From May 1 to 5, Northern Stage in White River Junction hosted a one-person adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, “The Great Gatsby.” The performance — which was followed by an audience discussion and Q&A — was produced by Literature to Life, a performance-based program that presents staged literary adaptations verbatim.
Following an introduction by teaching artist Mel House, actor Bryce Foley arrived onto the stage — which featured only a bar cart, two side tables and a trio of chairs. Foley proceeded to speak as narrator Nick Carraway.
Foley’s narration was accompanied by minimal sound and lighting effects, along with the lines of approximately eight other characters featured in the adaptation.
During scenes with multiple speakers, Foley played all sides of the exchange, seamlessly switching from one character to the next with distinctions produced by different vocals, mannerisms and stage positions.
Literature to Life artistic director Elise Thoron co-founded the Literature to Life program with the late Wynn Handman — one of the “great acting teachers” and early pioneers of the solo show form — more than three decades ago at the Manhattan-based American Place Theatre, Thoron said.
Described by its website as a “performance-based literacy program,” Literature to Life typically produces seven to eight shows at a time, which run for several years via national tours. According to Thoron, performances are staged at high schools, colleges and community venues — such as correctional facilities, libraries, lifelong learning spaces, local theaters and shelters.
Thoron said she got the idea for Literature to Life when American Place Theatre was unable to secure the rights for an adaptation of the Toni Morrison novel, “The Bluest Eye.” One of the actresses in the play tracked down Morrison herself who, unable to grant them the rights, suggested they perform the show for students in classrooms as opposed to in real theaters. Currently, Literature to Life continues to perform in casual spaces in addition to professional theaters.
Thoron said the program’s “core impulse” became about inspiring a “spark and love” for literature in high school students and generating connections — including cross-cultural ones — between the texts. She explained that the “[post-show] discussion is just as important as the amazing performance,” adding that the program engages in residencies at schools where students can put on their own adaptations.
Another part of the program’s mission is to empower “voices worth hearing,” according to the Literature to Life website. Thoron said Handman prioritized this commitment throughout his career.
“Wynn, at a very early time in the [19]60s, was producing very diverse writers — before it was kind of a thing or a mandate or anything in theatre,” Thoron said.
For much of the program’s history, Thoron said she and Handman adapted the novels and directed productions alone. Recently, Literature to Life company members have increasingly been stepping into both directing and adaptation roles, Thoron said.
For example, company member Grullon adapted and directed the stage version of “The Great Gatsby.” The Northern Stage company acted as a producing partner for “The Great Gatsby,” providing production resources including writing and rehearsal space.
Grullon said he was drawn to adapting “The Great Gatsby” due to the wide recognition of the novel by students and language that “popped off the page.” He also said the novel would be relatively easy to produce legally, as it is in the public domain and no longer subject to copyright laws.
“The book was coming out onto the public domain, and so it was a story that was going to be easily accessible that wouldn’t have too many … legal hurdles to jump over in order to make a stage production,” Grullon said.
Grullon said he conducted extensive research over two months to transform the roughly 200-page book into an hour-long staged verbatim version. In the process, he read interpretations from different time periods, watched film adaptations and documentaries on Fitzgerald and consulted the author’s original manuscripts and edits at the Princeton University national archives.
“The adaptation process … is really just trying to figure out what is at the core of the story,” Grullon said.
Grullon added that he finished his adaptation while working with Foley before the show’s Northern Stage run.
Grullon said he and Foley engaged in lengthy character preparation work prior to working with the text. To prepare, Foley would act in fictional scenarios as any given character from “The Great Gatsby” for extended periods of time, Grullon said. Thoron, who mentored the two but mostly remained hands-off during rehearsals, said many of the exercises were borrowed from Handman — which was “really fun to watch.”
Foley said Grullon was a “big brother figure” who allowed him to “play a lot” — driving the scene in a certain direction and then workshopping it with Grullon. Grullon described their dynamic as one of mutual support and trust.
“I felt safe to direct,” he said.
When asked about his priorities for the adaptation, Grullon said he wanted to encapsulate the universal nature of the story.
“I think I wanted to capture somehow what the story is about for everybody,” Grullon said. “[I was] kind of finding the through line between everyone — what they thought was important, what they remembered, what they were affected by.”
When Foley first read the novel for the audition, he recalled resonating with the determination reflected in Jay Gatz’s relationship with Daisy.
“When I read it last year for the audition, I understood why it ha[s] the reputation that it does because I think for me … the idea of dreams, that idea of pursuing something … [and] putting everything else to the side in pursuit of this one goal — I really resonate with that,” Foley said.
Foley said the novel’s implication of the dangers of such a pursuit also spoke to him.
“That’s also something that I put in perspective,” Foley said. “As much as I … go after my dreams and the things that I care about, I also have to remember to live life and be here and be present.”
Despite the typically cynical interpretation of the novel’s ending — which ends in a spot where the characters are left with their dreams unfulfilled — Foley said “The Great Gatsby” taught him a more hopeful lesson.
“[Doing the show] gave me even more permission to chase after my dreams, funnily enough,” Foley said. “Going on stage, [I feel] that … I’m where I need to be, doing what I need to do.”
