Marblehead Little Theatre's The Great Gatsby, An American Musical

Imagine the conversation between Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby when they meet for the first time in years:

They were sitting at either end of the couch, looking at each other as if some question had been asked, or was in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

With composer, Frank Schiro, Fred Anthony Marco has written a song for the conversation that is never revealed in the novel. “The Great Gatsby, An American Musical is impressionistic and the set is a model of elegance,” Marco, an alumnus of the Broadcast Musical International Theatre Workshop in New York City, reports. Marco is a National Alliance for Music Theater finalist and was shortlisted for the American Harmony Prize for his New York City production of The Family Fiorelli.

Premiering in Marblehead from June 23rd to July 2nd, The Great Gatsby, An American Musical preserves all the dramatic aspects of Fitzgerald’s romantic tragedy. In is an interpretation of one of the greatest American novels, set to music.

With twenty-three cast members and a musical ensemble of piano, clarinet, violin, cello and percussion, The Great Gatsby, An American Musical has taken a year for the Marblehead Little Theatre to assemble, according to Doug Hill, one of the show’s producers. Hill is a former president of Marblehead Little Theatre and a retired United States Air Force Officer. He is also a huge F. Scott Fitzgerald fan.

Marco’s musical took twenty years to create. As a member of the Broadcast Musical International Theatre Workshop, he had written the song for Daisy and Gatsby, intending to get the musical into production when the novel entered the public domain. But the U.S. government intervened, extending all copyrights for two decades.

When The Great Gatsby was no longer protected by intellectual property laws, and the public finally owned the work, Marco contacted Hill. “Fred’s approach to the novel knocked me over,” Hill exclaimed.

For more information: gatsbyamericanmusical.com Tickets: www.mltlive.com/tickets

Article written by Caryn Coyle