Review: NOVEMBER 1918: THE GREAT WAR AND THE GREAT GATSBY Unique at Carnegie Hall

Walking through the shadows of the past with open eyes is the best way to describe the multimedia / musical production of NOVEMBER 1918:  THE GREAT WAR AND THE GREAT GATSBY AT Carnegie Hall ON NOVEMBER 8, 2023.  The iconic Carnegie Hall was filled to capacity as  journalist Katie Couric opened the show to introduce historian John Monsky, the creator and narrator of this emotionally charged performance.  

Monsky began by relating to the audience that he and his son had traveled to France to follow in the path of the famed World War I Meuse Argonne offensive, taking along his copy of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic The Great Gatsby to accompany them.  Thus was the premise of this multimedia theatrical presentation. Throughout the entire evening Monsky referenced the parallels between the war and the novel.  The audience was given insight into just how obsessed the World War I veteran Fitzgerald was with his war experiences, and how many things in his novel are overt symbols of its tragedy.

 Utilizing projections of actual World War I film footage of the time as background, the show is carried forth with song.  Phenomenal singing talent included Kristolyn Lloyd, Stephanie Jae Park, Kate Rockwell, Nicholas Rodriguez and Daniel Yearwood, along with the famed Orchestra of St. Luke’s, bringing NOVEMBER 1918:  THE GREAT WAR AND THE GREAT GATSBY to life through the music of the period.  Composers such as James Reese Europe, Irving Berlin, and George M. Cohan, among many others, portrayed how the songs of the time were used for different purposes - from efforts to rally the troops to even displaying the despair of the trench soldiers as the war carried on to its bloody end in 1918. “On Patrol In No Man’s Land” aptly mimicked the sounds of a raging war with artillery fire, as Nicholas Rodriguez and Daniel Yearwood fiercely sang of two soldiers trying to survive in the open ground, while the emotionally gut wrenching rendition of “What’ll I Do” by Kristolyn Lloyd gave insight into a woman mourning her dead love.

Singling out four diverse individuals who became well known after the war gave the audience even more depth of insight into the historic showcase.  James Reese Europe, an African - American jazz musician, Quentin Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt, Vera Brittain, British war nurse and author of Testament of Youth, and finally Charles Whittlesey, a courageous American soldier, were all forever haunted by what they saw and endured. All were from very different backgrounds, yet each followed paths that had been created by their experiences during war.

It took until the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in November 1918 for the atrocities of the war to end. But the victory was bittersweet, even for those that came home and, later, found success. Memories of that poignant and life-changing 20th Century war would remain with them forever.  NOVEMBER 1918:  THE GREAT WAR AND THE GREAT GATSBY featured John Monsky, Ian Weinberger, Kristolyn Lloyd, Stephanie Jae Park, Kate Rockwell, Nicholas Rodriguez, Daniel Yearwood and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

NOVEMBER 1918:  THE GREAT WAR AND THE GREAT GATSBY AT Carnegie Hall is a magnificent piece of historical documentation brought to life by state-of-the-art visual technology. Showing events of over one hundred years ago, combined with live music dug deep into your soul.  I am sure there was not a dry eye left in the house by the end of this one-of-a-kind, deeply moving work of art.

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