Arizona Theatre Company's THE GREAT GATSBY Closes 4/8

Glitz and glamour, romance and betrayal dazzle in Arizona Theatre Company's production of The Great Gatsby.  Considered by many to be the Great American Novel, it is at once titillating, fascinating and shocking in its portrayal of The Jazz Age that was soon to disappear from the American landscape. Directed by ATC Associate Artistic Director Stephen Wrentmore, The Great Gatsby, adapted by Simon Levy, marks the fifth and final year of ATC's AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American Stories series and plays at the Herberger Theater Center through April 8, 2012.  Arizona Theatre Company's season sponsors are I. Michael and Beth Kasser. The Production Underwriter is The Stonewall Foundation.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece The Great Gatsby takes place in 1922. The world has just seen the most destructive war in history and the Roaring Twenties are just beginning. Prohibition is in effect and flappers have burst onto the scene. Into this world of wealth and privilege on Long Island, New York, two new men have come to town: Nick Carraway, a Mid-Westerner drawn to big city vitality and Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and mysterious man. But Gatsby's appearance on Long Island this summer is not coincidence, but a calculated attempt to regain his past love of the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald's dynamic characters careen toward a devastating conclusion to a story of love, grandeur and tragedy as social worlds collide, and those privileged few of the highest echelon of society make choices that, once decided, can never be taken back.

In this first authorized theatrical adaptation of The Great Gatsby since 1926, award-winning playwright Simon Levy brings the humor, irony, pathos and beauty of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic to the stage. 

"It is a thrill to be working on this extraordinary adaptation of this National Treasure of a book," said Associate Artistic Director Stephen Wrentmore. "I first discovered The Great Gatsby as a 16 year old frantically reading all I could find. As a Londoner the world of Gatsby seemed a world and a lifetime away and yet the way Fitzgerald constructs character, illusion and narrative made it alive with resonance. Approaching it now feels utterly contemporary and vivid."

The Great Gatsby is the fifth and final production in ATC's AMERICA PLAYS! Celebrating Great American Stories initiative.  This multi-year series of beloved American classics includes free community engagement activities designed to enhance ATC patrons' experience of this classic play.  This year ATC has partnered with West Valley Arts Council for "The Big Read," collaborating on free community engagement activities in Arizona.

Tickets for The Great Gatsby are $32-$69, subject to change, depending on date and section choice. Discounts are available for seniors and active military on specific performance days.  $10 student ticket pricing is now available for all performances.  Half-price rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the Herberger Theater Center box office (subject to availability).  (Tickets must be purchased at the Herberger Theater Center box office.  Seating is first-come first served and is not guaranteed.  Cash only, please.  Two tickets per person maximum.) For discounts on groups of eight or more, call (602) 256-6995.

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