Brilliant 'Gatz' to return in spring

[November 22, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Hold onto your pillows: "Gatz" is coming back to The Public Theater.

The Public said Monday that the critically acclaimed, word-for-word theatrical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" will return for a seven-week stand in the spring.

Created by Elevator Repair Service, the eight-hour marathon show -- there are two 15 minute breaks and a 75-minute dinner break -- begins with a modern business worker reading aloud the novel from the beginning. Over time, his co-workers become characters.

"Gatz," directed by John Collins and featuring Scott Shepherd as the narrator, will begin previews on March 14 and run through May 6 for 28 performances.

Since its 2006 premiere in Brussels, "Gatz" has been seen on 18 stages, including at the American Repertory Theater in Boston, Sydney Opera House, Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, the Vienna Festival, The Walker Art Center, and The Holland Festival.

Elevator Repair Service was co-founded in 1991 by Collins. Its newest piece is "The Select (The Sun Also Rises)," which selectively used Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" to mock the nonstop boozing, casual sex and thrill-seeking of the writer's jaded group of acquaintances.

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Online:

http://www.publictheater.org/

[Associated Press; By MARK KENNEDY]

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