THE SETTING — The Kaufmann Concert Hall at the 92nd Street Y. All 917 seats were filled; in the lobby, latecomers clamored fruitlessly for extra tickets to ”Zelda, Scott and Ernest,” a dramatic reading of the letters and writings of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, written by George Plimpton and Terry Quinn.
THE BUZZ — The stage darkened, and spotlights pooled on Mr. Plimpton (Scott), Norman Mailer (Ernest) and Norris Church, Mr. Mailer’s wife (Zelda). The show opens with an ebullient 1919 telegram from Scott to Zelda (”I declare everything glorious!”). But, over two decades, their love letters disintegrate into accusations of drunkenness and insanity. Scott (in an orange tie) grows colder while Zelda (in a black and orange velvet dress coat) grows more fragile and both descend into despair. Ernest (in khakis) offers compliments and concern for Scott and criticism of Zelda, and all three sigh over what could have been.