Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, passionately pursues the elusive Daisy Buchanan. Nick Carraway, a young newcomer to Long Island, is drawn into their world of obsession, greed and danger. A beautifully crafted interpretation of the 1925 novel which defined the Jazz Age, Simon Levy’s play captures the breathtaking glamor and decadent excess of the 1920s. Ticket prices:  $55 adult; $50 senior; $25 students of all ages To purchase tickets online, please follow this link. COVID PROTOCOL:  It is no longer necessary to present evidence of vaccination prior to admittance into Ivoryton Playhouse. Masks are not required, but are encouraged. The Playhouse will consider any future guidance from the CDC and the State of Connecticut to determine if changes to our Covid protocol are necessary.

Gabe Belyeu* (Meyer Wolfsheim / Ensemble) comes straight from the Mac-Haydn Theatre where he was seen this summer as Zach (A Chorus Line), Officer Lockstock (Urinetown), Dr. Fine/Madden (Next to Normal), and Harold (The Full Monty); as well as premiering his solo show A Call to Places. National Tours: Showboat, R&H’s Cinderella, Cameron Macintosh’s Oliver!, Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley. Regional: Cervantes/Quixote (Man of La Mancha), Gomez (The Addams Family), Lawrence (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Sir Galahad (Spamalot), Roger de Bris (The Producers). Thanks to friends and family for their support! Check out www.gabebelyeu.com and follow @jgbel on instagram. Greg Brostrom* (Tom) is very excited to be making his Ivoryton Playhouse debut.  THEATER OFF-BROADWAY:  Man in Sign of the Times (with Javier Munoz), Husband in Harold Pinter’s The Lover, Sebastian in The Tempest (NY Classical Theater).   REGIONAL THEATER:  Richard III in Richard III, Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher, King of Navarre in Love’s Labour’s Lost (American Shakespeare Center), Captain O’Hurley in Fly (Cincinnati Playhouse), Cyrano De Bergerac Cyrano (National Theater for Arts and Education).  TELEVISION:  credits include roles on Mr. Robot, Blacklist, FBI, Power, Succession, American Horror Stories, Blue Bloods, and more.  FILM: The Good Neighbor, Works in Progress, and the award winning short film This Feels Right.  He also graduated with an MFA in Acting and Directing from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Carlyn Connolly* (Jordan) is a NYC-based performer and start-up founder. She was last seen at the Ivoryton Playhouse in 2019 in Cabaret (Fraulein Kost). Additional regional credits include The Sound of Music (Elsa Schraeder), Fun Home (Helen Bechdel), Hello, Dolly! (Irene Malloy), An American In Paris (Milo Davenport), and White Christmas (Betty Haynes). Carlyn has performed as a soloist with orchestras in the US, Canada, and across Asia, and is a founding member of Always Andrews: A Tribute to the Andrews Sisters. Endless thanks to Todd and Jacqui for this long-awaited opportunity, and a special shout out to Stephen, Alison, David, and Verena. Love always to Mom, Dad, Devin, and Melissa. www.carlynconnolly.com Joseph Cordaro (Nick) is thrilled and grateful to be returning to Ivoryton. He last appeared here in Brighton Beach Memoirs back in ’07. Here’s what he’s been up to in the 13 years since: NY/Regional theatre – The Crucible (Hunger Theatre), The Three Musketeers: 20 Years Later (Hudson Warehouse), The Foreigner (Shadowland Stages), Three Christs (Dixon Place), The Tiny Mustache (JCC Manhattan), The Oddity (Theater for a New City). Film/TV – In The Basement There’s Some Money (short), Ride By Night (short), Inside Amy Schumer (TV). He also received a BFA in acting from Pace University. Rebecca Ellis (Mrs. McKee / Ensemble) Rebecca is thrilled to be working at Ivoryton Playhouse. Credits include Into the Woods (Madison Lyric Stage), Sweat (Capital Classics Theatre Company), Masks and the Monster (The Other Voice), Birthday Boy (Dissecting Civil Rights Play Festival), Gross Domestic Product (HartBeat Ensemble) and the world premiere of A Memory of Truth (Madison Lyric Stage). Lots of love to Brian and Jacob. Siobhan Fitzgerald* (Myrtle)  Siobhan Fitzgerald is so excited to be back at the Ivoryton Playhouse! She was last seen in Ivoryton’s productions of Shear Madness (Barbara DeMarco) and I Ought To Be In Pictures (Libby). Other favorite theatre credits include; Cosette (Les Miserables), Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre), Louise (Gypsy), Cinderella (Cinderella), Ariel Moore (Footloose) and Meg March (Little Women). Additionally, Siobhan has sung regionally in classical productions including operas with the Martina Arroyo Foundation’s Prelude To Performance and the New York Grand Opera. Erik Kochenberger (Jay Gatsby) is beyond excited to make his Ivoryton Playhouse debut. He earned his BFA from NYU’s Tisch School for the Performing Arts. He is a member of the WorkShop Theater and has been performing in NYC and regionally, as well as in film and television for nearly a decade. Credits include: In This Place (Theatre Row), Macbeth (DCPA), Other Desert Cities (HPAC), The Dudleys: A Family Gameshow (HERE Arts Center). Film/Television credits include FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), Rosie (Writing and Directorial Debut), Three Pregnant Men (3PM Productions), and Against the Night (Ball Four Productions). Special thanks to his agents, mom and dad, and KP. You know who you are! Daniel Rios, Jr.* (George Wilson) Regional: Young Nerds of Color (Central Square Theater), Fences (The Umbrella Stage Company), Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare & Company), ROE (WAM Theater) White, Black, and Blue (Silverthorne Theater Company),The Merchant of Venice (Valley Shakespeare Festival). Film/TV: The Other Two, Shadows of the Dust, Katie Fforde: Ein Haus am Meer (A House at the Sea) Training: MFA University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts Katharina Schmidt (Daisy) is thrilled to make her Ivoryton Playhouse Debut! THEATRE REGIONAL: Lusia A Shayna Maidel (Playhouse on Park), INTERNATIONAL: Ensemble The American Family [devised] (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), NEW YORK: Rachel Chinese Opera and a Modern Drama (Lenfest Center for the Arts), Woman of Corinth Medea (Lenfest Center for the Arts), Ms Gamboa Brian’s Poems (The Secret Theatre), Elsie Ice Front (The WorkShop Theater) BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY: Elizabeth Bennet Pride & Prejudice, Kitty Oppenheimer The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Theater Major. Director:  Todd Underwood Stage Manager:  Laura Lynne Gonzalez* Scenic Designer:  Martin Scott Marchitto Lighting Designer:  Marcus Abbott Sound Designer:  Jacob Zonderman Costume Designer:  Elizabeth Saylor Projection Designer:  Tiffany Hopkins * member of Actors Equity

