Rum, whiskey and moonshine. Oh my!

Just about everyone knows the story of The Great Gatsby. Well, everyone except for me. I was never required to read it in school so I decided to check out this “great American classic”. As I was reading I wondered what the 20’s must have been like with the 18^th Amendment and the prohibition of alcohol. In the book, Daisy’s lover, Jay Gatsby, is a man made wealthy by the illegal distribution of alcohol. The plot was very interesting, but the idea of prohibition seemed to intrigue me more since we are going to portray people living in that time period.    

In 1920, it was made illegal to manufacture, sell or transport alcohol over a 0.5 percentage. Since there was a one year period before the Amendment was put into action, citizens had time to stock up on soon to be illegal booze. For everyone else, there were speakeasies. These were secret underground type clubs where liquor was as prominent as in any other bar and the law was frequently paid off the leave them in peace. As it turns out, there was a loophole in the 18^th Amendment. Nowhere did it state that citizens were not allowed to consume illegal beverages. This created a huge demand for alcohol and people began to smuggle rum for the Caribbean and whiskey from Canada. Since most people get a sense of satisfaction of getting away with doing things that aren’t particularly legal, I can imagine the parties of the 1920s were quite fun.

Though story of The Great Gatsby left me feeling a bit sad, I think it’s a rich story line with a fantastic plot. I’m beyond excited to perform it. The music is fun and flirty, just like many of our dance moves. Ron has done a fantastic job creating organized chaos on stage and I’m sure it will excite our audiences as much as it does me. I’m glad I researched the prohibition period to get a better perspective on what the time period was like. Come join the fun at out Prohibition Party at the Memorial Auditorium on February 10^th!  

-Evelyn