Students come together for ‘The Wizard of Wall Street’ performance

Liars, tycoons and Wall Street, oh my!

“The Wizard of Wall Street: The Life and Achievements of Financier/Railroad King Jay Gould” will premiere at 7:30 p.m. today at the Wells-Metz theatre.

The musical, shown through the eyes of Jay Gould, the infamous 1800s railroad tycoon and ruthless businessman, puts a whole new spin on Wall Street and the man behind the evil facade.   

The IU Department of Theatre and Drama has teamed up with the Waterwell, a highly acclaimed New York theater company, to present this play for the Bloomington community.

“We have some alumni that have put together this really exciting theater program,” said John Kinser, the director of audience development for the IU Department of Theatre and Drama.

He said he finds the fusion between Waterwell, which was founded at IU, and current IU students unique and interesting. This union between past and present IU students is the result of musical’s director Tom Ridgely, who is also an IU alumnus.

Debbie Izzo, a junior majoring in theatre and drama, said that she had been looking forward to the show for a while.

“It’s really exciting to see professional actors like Jordan Gelber from Avenue Q and IU alumni like Nicole Parker from Mad TV performing on a college campus,” she said. “As a theater major, you really get a lot of inspiration from these professional actors and seeing them on an IU stage.”

Spirits are high at the Wells-Metz as Ridgely and his cast packed full of past and present Hoosiers plan to bring the true Jay Gould alive through song
and dance.

“It’s professional actors, IU students on an IU stage performing a new musical,” Izzo said. “What could be better?”