(Above: Hayley Tavonatti and Antonio Lopez in Eugene Ballet’s Gatsby; photo by Ari Denison)
By Randi Bjornstad
Imagine the high style and society of the 1920s combined with that era’s jazz music, and you can begin to picture Eugene Ballet’s production of Gatsby, based, of course, on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby.
What makes it even more unusual and special is that the Eugene Ballet’s artistic director, Toni Pimble, created the choreography, and the jazzy music to which the ballet moves comes from none other than renowned composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, played live by Orchestra Next under the direction of Brian McWhorter. This ballet had its premiere eight years ago and recreates the lavish, self-centered, sometimes corrupt, and ultimately tragic story of The Roaring Twenties that Fitzgerald brought to life in print, set in locations ranging from upper-crust New York homes to beach houses to an automobile garage that includes a replica of the driver’s seat of a 1929 Mercedes Benz.
In the “and that’s not all, folks” vein, there also will be another ballet on the program, this one the never-before-seen world premiere of Eugene Ballet’s resident choreographer Suzanne Haag’s Portrait in Glass, which takes its story from two works by Tennessee Williams, his play, The Glass Menagerie, and his short story, Portrait of a Girl in Glass.
It’s also a story of love, conflict, and ultimately heartbreak, in this case as experienced by the members of one family in their relationships with each other. Haag has described her creation as intensely human, with extreme characters but relationships among them that probably can be recognized by many in their own lives.
In addition to the dancers, the set for Haag’s ballet draws on visual images from The Glass Menagerie, such as large glass animals, typewriters, even a fire escape.
Eugene Ballet presents Two Experiences of the American Dream: Gatsby and Portrait in Glass
When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10
Where: Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center for the Performing Arts, One Eugene Center (7th and Willamette streets), Eugene
Tickets: $25 to $65; $15 for youth and college students with current ID, available at the Hult Center box office, 541-682-5000, or online at eugeneballet.org or hultcenter.org
Note: Because of adult themes, this program is recommended for ages 12 years and older.
Siobhan Nickell in Suzanne Haag’s Portrait in Glass; Photo by Ari Denison
