The Delaware Hayes Thespians are taking the audience back to 1920s New York this weekend with their performance of “The Great Gatsby.” The book, adapted for the stage by Simon Levy, follows the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire who pursues Daisy Buchanan while drawing more people into his world of materialism and uncertainty.
“I really like the setting that it’s in, like the 1920s high-class thing,” said junior Nick Hejmanowski, who plays Jay Gatsby. “It’s really interesting for both sets and costumes.”
Hejmanowski is a staple in the Hayes Thespians; he played Plankton in “Spongebob the Musical” last spring and is also a member of the marching band.
So far, the crew has been hard at work transforming the stage into old-timey New York.
“I love building the sets,” said River Yatko, the stage left lead. “That is the most fun part because we just get to hang out in one little area and paint.”
However, this year the Thespians are facing a new challenge: The show runs with no pauses for a duration of approximately two hours, with the exception of a fifteen minute intermission. This means that the cast and crew have to work together to move the sets around stage, all while making sure the crew is never seen.
“The main difference is the lack of scene changes and just having to keep the play moving by changing locations on the stage,” Assistant Director Amanda Johnson said. “Keeping certain parts of the stage in the dark so that the crew can still move set on and off, because a play without a set is kind of boring,”
The crew has been struggling with figuring out where set pieces need to be and how to get them there.
“This year, we have a bit of a time crunch,” Yatko said. “We haven’t had as much time on the stage as we would like to have because of other things that we can’t control.”
Despite this obstacle, the Thespians are working their way around the stage to pull the show together.
“I love to see the show come together,” backstage sound assistant Kailyn Knutson said. “On day one there’s nothing, and then on the final day, it’s just like, ‘Wow, I did that.’”
Another key difference between this year’s play and previous years is the inclusion of band members. In past years, band members haven’t been able to participate in the fall play due to clashing practice schedules, but this year, directors have adjusted practice times to accommodate those involved in both activities.
“I’m doing band at the same time, which very heavily conflicts [with theater],” Hejmanowski said. “It’s like a child of divorced parents: we have an hour with band and an hour with the show.”
Regardless of complications with the set and the two activities having to share their members, the Thespians are working towards putting on a great show for the audience.
‘The Great Gatsby’ will be performed on Thursday, October 26 and Saturday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m.
“Tickets are available on DelawareHayesThespians.com,” Johnson said. “People should come because it’s gonna be a great show.”