Orson Welles’ stage adaptation of the classic novel by Herman Melville

Neil Patel, Set Design
Jared Aswegan, Costume Design
Michael Chybowski, Lighting Design
Fitz Patton, Sound Design and Music
Felix Ivanov, Movement
Deborah Hecht, Voice Coach

directed by Casey Biggs

SethDuerr in Moby Dick Rehearsed. Photo by James Culp.

Only a fool – or perhaps a genius – would adapt one of the greatest American novels for the stage.  Orson Welles was a bit of both.  Theater enthusiasts will love what Orson Welles has created out of that most famous tale, Moby Dick. Those who enjoy having their literature served up in delightful dramatic adaptations will find much to enjoy in this hybrid of Herman Melville's story adapted to draw a parallel between King Lear and Captain Ahab.  A troupe of actors abandon their rehearsal of a play about one unforgiving, vengeance obsessed man, King Lear, to recreate another of the same emotional stripe, Captain Ahab.  Set in an empty theater, a tyrannical actor-manager leads his crew and transports audiences to Captain Ahab’s fateful voyage across the open seas aboard the Pequod in search of the great white whale, Moby Dick.

Orson Welles understood the importance of treating the audience as a partner in creating illusion, which comes through vividly in this simple but riveting production.  Noted theater critic Kenneth Tynan wrote, “With this Moby Dick, the theater becomes once more a house of magic.”       

With the presentation of Orson Welles' Moby Dick Rehearsed The Acting Company will present William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and continue its 35-year tradition of bringing touring classical productions, talented young actors and teaching artists into communities across America.

Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Jesse L. Martin, Frances Conroy, David Ogden Stiers, Jeffrey Wright and Rainn Wilson are but a handful of actors whose careers have been developed by The Acting Company.  Honored by the Tony Awards for Excellence in Theater, the Company has won the Obie, Audelco, Citibank’s Excellence in Education and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. 

See for yourself what makes The Acting Company the most respected and praised touring repertory theater in America. 

 

MOBY DICK REHEARSED in NEW YORK CITY “I was greatly impressed.”                                          – Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal   To read the Wall Street Journal article "Welles and the White Whale" about The Acting Company and Moby Dick Rehearsed, click HERE. Buy New York Season tickets online now through www.theatermania.com for performances at Baruch Performing Arts Center starting May 6, 2008, or call TheaterMania at 212-352-3101. Tickets also available at the BPAC Box Office. Baruch Performing Arts Center (BPAC) East 25th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, NYC Photo: Michael Stewart Allen, Timothy Sekk and Seth Duerr in Moby Dick Rehearsed.   Photo by James Culp.