Essex Historical Society Gatsby themed walk of Ivoryton:  Saturday, October 1st at 1pm (before Saturday matinee performance). The Great Gatsby Gala – an Ivoryton Playhouse fundraiser:  Sunday, October 23rd starting with 3pm closing performance of The Great Gatsby followed by hors d’oeuvres, cocktail bar, champagne, music, dancing and possibly some mayhem.  Tickets are $150 each or $500 each for Patron Level seating. Thank you for your support of Ivoryton Playhouse! To book tickets, print out the RSVP form and mail with payment or email form to Krista at krista@ivorytonplayhouse.org

Check back here for press releases, photos and video clips! The Great American Novel on Stage at Ivoryton Playhouse Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Adapted for the stage by Simon Levy No book has captured the essence of America in the 1920s with such damning insight as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s THE GREAT GATSBY, opening on stage at the Ivoryton Playhouse on Thursday, September 29^th. An American classic and a brilliantly evocative work, THE GREAT GATSBY is often referred to as “The Great American Novel”. First published in 1925, this quintessential story of the Jazz Age sold no more than 25,000 copies in Fitzgerald’s lifetime. It has now sold over 25 million copies and is treasured by generations of readers. The story tells of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan; of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” Nick Carraway, a young newcomer to Long Island, is drawn into their world of obsession, greed and danger. Simon Levy’s beautifully crafted play captures the disillusionment as well as the decadent excess of the 1920s. The play was originally scheduled to be produced in May of 2020 and most of the cast have been patiently waiting in the wings since then. The play is directed Playhouse Associate Artistic Director, Todd Underwood. Gatsby has long been a favorite of his and he is delighted finally to be able to put it up on stage in Ivoryton. “This is the story of the American Dream and the lengths we will go to attain it. Love is at the crux of that dream and so, of course, we are blind to the consequences of our actions.” The cast includes Carlyn Connolly* (Cabaret) as Jordan, Joseph Cordaro (Brighton Beach Memoirs) as Nick and Siobhan Fitzgerald* (I Ought To Be In Pictures; Shear Madness) as Myrtle. Making their Ivoryton debut are Gabe Belyeu* as Wolfscheim/Ens., Greg Brostrum* as Tom, Rebecca Ellis as Mrs. McKee/Ens, Erik Kochenberger as Jay Gatsby, Daniel Rios, Jr.* as George Wilson and Katharina Schmidt as Daisy. THE GREAT GATSBY runs through Sunday, October 23rd, 2022. Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm; evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm. Sunday, October 23rd is a special performance and Gala at 3pm. Our patio bar will now be open from 7pm on Friday and Saturday nights before the show where we will be serving red and white wine, rose, prosecco and beer. Cash and credit cards accepted. Come early to the Playhouse and enjoy a relaxing drink before the show. Tickets are $55 for adults, $50 for seniors, and $25 for students. Tickets are available online at ivorytonplayhouse.org or by calling the box office at 860.767.7318. (For information on group rates, please call the box office.) For more information on the entire 2022 season, visit ivorytonplayhouse.org. The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton. Looking for something to do? Ivoryton Playhouse has been voted best place to see live theatre by readers of The Shoreline Times for three years in a row. Come to Essex and visit our historic, professional theatre – a Connecticut treasure!