Day 321 The Great Gatsby-Pittsburgh Ballet -A Cinematic Drama Through Dance

The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorite love stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald that takes place during the roaring 1920’s. The book was the  subject of two grand movies. In 1973 Robert Redford  portrayed Gatsby and Mia Farrow was Daisy, his love obsession. In 2013 it was remade with  Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s a tale about a tragic love affair between married Daisy and the wealthy and mysterious Gatsby. The  Pittsburgh Ballet kicked off  it’s 50^th Year Anniversary with this revised production of The Great Gatsby performed to a newly commissioned original score played by the PBT Orchestra.  I was excited to see the dance interpretation of this cinematic drama of passion, betrayal and obsessive love.

Reflection

Developing a childhood crush on Robert Redford as Gatsby, I attended several movie viewings and knew the story well. In the summer of 1922, the millionaire Gatsby carrying a torch for Daisy, his love interest from the war, secures a mansion across the lake from her. He threw lavish parties  to impress the debutante and entice her attendance. Daisy, who was unhappy in her marriage to Tom, a womanizer with a mistress, reunites with Gatsby for a summer  love affair.  Daisy’s cousin, Nick, visiting that summer  narrates the summer of passion. The story ends when Gatsby’s car crashes which spirals a series of events that results in his murder. All this action was danced in PBT’s production of  The Great Gatsby.   

            

Credit: Aimee DiAndrear Artists Luca Sbrizzi and Hannah Carter 

 The ballet impressively told the entire cinematic story through movement.  Jorden Morris choreographed emotional and passionate dance and the artists were expressive story tellers. The production  covered a lot of ground in the lives of the four main characters. The scenes seemed to change every 15 minutes from a military base, to New York City, a gas station, an apartment in the city, Daisy’s home, Gatsby’s mansion, and more.  Although inventive, it was somewhat complicated to follow for those with limited knowledge of the story.

The dancing  took flight during Gatsby’s parties even injecting the tango (a popular dance of the time)  and  by the industrial workers in the Valley of Ashes. The glitz and glamour of the 1920’s was made part of the set design and the costumes of flapper dresses and tuxedos. The composition by Carl Davis flowed at times like a movie score and it wove a flair of  American jazz  throughout the show which was prevalent in this era.   

The Great Gatsby is an adventurous interpretation of this tale of  passion, betrayal and obsessive love through movement.  If you refresh your knowledge of the story, this ballet soars as a  cinematic drama of  this wild summer of romance through dance.

(The Great Gatsby runs from February 8-17, 2019 at the Benedum. For tickets go to ppt.org.)

Other Sources

PBT pbt.org

1973 Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=519P4KnKy9Q

2012 Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARN6agiW7o