The Camel's Back

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Camel’s Back” is a sparkling Jazz Age comedy of pride, champagne, misunderstandings, and one extremely unfortunate camel costume.

Perry Parkhurst, a perfectly polished young lawyer from Toledo, reaches the end of his rope when a quarrel with his glamorous sweetheart, Betty Medill, leaves him heartbroken and humiliated. In a moment of wounded bravado, he lets himself be swept into an evening of reckless celebration—one that ends with him renting a shabby camel costume for a high-society circus ball.

What follows is a cascade of Fitzgerald-perfect chaos: mistaken identities, furious flirtations, a dancing camel, a drunken taxicab driver, and a cotillion gone completely off the rails. And at the heart of it all, a romance dangling between disaster and destiny.

Equal parts farce and charm, “The Camel’s Back” showcases Fitzgerald’s gift for sharp social satire, irresistible characters, and the comedic madness of love. Performed with rich personality by Tony J. Martin, this classic short story comes alive with all the wit, warmth, and wild energy of the Roaring Twenties.

A romp. A riot. A romance. And yes—there really is a camel.