12/09/2025
Celebrating a Century of The Great Gatsby
Sea Glass Stage at Coligny presents iconic play this fall
By Lynne Cope Hummell
Photography by Maggie Washo
When F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925, it wasn’t exactly a bestseller, though reviewers seemed to like it.
Between its publication and Fitzgerald’s passing in 1940, it sold only 25,000 copies.
The Great Depression of ’29 certainly had an impact. Fitzgerald is said to have been near penniless by the time of his death. The book was no longer available in bookstores.
If not for distribution of an Armed Services Edition of the novel to 150,000 troops during World War II, Gatsby might have been unknown to our grandparents, our parents, and us.
This year, Fitzgerald scholars and fans around the country are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publication of the novel. Likewise, the production team of Sea Glass Stage at Coligny is offering Simon Levy’s stage adaptation of the story this fall.
The Great Gatsby, a tale of romance, glamour, and decadence of the Jazz Age, is set against a dreamscape of the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby’s Long Island mansion. Throughout the play, Nick Carraway, arriving in in the summer of 1922 to visit his cousin Daisy, narrates his experiences with the elusive Gatsby and his party guests. Characters float in and out of the picture, as tales are told, illusions appear, feelings change, and reality comes to light.
The story reflects a number of similarities to Fitzgerald’s life, starting with his upbringing in St. Paul, Minnesota, which is home also for Carraway. Like Gatsby, Fitzgerald was a lieutenant in World War I, and it was during this time that he met his future wife, Zelda, his muse for Daisy.
Large and glamorous parties, with plenty of music, characters, and alcohol, were a staple entertainment for Scott and Zelda. Indeed, the real-life couple’s complicated relationship is the basis of Gatsby’s romance with Daisy.
For a story first told a hundred years ago, The Great Gatsby retains its relevance today because people and our social interactions haven’t changed so much. Bryce Cofield, who directs the Sea Glass production, said Gatsby is still relevant because “it speaks to the timeless human tendency to chase dreams and idealize the past, often blurring the line between reality and illusion.
“Today, that shows up in social media culture – carefully curated images, the pressure to appear successful, and the belief that status or wealth will fulfill us,” he said. “Gatsby’s parties may have been in the 1920s, but the story’s themes are still playing out around us every day.”
One of those themes is pursuit of the “American Dream,” the imagined ideal life that is sure to provide all of one’s desires.
“Fitzgerald wanted readers to see that the American Dream, when focused on wealth, status, and the illusion of perfection, can be hollow and even destructive,” Cofield said. “In The Great Gatsby, he presents a world that is dazzling on the surface – the parties, the mansions, the glamour – but morally corrupt underneath, full of deceit, longing, and unfulfilled desire. My hope is that the show captures that tension and reminds audiences that true happiness comes from honesty, real connections, and living authentically, rather than chasing illusions or trying to recapture the past.”
With a minimal stage design that represents a dilapidated ballroom caught between the past and the present, the space “reflects the central tension of the story – its beauty and its decay, the glamour that hides moral corruption,” Cofield said. “I want the stage to feel like stepping into someone’s distant memory: As the music moves through the space, the ballroom begins to come back to life, slowly retelling the story of Gatsby. The set becomes a living echo of the past, where the ghosts of the parties, the longing, and the lost dreams are all visible, letting the audience experience both the allure and the fragility of that world.”
Cofield said that while Fitzgerald used his talent for writing beautiful prose to paint vivid pictures and could take several pages to describe one scene, the story has been adapted to fit the way theatre works.
“On stage, we bring that imagery to life visually – through set design, lighting, music, and movement,” Cofield said. “Some of the poetic language is condensed, but the emotions and themes remain intact. Instead of imagining Gatsby’s world, the audience gets to step into it and experience it in real time.”
The cast includes nine local actors: Meagan Berger, Darren Broman, Alex Clark, Mark Erickson, Dan Franke, Ashley Casstevens Gonzalez, Shea Hiscock, Lynne Hummell, and Michael Murray. Chloe Fry serves as stage manager.
The show will run weekends September 19 through October 5, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available at sgstage.org.
Sea Glass Stage at Coligny is located in the former Coligny Theater at Coligny Plaza, 1 North Forest Beach Drive, Unit I-5, between The Frozen Moo and Life Is Good.
