A Night at Gatsby's

By Richard Vigilante

A Night at Gatsby's is a dramatic experiment, a play of constraints. It is constrained by Place, Time, Cast, and Language. Readers and viewers of this play are guests at one of Gatsby's parties. As such, they are present at his mansion (Place) for just one night (Time) and as nonspeaking participants they hear or overhear the talk of other guests. All guests portrayed in the play are those likely to be at a Gatsby party (Cast.) And all the play's guests only speak the novel's colloquial dialogue, not its lyrical narration (Language.)

The novelette section in this book restores the relevant surrounding narration for all the play's dialogue—exactly as it appears in the novel. It also restores the omniscient narrator-character role of Nick Carraway in the novel, providing readers with an interesting contrast to his character-only role in the play. Nick's narration in the novelette may also provide actors with cues from the novel's text that suggest stage direction, tone and emotion for performing the play's dialogue.

The Great Gatsby is required reading in over half of America's 31,000 high schools and 4,300 colleges and universities. In the high schools alone, 2 million students in 80,000 English classes study the novel annually. As an educational resource, A Night at Gatsby's may be used as a traditional stage presentation, a classroom teaching tool and a student study guide.

Stage Presentation. This one-act 40-minute play has fifteen speaking parts (8 male, 7 female.) But by taking place at one of Gatsby's lavish parties, it presents many additional performance opportunities for student musicians, dancers and actors, and may easily be expanded to an hour or more.

Teaching Tool. Instructors are always looking for ways to engage students in required subject matter. A Night at Gatsby's may be used for in-class dramatic readings, followed by discussions on how the dialogue supports the novel's larger narrative and story line. During a typical Gatsby lesson sequence, for example, half the class might dramatize scenes 1-3 and the other half might dramatize scenes 4-6.

Study Guide. Tens of thousands of students annually purchase The Great Gatsby study guides. Gatsby instructors have long questioned the efficacy of 90-page study guides for a 180-page novel. Students might instead be encouraged to read a 30-page play that tells key aspects of the story in Fitzgerald's actual dialogue as better preparation for the novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098365530

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A Night at Gatsby’s

Copyright © 2021 by Richard Vigilante

All Rights Reserved

Professionals and amateurs are hereby notified that all educational, community and professional performances, and public/classroom readings of A Night at Gatsby’s are subject to a signed licensing agreement and payment of royalties. This work is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and in all countries and organizations with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including without limitation stage rights, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, television and radio broadcasting, video and sound recording, internet and streaming, all other forms of mechanical, electronic and digital reproduction, transmission and distribution, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved.

For further performance and public/classroom licensing and royalty information, please see the play’s website at https://anightatgatsbys.com

Second Edition

ISBN (Print): 978-1-09836-552-3

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-09836-553-0

Contents

The Play

Introduction

A Note to Educators

Cast of Characters

Setting and Costumes

A Night at Gatsby’s

Appendix: Music in A Night at Gatsby’s

The Novelette

A Night at Gatsby’s

The Play

Introduction

A Night at Gatsby’s is an invitation to attend one of Jay Gatsby’s fabulous Jazz Age parties and learn some of his story by listening to the characters’ conversations over five scenes. All dialogue is taken directly from the novel—no first-person or other narrative content from the novel is used. All dialogue spoken and all characters portrayed in this one-act play were selected as being appropriate to take place at the single location of Gatsby’s mansion. The play follows the novel’s chronology from the initial rumors and lies about Gatsby, through his reunion with Daisy and confrontation with Tom, and ends with Gatsby’s lonely farewell. All action unfolds over one night from early evening to the following dawn.

A Night at Gatsby’s is a dramatic experiment, a play of constraints. It is constrained by Place, Time, Cast, and Language. Readers and viewers of this play are guests at one of Gatsby’s parties. As such, they are present at his mansion (Place) for just one night (Time) and as nonspeaking participants they hear or overhear the talk of other guests. All guests portrayed in the play are those likely to be at a Gatsby party (Cast.) And all the play’s guests only speak the novel’s colloquial dialogue, not its lyrical narration (Language.)

The novelette section in this book restores the relevant surrounding narration for all the play’s dialogue—exactly as it appears in the novel. It also restores the omniscient narrator-character role of Nick Carraway in the novel, providing readers with an interesting contrast to his character-only role in the play. Nick’s narration in the novelette may also provide actors with cues from the novel’s text that suggest stage direction, tone and emotion for performing the play’s dialogue.

So put on a metaphorical cloche hat or straw boater and join Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and guests in reliving Gatsby’s personal maxim: Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!

A Note to Educators

The Great Gatsby is required reading in over half of America’s 31,000 high schools and 4,300 colleges and universities. In the high schools alone, 2 million students in 80,000 English classes study the novel annually. As an educational resource, A Night at Gatsby’s may be used as a traditional stage presentation, a classroom teaching tool and a student study guide.

Stage Presentation. This 30-minute play has eleven speaking parts (6 male, 5 female.) But by taking place at one of Gatsby’s lavish parties, it presents many additional performance opportunities for student musicians, dancers and actors.

Teaching Tool. Instructors are always looking for ways to engage students in required subject matter. A Night at Gatsby’s may be used for in-class dramatic readings, followed by discussions on how the dialogue supports the novel’s larger narrative and story line.

Study Guide. Tens of thousands of students annually purchase The Great Gatsby study guides. Gatsby instructors have long questioned the efficacy of 90-page study guides for a 180-page novel. Students might instead be encouraged to read a 23-page play that tells key aspects of the story in Fitzgerald’s actual dialogue as better preparation for the novel.

Cast of Characters

11 Actors (6 Male, 5 Female)

JAY GATSBY: A romantic and magnetic figure—both idealist and ruffian.

NICK CARRAWAY: A practical and sympathetic Midwesterner.

DAISY BUCHANAN: Nick’s Southern second cousin with a low, thrilling voice.

TOM BUCHANAN: Daisy’s husband from Old Money and with a domineering attitude.

JORDAN BAKER: Daisy’s golfer friend with a lean, tan and athletic body.

MEYER WOLFSHEIM: Gatsby’s fiftyish gangster