Dive into the roaring 20’s with Beyond the Page’s upcoming show, Just Great: A retelling of Some Book by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This production is written by Dani Solar, a playwright and actress whose work has won the Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play or Musical at the Helen Hayes Awards in 2023.
Just Great takes place in two time periods. It’s a parallel between F. Scott Fitzgerald writing a book in the 1920s, and a group of modern-day teenagers reliving what Fitzgerald wrote.
“[Just Great] tells the story of a significant piece of literature,” Oliver Lankina, sophomore, said..
The show features aesthetics of the roaring 20’s and art deco flair with a modern, meaningful twist.
“If you focus on the actual meaning behind the words, the characters and the actions that they take, then you’ll probably understand [the play] on a deeper level,” Beeh Work-Dembowski, sophomore, said.
This play is double-cast, starring James Schwartzman and Shane Sayles as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Beeh Work-Dembowski and Ayla Collins will be playing Zelda Fitzgerald.
Just Great is special because it is the first time Beyond the Page is putting on a show for students during the school day. This will happen on Feb. 11. Carl Sandburg students are also invited during the school day to see a showing on Feb. 4.
This year, juniors in AP English Language are reading Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby in class. Those classes will be going to the exclusive matinee for students to see the play.
“Juniors this year are reading ‘The Great Gatsby’ so I think they would like this,” Shane Sayles, sophomore, said.
Opening night is Wednesday, Feb. 4, and shows will run daily for the rest of the week til Saturday, Feb. 7 They will then continue Wednesday Feb. 11 to the 13.
“This is a play for everybody. I think a lot of different types of people could enjoy it. I would recommend giving it [the play] a watch,” Dembowski said.
Tickets cost $10 for students and $15 for adults and can be purchased at westpotomactheatre.org. More information about the play can be found on Beyond the Page’s official Instagram, @westpotheatre.
