When was the last time someone read an entire novel aloud to you?

Really think about it… audiobooks don’t count. It’s been a while, right? Maybe not ever?

I was mulling over this question as I settled into my performance of Gatz, currently playing this fall for a limited run at The Public Theatre. It’s a show that embarks on quite the theatrical feat over the course of about 8 hours: to read the entirety of The Great Gatsby aloud to an audience, with staging and additional actors to help bring the storytelling to life. My show started at 3pm. The time bows rolled around? A bit after 11pm…

You might be having the same reaction as most people did when I told them that I spent my Saturday doing this – “how???? why????”

Well, the first question is easy to answer. Elevator Repair Service (the theatre company behind the show) chooses to split the show up into four acts, with a long break for dinner after the second act. So you really are only sitting through the reading for a maximum of two hours at a time. I left the theatre for dinner just to get some fresh air and take a walk around the block, and I’d recommend you do the same, though there is an option to eat dinner at The Library at The Public if you find that more convenient.

The set design, costumes, lights, etc. are all starkly ordinary compared to the fantastic absurdity of the premise. All of the action takes place in a dingy retro office space; it was pretty much exactly what I imagine when someone says “I hate my office job, it’s so depressing.” Our narrator Nick Carraway (played by Scott Shepherd) enters quietly, rummages through the clutter on his desk, picks up a copy of the novel and begins to read – and doesn’t stop until the show is over.

At first I found the experience quite touching and pleasant. Like I said, I don’t remember the last time someone read to me, and Shepherd’s calming yet dynamic voice was the perfect vessel to tell this story – he even did voices for the different characters in the beginning. As the show progresses, we get more sound/light effects and more actors enter the space and speak lines of dialogue for themselves, and though they’re talking about wealth, parties, and the American dream, their actions are still squarely in the world of the nameless office – a “small expensive dog leash” is an extension cord, a “clumsy attempt to distract” looks like spilling a corporate mug of coffee, and confetti for a party are piles of generic letter paper fluttering about the stage. At the end of acts 1 and 3 Shepherd would turn to the audience and say “we’ll take a 15 minute break,” which somewhat startled me both times, a sudden reminder that yes, this really is mostly one actor reciting an entire book.

In the era of short attention spans and one act plays (most plays opening this season on Broadway don’t even have an intermission), I think a show like this is a welcome challenge for a lot of people – it certainly was for me. I went through various stages of feeling relaxed then impatient, engaged then disinterested, entertained then annoyed. It reminded me of how I’ve felt when I’ve tried meditating. And I will say with Gatz there’s no need to check your watch, you can see exactly how much time you have left by how many pages of the book remain.

When it was all over and we stood up to leave the theatre, a woman behind me let out an exasperated “Jesus,” while another in front of me exclaimed “that was incredible.” I think both reactions depict how I feel. I’m so undeniably impressed by the stamina of the performers, the creativity of the framing of the story, and the willingness of audiences to see a show like Gatz. But am I personally itching to see it ever again in my life? Not exactly, old sport.

Gatz is playing at The Public Theatre through December 1st, 2024. Grab tickets here, or see some ways to get discounted tickets here.

Photo credit: Gatz off-Broadway. (Photo by Joan Marcus)