Plains gym is transformed

PLAINS-Monday night Plains was treated to a full on professional production play. In a matter of just a day, the Plains High School gymnasium became a working theater with lighting, audio, props and an elegant backdrop. The Montana Repertory Theatre Company, based out of the University of Montana in Missoula, was the one responsible for transforming the center court into Long Island, New York, the setting for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, “The Great Gatsby.”

“The Great Gatsby,” is a story of a Midwestern man, Nick Carraway, who moves next-door to a rich man, Jay Gatsby, who lives a lavish lifestyle , and hosts extravagant parties. Eventually, Carraway is lured by Gatsby into the luxurious lifestyle, and is eventually ensnared into a plot of madness, love, and tragedy. Yet, in time, Carraway will see through the allure of “The Great Gatsby.”

The entire gymnasium became part of the production, with track lighting, screens, props lined up in order for scenes, hundreds of feet of wire, and a table with a master electrician controlling the audio and lighting. The backdrop itself was two walls of pillars, with glass doors put together to look like the mansion of Jay Gatsby. An extra wall provided an opening for actors and props to be moved in and out with ease.

As part of the company’s visit, students from the high school helped with behind the scenes work. Tierra Person, a senior, was allowed to help decorate and set up the backdrop. “I helped decorate it!” she exclaimed. She described how on Monday that she was allowed to work between first period until after lunch.

The actors themselves, with years of experience, some professional, and others attending college for acting, all performed with liquid smooth accents, synonymous with the time. It was evident that these were professionals visiting the town of Plains.

Humor was a great deal of the play, and the audience laughed along and was engaged the entire time. The actors responded to the enthusiasm of the audience and vice versa. The play was energetic, and the way it became part of the basketball court, which was only feet from the bleachers, made it all the more immersive.

A group of nine women from Plains were dressed up in garb from the “roaring twenties,” as they called it. “A few of us went to the Gala at the Repertory Theatre, which is a fabulous dinner, dance and performance in Missoula... We got a group of friends and we all went and dressed up from the roaring twenties to come out and support the arts,” said Denise Moreth.

A student from the Plains High School, Savannah Anderson, thoroughly enjoyed the play. “I read the book four times.” she said after she described how closely the play matched the book. She said she was surprised at how well the production handled some scenes. Person also was surprised with how the company treated the story and thought it would have been different.

On the same day the company put the play together, they took it down and were on the road the next day. The company’s next destination was Bozeman.