BLACK HAWK — This year’s high school theater production from the Gilpin County School Theatre was The Great Gatsby. Set in the Roaring 20s, an age of contradictions, when morality and vice came to a peak. The puritanical prohibition of alcohol created widespread black markets, fueling addiction and recklessness.

The cast consisted of many new faces to Gilpin’s stage along with Gilpin’s seasoned actors. They portrayed a group of uncaring, social-climbing New Yorkers — some from old money and some whose newfound wealth was earned from organized crime, bootlegging, and gambling.

While shrouded in opulence and endless parties, they play out a cautionary tale of how greed, selfishness, and poor choices lead to tragedy. 

The bulk of the cast played an unsavory lot of aristocrats. Ellianah Raynes as Jordan Baker, a successful golfer, shared a seasoned portrayal of a deceptive gossip who is close friends with Daisy Buchanan, the lost love of Jay Gatsby.

Daisy, played by Annalise Hernandez in her first lead role, exhibited the torment of being trapped in a world where wealth and status are more important than finding one's true self.

While Gatsby served in World War I, Daisy chose to marry into an abusive relationship with wealthy Nick Buchanan, who was played by Paul Ferrante.

Ferrante, who has contributed much behind the scenes with lighting and tech in past productions, this year took to the stage and vehemently portrayed a depraved persona.

Other roles caught up in Gatsby’s world of wealth were sincerely portrayed by Mason Sechler as Meyer Wolfsheim, and Jack Butler, coincidentally as the Butler. Supporting roles were also filled by Amelia Bushey and Tori Turner.

Turner, who like Ferrante normally worked behind the scenes as stage manager, this year did that and also did a great job as the policewoman. 

Four characters in the play are examples of the exploited lower classes. George Weidler led the story as Nick Carraway. In his first lead role, Weidler played a modest Midwesterner transported into a world of excess. As the narrator, he candidly shared his experiences, and genuinely showed dismay as he interacted with the cast of degenerates.

Jett Hanssen played George Wilson, a mechanic whose wife Myrtle “steps out on him” to gain attention from the wealthy Tom Buchanan. Hanssen viscerally portrayed George in a cycle of self-victimization that leads him to tragedy as the chief antagonist in the tale.

Adele Fisher as the self-absorbed Myrtle not only acted well but shared her musical talent as a vocalist.

Music and dance numbers dotted the play with the choreography and talent of LA Dysart, highlighted by a tap dance with cohort Margaret Keller. The whole play featured a live soundtrack from pianist Rekha Ohal. 

The main character, Jay Gatsby, expertly played by Justin "JJ" Johnson, is the most likable character in the story. Driven by his love for Daisy, a wealthy sociality, Gatsby, a celebrated soldier, reinvents himself by secretly amassing wealth from the illegal sale of alcohol through a chain of corner pharmacies. As the viewer questions whether Gatsby is worthy of redemption, his obsession and shortcuts in life catch up to him in the end. 

After the production, Johnson, a graduating senior, expressed how “greatful” he was to Director Hannah Raynes and Technical Director Ryan Raynes. Playing on the “great” in The Great Gatsby, he shared gratitude for the opportunity to lead in the last four productions as he honed his acting skills.

Johnson will be attending the Raynes’ alma mater, Alfred University in upstate New York, with a $70,000 scholarship.

Johnson was strongly impressed with his classmates at Gilpin School. He appreciated how everyone supports one another, and that it doesn’t matter if a student is primarily an athlete or an artist; that either can still be in theater.

He noted how impressed he was that nine members of the cast were also football players and that every member of the cast had been in a sport before. He also appreciated the excitement of the last two weeks, and how, after four and a half months of work, the sets and acting all came together.

This year's production was lucky to have the set and costume design created by Scott Murphy and Sonya Prewitt. They, with the Rayneses, have created a team Gilpin students can depend on for this year after many other past productions.