KINGSTON, R.I. – April 12, 2017 — The University of Rhode Island Theatre Department will perform “The Great Gatsby” later this month, its final production of the academic year.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby, adapted for the stage by Simon Levy, remains the ever evocative story of the pursuit of wealth and romance in the roaring 1920s — The Jazz Age. Enigmatic self-made millionaire Jay Gatsby pursues the married, moneyed Daisy Buchanan as his party guests drink and dance their frenzied way through life at his opulent Long Island mansion. Their greed, as evidenced by the surrounding consumerism and materialism, is revealed through subtle and obvious class differences of old money, the newly rich, and the working class that includes Tom Buchanan’s mistress Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald artfully discloses the careless, callousness of the untouchable upper class with whom we are entranced as they literally get away with murder.
Performances of “The Great Gatsby” will run April 20-22 and April 27-29 at 7:30 p.m., with additional performances April 23 and April 30 at 3 p.m. in the Robert E. Will Theatre of the URI Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, on the Kingston Campus. General Admission is $20, while tickets cost $15 for seniors, URI faculty, staff and students. To purchase tickets online, visit web.uri.edu/theatre, or call (401) 874-5843 beginning April 10.
There will be a panel discussion following the 3 p.m. performance Sunday, April 23. It is free and open to the public. Distinguished panelists include composer and scholar Enrico Garzilli, Art Mead, URI professor of economics, and Karen Stein URI professor of English and gender and women’s studies. Bryna Wortman, associate professor of theatre and the play’s director, will serve as moderator.
Wortman, who recently directed “Good People,” “In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play” and “All My Sons,” directs the production. Dances are conceived by Valerie Ferris, URI theatre major; costume design is by Alison Walker Carrier, resident costume shop manager; scenic design is by Cheryl deWardener, guest artist; lighting design is by Jen Rock, guest artist; sound design is by Michael Hyde, guest artist; and stage management is by Caitlyn Sloan, URI theatre major.
URI Theatre is committed to equal opportunity and non-traditional casting. Our productions strongly encourage any/and all student, staff, faculty or members of the community to audition and/or participate in URI productions. There will be no discrimination based on sex, race, color, age, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, veteran and/or disability status.
Actor, Character, Hometown
Cassidy McCartan, Daisy Buchanan, Stewartville, Minn.
Steven Carvalho, Jay Gatsby, Pawtucket
Celine Montaudy, Myrtle Wilson, Norwalk, Conn.
Rebecca Magnotta, Jordan Baker, Wakefield
Devon Andrews, Meyer Wolfsheim/Chester McKee, Pawtucket
Magenta Kolakowski, Mrs. Michaelis, Riverside
Ben Church, Nick Carraway, East Providence
Erik Schlicht, George Wilson, Cumberland
Christopher Morris, Tom Buchanan, Harrison, N.Y.
Josh Raymo, Server, Portsmouth
Arturo Puentes, Policeman, Pawtucket
Brooks A. Shatraw, Singer/Servant, North Smithfield
Valerie Ferris, Dance Consultant/Dancer, Staten Island, N.Y.
Raymond Fournier, Dancer, Woonsocket
Brandon Lovejoy, Dancer, Littleton, Colo.
Alijah Ileana Dickenson, Mrs. McKee/Singer, Warwick
Kara Langelier, Singer, Harrisville
Ardemis Kassabian, Dancer, Wakefield
Understudies:
Actor, Character, Hometown
Ariana Pacheco, Myrtle, Johnston
Emily Carter, Jordan Baker, Scituate
Vincent Taylor, Policeman, Providence
Ardemis Kassabian, Daisy, Wakefield
Nicole Pelletier, Mrs. McKee/Mrs. Michaelis, Portsmouth
Brooks A. Shatraw, Servant/Nick Carraway, North Smithfield
Arturo Puentes, Jay Gatsby, Pawtucket
Josh Raymo, Tom Buchanan, Portsmouth
Daniel F. Greene, George Wilson/Chester McKee, North Easton, Mass.