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FTC screens documentary on F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s time in Westport



By Fairfield Sun on May 26, 2015 in Arts, Features, Social, Spotlight, Theater 


The Fairfield Theatre Company will host a special evening dedicated to history and film as they host a special preview viewing of Boats Against The Current, a documentary about the life of one of the greatest authors to have lived in the area, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, and the time he and his wife Zelda Sayre lived in Westport, Conn. on Monday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m.
Inspired by a 1996 New Yorker article by esteemed Westport writer Barbra Probst Solomon, who first connected the Gatsby dots to Westpor, historian Deej Webb and author Robert Steven Williams have continued their study of the legendary author and his wife’s time spent just a hop, skip and jump away from the Fairfield Theatre Company. After interviewing more than a dozen scholars, digging into the archives at Princeton, making a presentation at the Fitzgerald Society Conference in Montgomery, Alabama and journeying to Burlington Vermont to film one of Fitzgerald’s granddaughters (who incidentally, rarely speaks to anyone), the Webb & Williams were able to uncover more evidence to support Barbara’s work.
Williams and Webb have also discovered that the Fitzgerald home in Westport was significant for much more than just inspiration of Fitzgerald’s classic literary tale, Gatsby, it’s a remarkable home is for sale and unprotected-meaning, anyone could buy it today and knock it down the next, just as they did Ray Bradbury’s home in Los Angeles, and Gustave Whiteheads home earlier this year.
This special event is an important spectacle for those who are fans of history as well as literature as Williams and Webb have been researching and will make their case through clips as for why Westport needs to save this home and give it the proper historical landmark it deserves and will even welcome special guest, Professor Walter Raubicheck, a Fitzgerald scholar from Pace University, as well as a film crew to record a future segment for the documentary.
Join the Fairfield Theatre Company in welcoming these two amazing gentleman who are standing up for history and literature as they try to preserve a glimpse of the rich past that was written about right here in Fairfield County.

For tickets, at $10 in advance, visit fairfieldtheatre.org or call 203-259-1036.