A Deeply Moving 'Gatsby' Debuts, Shines Light On Fitzgerald's Very Soul

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — "The Great Gatsby" has been irrefutably known to generations as the Great American novel.

Penned by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, the work has been experienced in every iteration — from screen to stage, and always, the utterly singular experience of seeing Jay Gatsby and his beloved Daisy born on the written page, pages worn thin from hands that have held the book close as the timeless story is read, again and again.

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But never has there been an execution of "The Great Gatsby" as simply flawless as the show that's set to be staged at the Center Stage at the Southampton Arts Center, beginning Friday night and running through Sunday.

The Roaring 20s was never more pointedly and poignantly defined than in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," a prescient tale of love, longing, and loss.

And now, that timeless work will be reimagined at Center Stage in a stunning performance too compelling to miss.

The show unveils a glimpse into an era thinly veiled in glitz, glamour and jazz while deftly hiding a tumultuous country on the brink of ruination. At the center is a man, a myth — a creation of his own design — whose desires pull him back to a love he once felt unworthy of obtaining.

The show will be directed by the incomparable Michael Disher.

Performances will be held Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m., Saturday, October 24 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, October 25 at 2 p.m.

Based on Joe Landry's radio version of "Gatsby", Disher and Landry, frequent collaborators, took a new approach to the material. Part play, part radio presentation — as radio was quite available in the 1920s — Disher and Landry went back to the book and its brilliant prose to create a thorough presentation of the story's glamour, grit and gravitas.

The show strips bare the raw emotion that clearly fueled Fitzgerald as he feverishly hungered for a passion too overwhelming to suppress, despite rigid societal demands.

If there is one word that could possibly capture the magic that is Disher's "Gatsby," it's, quite simply, heart.

It's the human heart that fuels the heady rush of romance, reckless and careless abandon, and yes, deep, wistful yearning — the endless quest for something that's real and true and forever, a feeling that might send a cast of cynical, timeworn flappers soaring from their gin-soaked lives. Transporting them to a place where yes, true and abiding trust and romance might be found forever in the love waiting across the water as a single and ever-elusive green light blinks in the lonely darkness.

In this production, Disher has, with stunning precision, brought Gatsby's reality to sparkling life — flapper dresses glitter and swirl, large screens depict the lush landscapes of Gatsby's Long Island. The audience can close their collective eyes and smell the expensive perfume, taste the ice-cold gin swirling in icy crystal.

But it's in his cast where Disher has truly captured the flash of quicksilver gold — a cast who bring to captivating life that ephemeral moment in time where these anguished mortals lived and danced into the night, yearning, lusting, wanting, needing.

Tom Gregory epitomizes the essence of Gatsby — and likely, the very soul of Fitzgerald, his performance painted in strokes of pain, abiding insecurity, blustering bravado, and always, the pure and shining love he pours into his eternal pursuit of his beloved Daisy. He's masterful in his portrayal of a man cloaked in opulence and green velvet, draped in riches that mask the broken man just aching for deep passion — for the true belonging that only real love can bring.

This reviewer would be hard-pressed to find a Daisy Buchanan whose performance is more transcendent than that of Elizabeth Wyld. Wyld, in a word, is, Daisy. She's luminous — and when she steps onto the stage, the audience understands, in an instant, why Gatsby throws all caution to the proverbial winds to win her heart. Why he's bought a house directly across the water, to find her in the dark of night. Why he's a man forever damned, desperate to recreate the impossible past and cling to it for eternity.

Wyld is simply able to whirl onto the stage with an effervescence that demands attention — the magical vision, impossible to grasp, that has led Gatsby to his inevitable, doomed pursuit. In her eyes, a simmering summer of discontent seethes, as she contemplates another 30 years pinned in a suffocating marriage and oppressive society.

Tim Ferris is a portrait of excellence in his portrayal of Nick Carraway. At times weary and alternately, wry, his innocence fades as his wide-eyed wonder takes in the secret assignations, the adulterous couplings and the outright hedonism playing out on the canvas before him. Ferris is brilliant in this role and has grown over many years on the East End canvas as an actor to watch, his talent more finely honed with every performance.

Also exhilarating is Franco Pistritto in the role of Tom Buchanan. Despite his blatant affair with Myrtle Wilson — played, as always, to sheer perfection by the superbly gifted Susan Cincotta — Buchanan, dripping in arrogance, is consumed by bitter, greedy jealousy at the thought of his wife Daisy in the arms of her enchanted Gatsby. Rage erupts, passion burns — Pistritto is a fine actor and this performance is one of his best.

Cincotta, in turn, captures every heart in the audience as Myrtle, she falls madly and wildly for Buchanan, despite the hapless husband she's left at home. And yet, in spite of her infidelity, it's impossible not to be won by Myrtle's pure quest for love. "You can't live forever," she justifies, as she races off defiantly, breaking free of her heavy marital chains.

Michael Ponella, as George Wilson, Myrtle's husband, presents the quintessential cuckold.

Michaal Lyn Schepps shines in her portrayal of Jordan Baker, a perfectly jaded, delicious character who just oozes the decadence of the time.

Thom D'Angelo also delights in his multiple roles in the show.

The entire cast shines in this not-to-be missed performance. With musical direction by Jack Seabury, stage management by Joey Giovingo, lighting and sound by Ken Blessing, and projection design by Joe Landry and Ken Blessing, this is the "Gatsby" that cuts straight to the heart of Fitzgerald's work, exposing the raw and pulsing emotions that transcend place and time.

Disher reflected on the journey of bringing Fitzgerald's timeless classic to life.

Reflecting on his interpretation of arguably one of the greatest works in American fiction, Disher said: "I've watched many versions of 'The Great Gatsby' and was always stymied that the focus was always on the parties. I wanted to expose the many layers of the book, the subtext, the challenges, the sociological commentary of the decade that was thinly disguised in indulgences and frivolity."

Also of note are the many references to Long Island in this production — Disher worked diligently to illuminate Fitzgerald's shimmering Long Island in his glorious production.

Long Island is a star in its own right, in this production.

"I was surprised that there were so many references to Long Island — locations and specific areas, some actual, some fictionalized. But what specifically has drawn me to the piece is a fascination with the extremes that people will go to to either disguise, create or reinvent themselves."

And, Disher added: "One of the main themes in 'Gatsby' is uncontrollable and reckless affluence. Privilege and entitlement do not allow individuals to do and behave as they wish. One might be able to draw parallels to today."

Audiences at this new iteration of "Gatsby" will see the show through a fresh and innovative lens, Disher said.

"This may not be the 'Gatsby' people know and expect. This is the 'Gatsby' story that needs to be told. if an audience member finds a passage or message here that strikes a chord within them, not only have we done our job in the theater, but as storytellers presenting the power of Fitzgerald's words penned 100 years ago."

Tickets cost $25 for general admission and $20 for SAC members. Student and group rates are available. For tickets, call 631-283-0967 or click here.

.Center Stage at Southampton Arts Center is located at 25 Jobs Lane in Southampton.

For additional information, click here.

UP NEXT: Patch interviews the cast of "Gatsby", who shed light, from their own unique perspectives and experiences, on what the show meant to them. Stay tuned for the post, coming on Saturday.