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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

AMERICAN HISTORY UNBOUND RETURNS TO CARNEGIE HALL WITH

“THE GREAT WAR & THE GREAT GATSBY”

ON MONDAY, APRIL 21 AND TUESDAY, APRIL 22

HISTORIAN AND NARRATOR JOHN MONSKY

RETURNS TO THE STERN AUDITORIUM / PERELMAN STAGE DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MAYER

WITH THE ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE’S AND STARRY BROADWAY CAST INCLUDING ADAM CHANLER-BERAT, NICHOLAS CHRISTOPHER, MICAELA DIAMOND, GRACIE MCGRAW, AND DIEGO ANDRES RODRIGUEZ

PERFORMANCES UNDERWRITTEN FOR UPCOMING TELEVISION PRODUCTION BY CITADEL FOUNDER AND CEO KENNETH C. GRIFFIN AND GRIFFIN CATALYST

New York, NY (April 9, 2025) – Following his sold-out 2023 performance of The Great War & The Great Gatsby, historian and narrator John Monsky returns to Carnegie Hall this spring with a bold re-envisioning of his critically acclaimed production. Performances will take place on Monday, April 21 and Tuesday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m.

Directed by Tony Award-winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), this newly reimagined production—equal parts concert, suspense, drama, romance, tribute, and exhibition of rare and iconic images and film from the National Archives—brings fresh insights, newly uncovered research, and additional musical selections to create a vivid and emotionally powerful journey for this musical and visual exploration of World War I.

A stellar cast has been assembled for this production, including Adam Chanler-Berat (Next to Normal), Nicholas Christopher (Hamilton), Micaela Diamond (Parade), Gracie McGraw (OWN’s “If Loving You Is Wrong”), and Diego Andres Rodriguez (Sunset Boulevard). Ian Weinberger (Hamilton) will serve as music supervisor, conductor, and arranger.

The performances of The Great War & The Great Gatsby will be filmed for a televised event, thanks to the generous support of Citadel founder and CEO Kenneth C. Griffin and his civic engagement initiative Griffin Catalyst. With the aim of “Catalyzing American Achievement,” one of Griffin Catalyst’s six priority areas is Freedom & Democracy, core ideas enshrined in John Monsky’s creative work at American History Unbound.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which marks the 100th anniversary of its publication this month, is a starting point as Monsky guides the audience through the war’s origins and its harrowing climax during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, as seen through the wartime experiences of both fictional and real-life figures:

• WWI veterans Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway
• Combat pilot Quentin Roosevelt, the son of President Theodore Roosevelt
• Soldier and music pioneer, Harlem Hellfighter, James Reese Europe
• Author Vera Brittain, a young nurse who loses everything in the war, except her determination to end all wars
• Charles Whittlesey, a shy New York lawyer leading a melting pot of soldiers trapped under fire in the Meuse-Argonne Forest
• New York debutante Flora Payne Whitney
• And Cher Ami, a homing pigeon who becomes an unlikely symbol of American resolve and fortitude.

Griffin said: “The bravery and sacrifice of American service men and women during the World Wars reflect a heroic commitment to our nation’s values,” said Ken Griffin. “I’m proud to support the stories of American History Unbound so that current and future generations can appreciate the sacrifices made to protect the freedoms we enjoy today.”

Mayer said, “John Monsky collides American history and American literature, great heroes and great protagonists, truth and fiction in order to paint a tender, patriotic, and unflinching portrait of our national spirit. It’s my deepest hope this portal to our past will help us find our way forward.”

Music from Irving Berlin, James Reese Europe, George M. Cohan, and others, help Monsky and the cast summon the voice of a generation set adrift, forever changed, and looking for answers. The performance will also feature a special appearance by Broadway Inspirational Voices.

“John Monsky has a unique talent for bringing history to life in a vivid and captivating way,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “He has an exceptional ability to blend music, visuals, and compelling storytelling to create deeply moving and insightful experiences for audiences. After many years of working together with him, we are thrilled to have The Great War & The Great Gatsby return to Carnegie Hall with its personal stories of heroism from World War I that still inspire and connect with us in profound ways today.”

Commenting on the production, John Monsky noted, “F. Scott Fitzgerald said that France was a land, England was a people, but America was something harder to utter. America was a willingness of the heart. This production is the story of World War I, but it is also about the willingness of the heart. There are 14,000 Americans buried in the war’s Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in France. In this production we take you there, so we can all remember why and how those lives were lost in the fight to make the world safe for democracy. We learn not just about our past, but about the history that shaped us.

Fitzgerald put Jay Gatsby right in the middle of the Argonne Forest. It was not just an accident that he put him there. He was sending us a message. In this production, you find out why. We are grateful to Ken Griffin and Griffin Catalyst for making it possible for us to share this important American story.”

A B O U T  J O H N  M O N S K Y

John Monsky is the creator, writer, and narrator of the American History Unbound series. His reverence for historical ephemera is at the core of his productions, with his meticulous research of flags and other tangible objects driving his narratives that explore landmark events in our history.

His lectures for the Carnegie Hall Presents series include The Vietnam War: At Home and Abroad (2018), We Chose to Go to the Moon (2019), The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day (2021), and The Great War & The Great Gatsby (2023).

