The Great Gatsby: The 1926 Broadway Script

Reviews / Votes

'Owen Davis's play The Great Gatsby, which had a successful Broadway run in 1926, reimagined and even recast Fitzgerald's book in ways that gave it resonance both as an expression of the Roaring Twenties zeitgeist, and after, as an approach to the ways the novel, in a new form, still tells the American story. With Anne Margaret Daniel and James L. W. West III's perceptive and instructive introduction providing context, this engrossing script has its own story to tell and insights to Fitzgerald to reveal. And like the novel, it cuts to the heart of America.' Linda Patterson Miller, Distinguished Professor of English, Penn State Abington 'Owen Davis's stage dramatization of Fitzgerald's novel is, in more ways than one, a peep behind the scenes at Gatsby's life. Davis rearranged dialogue and chronology, while to sticking to the familiar story - rather in the manner of a jazz musician improvising on a standard. His hero is closer to bootlegger Gatz than playboy Gatsby. Anne Margaret Daniel and James L. W. West have unearthed a fascinating curiosity. Their introduction provides just the right amount of confidential information the audience needs, before the play begins.' James Campbell, author of Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin 'With Anne Margaret Daniel's 2022 Norton Library edition and James L. W. West III's 2019 variorum edition, this book's editors have each given us a superlative edition of The Great Gatsby. Together, they have done the same for the Broadway play adapted from it. The Great Gatsby: The 1926 Broadway Script will interest anyone who likes The Great Gatsby and fascinate anyone who loves it.' Scott Jordan Harris, author of Rosebud Sleds and Horses' Heads: 50 of Film's Most Evocative Objects 'Short of discovering a portal to the past or building a time machine, readers will never come closer to returning to Broadway's Jazz Age heyday than with this edition of Owen Davis's 1926 theatrical adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Masterfully edited by Anne Margaret Daniel and James L. W. West III, Davis's script channels the melancholy spirit of Fitzgerald's classic while making the changes necessary for the tragic story of American aspiration to succeed on the stage, allowing us to appreciate why the show ran for more than 100 performances.' Kirk Curnutt, executive director, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society 'Gatsby has a gangster gang, 'Buck' Wilson is his chauffeur, Daisy and Myrtle meet at a party. This is not the novel but the playscript of the hit 1926 Broadway production of The Great Gatsby, and it's a great read. Daniel and West have a major coup here with this edition. Bravo for their fascinating introduction, generous readers' notes, and deep research.' William Blazek, vice president, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society 'This edition of the 1926 Broadway script of The Great Gatsby by Owen Davis is a treasure on many counts. The play achieves the near-magical feat of capturing the soul of Fitzgerald's novel-even in spite of the fact that Davis extensively altered major details of the story. Its publication by Cambridge on the eve of the centennial of the first publication of the novel renders it an indispensable companion volume to Fitzgerald's masterpiece.' Bryant Mangum, editor, F. Scott Fitzgerald in Context 'Meticulously edited by James L.W. West III and Anne Margaret Daniel, this authoritative edition of the 1926 stage adaptation of The Great Gatsby does more than fill a surprising gap in the scholarly canon. The play will also be entertaining and enlightening for students of the novel and the period - some may well judge it superior to many of the adaptations that have followed it. An essential contribution to Fitzgerald studies.' Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature and Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities, School of Advanced Study, University of London