on saturday, i went with a friend to see this play. and, let me tell you – it was amazing. a-ma-zing. despite the fact that it ran 6.5 hours long (no lie), and at some points i found my thoughts wandering, there really is no experience quite like hearing the great f. scott being read aloud.

the basic premise of the play is this: a man (scott shepherd as narrator/nick carraway) walks into his office (present-day setting), and finds a copy of the great gatsby at his desk. he picks it up and begins reading it aloud. for the next 6.5 hours, the only words you hear are from the text of gatsby.

gradually, the scene in the office begins to undergo a weird transformation. a few coincidental remarks pop up, coworkers uttering the same words that shepherd is reading; actions happening right before he reads their cue (“the phone rang,” he reads, and then the office phone rings), and then the story unfolds as if taking place in his office. his coworkers become the characters in the play, speak their lines, follow their actions, all the while shepherd is reading aloud, watching the scene unfold with some incredulity.

perhaps the thing that struck me the most was the casting of gatsby. forget the dreamy, dashing, suave image in your head – forget robert redford. here we have jim fletcher: tall, bulky, balding, middle-aged and with a deep voice. he stands nearly a foot taller than shepherd (a casting choice that was probably more lucky than intentional, but still seems significant as we watch the presence, the dreams, of jay gatsby towering over the rest of the play). the casting is striking not only because of these obvious differences from fitzgerald’s gatsby, but also because fletcher’s gatsby is instantly familiar to us. we are reminded of the title of the play: “gatz.” here is jimmy gatz; here is everyman.

shepherd deserves much credit, too, of course. not only for his fortitude in reading aloud for nearly 6.5 straight hours or for captivating us for that whole time, but for the enchanting way he does it. he is at once the perfect narrator and the classic nick carraway. fitzgerald’s writing comes to life in shepherd’s clear, straightforward voice. “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.” fitzgerald’s words sting with fresh vigor when heard aloud, as shepherd, never melodramatic, reminds that just as gatsby is all of us, so are all of us nick.

it’s a tangle of characters and roles – the office janitor is tom, coworkers are daisy and jordan, the office manager plays a multitude of small roles, even the play’s sound technician has several walk-on roles – if you are not instantly aware of the play’s intention to universalize each of the book’s characters, by the end of the play the point has been hit home. we see the reflection of people we know, including ourselves, in the faces onstage.

at times, the play seems like the great gatsby meets the three stooges; at other times you expect to hear arthur miller directing from the wings. it is both comical and pensive, dark and light. if you have only seen the  contemplative, disenchanted side of the great gatsby, then you must see this play – the absurdity of the plot, of the characters, even of the way the reader/audience reacts to it all are highlighted with aplomb.

in the end, we do not leave with the image of robert redford in a silver shirt and gold tie; rather, we remember jim fletcher in a flamingo-pink suit, pacing the stage, keeping time with the even tones of scott shepherd’s voice.