In 2019, Monsky was honored by The New York Historical, where he has developed and workshopped many of his lectures and serves as co-vice chair. He has appeared on CNN, CBS, and NBC. Monsky serves on the board of directors of Rockefeller University and Yale University Art Gallery.

His flag collection, which he began in his boyhood, is nationally recognized and has been reported on in The New Yorker, Art & Antiques Magazine, and other publications. His historical research on George Washington has appeared in the Winterthur Portfolio.

Monsky graduated from Yale College as a history major, where he was awarded the White Prize in History and the DeForest Oratory Prize.

After attending Harvard Law School and working as a law clerk, he served as an attorney for the U.S. Senate Congressional Committee investigating the Iran-Contra affair. Monsky is a senior partner at Oak Hill Capital, an investment firm. He lives in New York City with his wife, Jennifer Weis. They have four children—Harrison, Annabel, Gillian, and Caitlin— and a dog named Flyer.

A B O U T  M I C H A E L  M A Y E R

Michael Mayer is an acclaimed American theatre director, filmmaker, and playwright, celebrated for his groundbreaking work across Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, film, and television. He won the Tony Award for “Best Direction of a Musical” in 2007 for Spring Awakening and has directed 21 Broadway productions to date. Currently: Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway, Aida at the Metropolitan Opera with recent credits on the national tours of Funny Girl and A Beautiful Noise. Select Broadway credits include: Spring Awakening, American Idiot (co-author), Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Side Man, A View from the Bridge, Everyday Rapture, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Head Over Heels. Off-Broadway, his credits include Whorl Inside a Loop (with Dick Scanlan), Love, Love, Love, and Stupid Kids. In London, he has directed Funny Girl, Spring Awakening, Thoroughly Modern Millie, American Idiot, Side Man, and Marnie (ENO). At the Metropolitan Opera, in addition to Aida, his productions include; Grounded, Marnie, Rigoletto, and La Traviata. Mayer’s film work includes Single All the Way, The Seagull, Flicka, and A Home at the End of the World. On television, he directed the pilot and first season of the critically acclaimed series “Smash.” His work has been recognized with numerous accolades, including Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Jefferson, Carbonell, and Drama League Awards. Mayer’s visionary approach to storytelling continues to shape and elevate the landscape of contemporary theater and beyond.

P R O D U C T I O N  C R E D I T S

The Great War & The Great Gatsby is produced by American History Unbound Inc. John Monsky is writer, creator, narrator and executive producer. Michael Mayer is director.

Trey Ellett is associate director. Ian Weinberger is music supervisor, conductor and arranger. Meredith Wagner is executive producer. Bethany Weinstein Stewert is production manager. Rick Miramontez, Alexander Diaz and Gene Graham are producers. Eric Duran is media producer. Reece dos Santos is associate producer. Josephine Hurshell-Hobson is assistant producer. Casting is by Jim Carnahan, CSA and Liz Fraser, CSA.

A B O U T  A M E R I C A N  H I S T O R Y  U N B O U N D

The American History Unbound series combines live music, performed by leading orchestras and celebrated Broadway actors, lecture, photographs and film from the National Archives, historic American flags, and material culture to explore watershed moments in American history.

These symphonic and visual journeys through history are commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Presents series. Created and narrated by historian John Monsky, programs to date have explored the Vietnam War, the race to the moon, D-Day, and World War I.

These works have been presented at Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center Opera House, The New York Historical, Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, Yale University, New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts and the New York Stock Exchange.

In December 2024, The Eyes of the World: From Day to VE Day was performed in the East Room of The White House for veterans. A performance with the legendary Boston Pops is currently streaming on PBS.org.

American History Unbound Inc. is a 501(c)(3).
www.americanhistoryunbound.com

A B O U T  G R I F F I N  C A T A L Y S T

Griffin Catalyst is the civic engagement initiative of Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin, encompassing his philanthropic and community impact efforts. Tackling the world’s greatest challenges in innovative, action-oriented, and evidence-driven ways, Griffin Catalyst is dedicated to expanding opportunity and improving lives across six areas of focus: Education, Science & Medicine, Upward Mobility, Freedom & Democracy, Enterprise & Innovation, and Communities. For more information, visit griffincatalyst.org.

A B O U T  C A R N E G I E  H A L L

Since 1891, New York City’s Carnegie Hall has set the international standard for excellence in performance. From Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Mahler, and Bartók to George Gershwin, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, and The Beatles, music-making by a long list of artists representing the best of every genre has filled Carnegie Hall over the years.

Today, the venue remains one of the world’s greatest concert halls and an active cultural destination for artists and audiences with offerings including series curated by acclaimed artists and composers, citywide festivals featuring collaborations with leading cultural institutions, orchestral performances, chamber music, new music concerts, and recitals; and the best in jazz, global, and popular music. Complementing hundreds of performances on its stages each season, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute creates extensive music education and social impact programs that serve hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, playing a central role in Carnegie Hall’s commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible. For more information, please visit carnegiehall.org

T I C K E T  I N F O R M A T I O N

Tickets for The Great War & The Great Gatsby, starting at $55, are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased on the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org, by calling (212) 247- 7800, or by visiting the Carnegie Hall Box Office at West 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. When purchased through carnegiehall.org or by phone, a non-refundable convenience fee of $10 applies per ticket. There is no convenience fee charged on any tickets purchased in person at the Carnegie Hall Box Office. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

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