
Gatz
Created and performed by Elevator Repair Service
Text: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Directed by John Collins
Special Presentation · Roda Theatre
February 13–March 1, 2020
Running time: approximately 6 hours, plus two 15-minute intermissions and a 2-hour dinner break
After sold out runs at The Public Theater, Sydney Opera House, in London’s West End, and at theatres and festivals around the world, an astonishing tour de force finally comes to Berkeley.
An anonymous office worker at a shabby small business finds a copy of The Great Gatsby on his desk one morning, and starts to read aloud. 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.
The winner of two Lucille Lortel Awards, three Elliott Norton Awards, and an Obie Award, Gatz has enthralled audiences from New York to Lisbon and Los Angeles to Abu Dhabi. “[A] work of singular imagination and intelligence,” says the New York Times. “The most remarkable achievement in theater not only of this year but also of this decade.” Don’t miss this opportunity to see the theatrical ensemble Elevator Repair Service make their Berkeley Rep debut with Gatz.
Whether you’ve read and loved it or never gotten around to it, now’s your chance to have F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic performed for you, word for word. Don’t miss this binge-worthy experience that’s a celebration of the act of reading and a brilliant blast of theatre.
Creative team
F. Scott Fitzgerald · Writer
John Collins · Director
Steve Bodow · Associate Director
Louisa Thompson · Scenic Design
Colleen Werthmann · Costume Design
Mark Barton · Lighting Design
Ben Jalosa Williams · Sound Design
Ariana Smart Truman · Producer
Lindsay Hockaday · Associate Producer
Maurina Lioce · Stage Manager
Liz Nielsen · Production Manager
Dans Maree Sheehan · Associate Lighting Designer
Aaron Amodt · Technical Director
Jason Sebastian · Sound Engineer
Hanna Novak · Company Manager
Cast
Laurena Allan · Myrtle
Frank Boyd · George
Jim Fletcher · Jay
Ross Fletcher · Henry C. Gatz
Lindsay Hockaday · Catherine
Maggie Hoffman · Lucille
Robert M. Johanson · Tom
Vin Knight · Chester
Annie McNamara · Daisy
Gavin Price · Ewing
Scott Shepherd · Nick
Susie Sokol · Jordan
Ben Jalosa Williams · Michaelis
The Great Gatsby shines anew…A big reason the show’s mighty gamble pays off is the technical prowess of Scott Shepherd as Nick Carraway…Fitzgerald’s language is fruit ripe to bursting, and Shepherd plucks each word as if he’s cupping his hand underneath it, knowing exactly when it’ll fall without having to exert force. But each cast member excels.”
San Francisco Chronicle
The most (and best) non-Instagrammable thing you’ll ever see”
Stark Insider
As stunning as it is to have the entire novel brought to life in such meticulous detail, each turn of phrase savored or occasionally regarded with comic perplexity, Gatz is much more than simply a reverent reading of Gatsby…Elevator Repair Service founder and artistic director John Collins gives the story a beautifully nuanced staging.”
Mercury News / Bay Area News Group
It’s metatheatrical magic…For sure, audience stamina is required, but this exploration of an American literary classic is enthralling.”
San Francisco Examiner
Watch now
Official trailer: Gatz
Get a peek at Gatz in this official trailer by Elevator Repair Service.