Minnesota Public Radio Presents Patricia Hampl's "The Big Time: F. Scott Fitzgerald" Sept. 18 at The Fitzgerald Theater

Aug 23, 2010

F. Scott Fitzgerald's grand- and great-grandaughters to also appear on-stage

Minnesota Public Radio's The Fitzgerald Theater to be honored in The National Register of Historic Places

WHAT: An original production commissioned by Minnesota Public Radio, Patricia Hampl debuts "The Big Time: F. Scott Fitzgerald," a staged storytelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's heroic--perhaps crazy and finally heartbreaking--dream of success and his determination to make his mark.

The evening will feature passages from Fitzgerald's letters to his wife Zelda, to his friends (Ernest Hemingway, Edmund Wilson and others) and from his notebooks, charting his struggle to pull away from his provincial background to the limitless horizon of his ambition.

Hampl will be joined on stage by Dan Chouinard, who will host an ensemble of musicians creating sounds of the period. The evening's performance will be introduced by Eleanor Lanahan, F. Scott's granddaughter, and the show will include a special musical performance by Blake Hazard, F. Scott's great-granddaughter.

The evening will also be a kick-off of the Fitzgerald Theater's Centennial Season and celebrate the theater's placement in The National Register of Historic Places.

The lobby bars will stay open after the show where the audience is encouraged to linger and meet the cast.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, September 18

WHERE: Minnesota Public Radio's The Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul

TICKETS: $29 or $25 for MPR members. Tickets can be purchased at the MPR Box Office, 651-290-1200.

TUNE IN: This program will be recorded for broadcast September 24, the 114th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald's birth, at noon on Minnesota Public Radio News, 91.1 FM in the Twin Cities, with a re-broadcast on Sunday, September 26, at 6 p.m.

About the Fitzgerald Theater
The Fitzgerald Theater is St. Paul's oldest theater and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. This 1,000-seat theater is committed to programming that reflects the audience and mission of Minnesota Public Radio. It also acts as MPR's largest broadcast studio, with airwaves reaching millions of people tuned in to A Prairie Home Companion. Our staged productions commission authors, artists and radio hosts to create intellectually stimulating programs that delight and enlighten our vast public radio community.