• Henry C. Gatz, Ross Fletcher

• Directed by John Collins
• Associate Director Steve Bodow
• Set by Louisa Thompson
• Lights by Mark Barton
• Sound by Ben Williams
• Costumes by Colleen Werthmann
• Stage Manager/Assistant Director Sarah Hughes
• Production Management B.D. White
• Producer/Company Manager Ariana Smart Truman
• 
  Gatz was originally stage managed by Daya Wolterstorff, 2004-2006.
  
  Robert Cucuzza originated the role of Tom, 2004-2007.
  
  Ethan Lipton originated the role of Ewing, 2004-2005.
  
  Paul Boocock, Sue Dennis, Rinne Groff, James Hannaham, Sibyl Kempson, Leah Rudick, Jay Smith, and James Urbaniak contributed to the development of Gatz.