The works of literature's greatest authors come to focus this week through song, dance and film.
The highly anticipated "The Great Gatsby," based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's beloved novel, opens in theaters nationwide on Friday. The Baz Luhrmann adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Tobey Maguire is Hollywood at its grandest. The star-studded movie is matched by a critically-acclaimed soundtrack that features powerful vocalist Lana Del Rey and hip hop star Will.i.am. A new edition of the Fitzgerald classic, on bookstands now, includes a cover with DiCaprio as the tragic hero Jay Gatsby. The novel, first published in 1925, continues to see record-high sales today.
On the heels of Gatsby's successful revival, the Washington Ballet will premiere a new production based on Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises." The performance will include modern, whimsical choreography directed by Septime Webre. In an interview with The Washington Post, Webre notably explained that dancers will also embrace the central role of alcohol in the story, drinking in the production to create a sense of authenticity. The ballet will open at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday.
In a similar spirit of recapturing the past, Orson Welles' theatrical adaptation of "Moby Dick" has been updated in a new production by the Brave New World Repertory Theatre company. "Moby Dick Rehearsed" is staged as a play within a play and incorporates nautical artifacts. The play, held last weekend and continuing May 10 to May 12, takes place at the Waterfront Museum in New York, where the Lehigh Valley Barge will be transformed into Captain Ahab's ship.
