Gatz

Gatz is a stage work by Elevator Repair Service, a New York City–based theatre company. It is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. In Gatz, the entire text of the novel is read aloud verbatim on stage by a small ensemble of performers, while characters and scenes are suggested through movement, props, and minimal staging. The production typically features live piano accompaniment and a restrained scenic design, emphasizing language, rhythm, and the book’s architecture over conventional storytelling.

The performance unfolds as a reading that becomes a form of theatre, with actors sometimes assuming roles or interjecting between readings while maintaining the flow of the text. Length and dramaturgy vary by production, but most performances run several hours and may include one or more intermissions. The piece is noted for its rigorous fidelity to the source text and for transforming a widely known novel into a live, cinema-like experience.

Gatz has been staged at venues across the United States and Europe, drawing attention from critics and scholars for its audacious approach to adaptation, its exploration of voice and performance, and its endurance as a long-form work. It has influenced discussions of verbatim theatre and literary adaptation in contemporary performance.

See also: Elevator Repair Service; The Great Gatsby; Verbatim theatre; Adaptation.