... watch a 6-hour play at the A.R.T?

Some 3+ years ago, when we were both studying in Cambridge, JC alerted me to the awesomeness of the A.R.T. Perhaps it's because I've never been a particularly huge theater fan, or perhaps it's because there are always more ballets I want to go to (and both time AND money are limited), I have never gone to watch a play at A.R.T. all these years.

Yesterday, I finally did. At the brilliant suggestion of a friend, a huge group of us went to watch Elevator Repair Service's production of Gatz-- a 6-hour long verbatim reading of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

Gatz is staged in 2 parts, and one can choose to watch it on 2 separate days, but we decided to watch it in a single day, with a 1 hour dinner break in between. There are honestly no bad seats at the Loeb Drama Center but we had ridiculously good seats-- dead center, five rows from the front. In spite of the glowing reviews Gatz had received, I was prepared to be at least a little bored. After all, it was 6 hours long, A.R.T.'s Gatz website can't possibly be perfectly unbiased, and like I said earlier, I've never been much of a theater person.

As it turns out, I cannot be more wrong. Gatz is innovative, clever and an absolute masterpiece. From the creative use of sound, lighting and props, to the expert timing of the 13 actors, everything was flawless. The play begins with an office scene but by the end of the play, we were completely transported into Nick and Gatsby's Long Island of the roaring 20s. Scott Shepard, as Nick Carraway, was amazing-- how did he manage to read 80% of the book with that perfect intonation and rhythm from the beginning to the end?

One thing I know for sure-- I'll be revisiting the A.R.T. very soon.