Review: GATSBY REDUX at Greystone Mansion

“The Great Gatsby” is widely considered the Great American Novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ode to the excesses of the Jazz Age has come to represent the 1920s in such a way that we can hardly separate them in our collective consciousness. Having been adapted through the years to the stage (first in 1926), to the silver screen (the first also in 1926, but also as recently as Baz Luhrmann’s lavish take in 2013), on television, as musicals, retold in fiction and radio and video games and graphic novels, the tale has become part of our cultural fabric as romanticized as it is tragic.

Coinciding with the novel’s centennial, Mixed eMotion Theatrix, a dance/theater company based in Beverly Hills, has launched a site-specific dance interpretation of “The Great Gatsby” called GATSBY REDUX. Created by director/choreographer Janet Roston, the show makes grand use of the grounds of Greystone Mansion. Beginning at 7, romantic dusk fading into ominous twilight, the audience follows dancers around the estate, telling an interpretive version of Gatsby’s story (well, Nick’s story).

Dressed in light, flowing dresses and form-fitting suits, white and beige, the superb troupe of performers flits and flutters through the estate to recorded music from both the 1920s and contemporary times, clearly influenced by Luhrmann’s luminous production. As the light wanes, you could almost believe you’re in West Egg. If only there were a green light flashing from Culver City. Greystone is a perfect substitute for Gatsby’s mansion especially as it comes with its own romantic and tragic history, including a murder-suicide (a story beautifully told periodically on the site in the play “The Manor”).

Roston’s choreography is evocative and sensual with diaphanous and whimsical qualities, and she finds the perfect setting for each sequence. While “The Manor” takes place entirely inside the mansion, GATSBY REDUX takes place entirely outside it, so be prepared for walking. A lot of walking, and a lot of stairs, and a lot of standing. It’s a sprightly 90 minutes, so if you can stand through a concert, it won’t be a problem.

Originally commissioned by the Los Angeles Music Center and performed at the Disney Concert Hall, the piece has since toured nationally and internationally and been staged twice before at Greystone. Guests are encouraged to arrive in 1920s-style clothing as photography is encouraged and photo ops are plentiful.

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