Big Sky Community Theatre presents ‘The Great Gatsby’

All-female cast performs the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic

By Sarah Gianelli EBS Senior Editor

BIG SKY – The Big Sky Community Theatre presents one major show a year, a grassroots production comprised of local actors, directors, set designers and crew.

On Friday, May 18 at 7 p.m. the Big Sky Community Theatre will perform “The Great Gatsby” featuring an unconventional all-female cast at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center.

Whether it was required reading in high school or you’ve seen the 1974 or 2013 film adaptations, most people are familiar with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most well-known novel. Set amid the glamorous decadence of the Jazz Age, it tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire and his blind pursuit of the elusive Daisy Buchanan. The book’s narrator, Nick Carraway, is a newcomer to Long Island and gets drawn into their world of obsession, greed and danger.

Local thespians Livi Langan, Emily Potts, Ashley Dodd and Shawna Winters perform the lead roles of Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan, respectively. Supporting roles are played by Hanna Powell, Vanessa Wilson, Crystal Snook, Lander Bachert and Olivia Bulis.

“I am excited about this production for several reasons,” said Director Mark Kuntz. “I’m thrilled to get a chance to work in the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center [and] collaborating with Big Sky artists, since I do most of my work in Bozeman.”

Kuntz is a professional actor, director and filmmaker whose experience includes 18 tours with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks & Schools and 10 as a company manager. He has also performed with Montana Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theater, Seattle Repertory Theater, the Ellen Theatre, and Bozeman Actor’s Theatre.

He portrayed Jay Gatsby in the 2015 Montana Repertory Theatre national tour of the play and brings an intimate familiarity with the story to his role as director. “‘The Great Gatsby’ is one of my favorite stories of all time,” he said. “I wanted to re-imagine it in a different way [and it] has been nothing short of fascinating and electric to watch these talented women bring all these great roles to life in a way I think no one has seen before.”

Visit warrenmillerpac.org for more information. Email John Zirkle at john@warrenmillerpac.org or Jeremy Harder at jharder@bssd72.org to learn how to get involved with Big Sky Community Theatre.