The Great Gatsby is a challenging production - first you have to find a pink suit to fit a 6'2" actor and second, you have to cast actors who can become iconic personalities beloved by their literature fandom and their film fandom. This produciton written by the great F. Scott Fitzgerald and adapted by Simon Levy is the ONLY Gatsby script endorsed by the Fitzgerald estate. It is an American classic. Most everyone I talked to has not only read but seen the story, and all have strong convictions about the characters. I have been blessed with a cast with a ton of talent and one that was willing to delve deep and create these characters anew, with the Fitzgerald spirit ever present, using all their talent and skill to make these characters come alive in the greatest medium I've ever known - A theatre.
So sit back and let this group of talented actors take you back to a time of excess, decadence, abundant wealth, and dividing lines between not only race and class, but between "new money" and "old money" and watch as people who live by those types of dividing lines cause destruction in the lives of those around them. As all good stories prove, it is not all that different than today.
I've a lot to thank, first I'd like to thank God for the many opportunities I've been given. I'd like to thank my family and friends for keeping me together and being so incredibly talented that I can lean on them to do pretty much anything and to my cast for being exceptionally great, and of course - to you, the audience.
What would I do without you; You support us with the most important part of what we do. You come to this place time and time again to see us take a story and turn it into a visual, living work of art - hopefully- if we've all done our job right, you walk away having escaped for a few hours into a timeless tale.
There is nothing like live theatre and its audience -- always keep coming back.
Until next time, Thank you.
Kaylee Smith
