Elevator Repair Service will bring their six-and-a-half-hour production to the Public Theater this fall. On Sept. 27 at 8 PM, actor Scott Shepherd and director John Collins will perform a selection from Gatz and discuss their anticipated production with Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis.
Here's how ERS describes the work: "One morning in the office of a mysterious small business, an employee finds a copy of 'The Great Gatsby' in the clutter of 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. Gatz is a theatrical and literary tour de force, not a retelling of the Gatsby story but an enactment of the novel itself. Over the course of a single 6-1/2-hour production, 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."
Gatz will begin its New York debut at the Public Theater Sept. 26 and officially open Oct. 6. Performances are scheduled through Nov. 14.
For tickets to the Sept. 27 event, priced $19, phone (212) 415-5500 or visit 92Y.org. The 92 Street is located at 1395 Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street.