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Jonathan Goldberg's 'The Wizard Of Wall Street'

In collaboration with the New York-based theater company Waterwell, the Indiana University Department of Theater and Drama presents a workshop-style production of The Wizard of Wall Street: The Life and Achievements of Financier/Railroad King Jay Gould.

A Jay Gould Revival

Playwright Jonathan Goldberg and Waterwell's composer Lauren Devine report thinking that Jay Gould was an important industrialist who had "fallen through the cracks." To borrow words from the poet Carl Sandburg, Gould was a "player with railroads."

Waterwell's director Tom Ridgely graduated from Indiana University in 2002. "I liked it then, and I'm glad to be back now," Ridgely says. "In some ways The Wizard of Wall Street is a new approach for us. It's the first time that we've worked with a playwright and a worked out piece. The Wells-Meta Theater is quite a facility. It suits our style very well; we're happy to have the opportunity to work in it."

Something New

Actor Sean McNall plays the part of Jay Gould. "Although Tom mentions that working with a script for the musical is a new approach for Waterwell, I have to say that working with a script in progress is pretty new for me. Most of my theater work is in classics, where the text is pretty well set. Frankly, it's been a challenge, but a very rewarding one."

Listen: WFIU Arts intern Allison Tyra summarizes the project (MP3)

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