The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay

In this sharply rendered riff, Douglass (The Taking of Jake Livingston) reimagines The Great Gatsby as a sprawling Harlem Renaissance–set story starring queer Black protagonists. After narrowly escaping the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, Nick Carrington follows his cousin, Daisy, to West Egg, a seemingly progressive, integrated academy in New York City. Instead of allowing him to pursue his journalistic aspirations, though, the principal, who is Black, informs Nick that he’ll train as an elevator operator. Nick soon finds himself butting heads with pompous, white West Egg Chronicle editor Charlie Buchanan and enamored with charismatic “Mulatto” student Jay Gatsby Jr., both sons of West Egg’s wealthy cofounders. Simultaneously, Nick self-publishes scathingly honest op-eds that confront prejudice, slowly growing into “someone bigger than I’d ever dared to dream of.” But as Nick wrestles with Jay’s unpredictable affections and suspicions about the Gatsby family’s wealth, it seems the only way to instigate real change is to break the law and risk his own heart. Though some uneven characterization mars this creative retelling, thought-provoking social commentary effectively centers issues of race, class, and identity. Ages 13–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Jan.)