YOUR RESEARCH INCLUDED HIS LETTERS? There’s thousands and thousands of his letters, and also letters from Zelda to him, and from Scottie to him. His letters between him and [his editor,] Max Perkins, his letters between him and [agent] Harold Ober. They really let you know where he is at certain points in his life. And those gave me the jumping-off places, where I could do full scenes from those. Those were my guideposts.
STEWART O’NAN
BOOK-LAUNCH PARTY 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 7. East End Book Exchange, 4754 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. Free. 412-228-2847 or www.eastendbookexchange.com
WHAT DO READERS SAY INTERESTS THEM MOST ABOUT THE BOOK? A lot of them focus on Scott and Zelda, and they focus on those weird vacations they take [when she’s institutionalized]. And Scott’s position within the family as being that middleman between Scottie and Zelda, whose relationship is very, very fraught. [Readers] always thought of him as the wastrel: He’s the one who’s screwing everything up because of his drinking. When he’s trying to really hold
PITTSBURGH DANCE COUNCIL PRESENTS
it all together. The other thing is, a lot of people will say they didn’t realize he did so much work when he was in Hollywood. They’d been told by the biographies that this was all wasted time. That writing for the movies was beneath him, that he failed at it, and that it killed him.
WATCH: TrustArts.org/Evidence
YOU DISAGREE? I kind of think he regains his powers of writing. … I think part of the reason he died is that he overworked himself. But that’s because he was trying to do the [short] stories, and the novel and the screenplays all at once. The success he has out there — the Pat Hobby stories [spoofing Hollywood] are hilarious, and hold up to this day. The Last Tycoon, even unfinished, is widely seen as the best novel ever about Hollywood. His writing for Margaret Sullavan in Three Comrades wins her the best-actress award. And his writing for Vivien Leigh [in Gone With the Wind], at least some of it, helps her win the best-actress award. IS THIS A REVISIONIST PORTRAIT, THEN? It’s just more revealing. Getting a little bit closer. And getting the reader to feel it, and to really try to understand it from his point of view.
SAT, FEB 7 TH 2015 • 8 PM • BYHAM THEATER Featuring dancers from the Pittsburgh community.
Pittsburgh Dance Council is a division of
TICKETS START AT $19 • TrustArts.org/dance • 412.456.6666
DRI SCO L L @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
Opening Night January
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(through Feb. 22)
BRAHMAN/I a one-hijra stand-up comedy show
A compelling and hilarious show examining identity, curiosity, courage, and the assigned roles in which we often find ourselves trapped. “Temple of Comedy” Quantum’s pop-up club, 113 N. Pacific Avenue, Garfield For tickets, directions, and special events visit quantumtheatre.com 412.362.1713
ADITI BRENNAN KAPIL DIRECTED BY SHISHIR KURUP
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