THANK YOU CHICAGO!
MOBY DICK - A MUSICAL
was selected to perform at the Chicago Music Theatre Festival
as part of Chicago Theatre Week
It was an incredible experience to put on this production
with this most amazingly talented and close-knit cast and crew!
MOBY DICK - A MUSICAL
was selected to perform at the Chicago Music Theatre Festival
as part of Chicago Theatre Week
It was an incredible experience to put on this production
with this most amazingly talented and close-knit cast and crew!
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Moby Dick Nearly Captured at CMTF Jeffery Lyle Segal - Times Square Chronicles, Feb. 12 2020 "The writing team bring their new musical version of Moby Dick to the stage, and damn near harpoon him. ...this is a very good show, which I think will only get better after this run." Read the complete review |
CHECK THIS OUT
The Cast and Crew for this show is absolutely amazing and talented - we are fortunate to have these people on board! Aaron Johnson, our Stubb, took William's shape note hymn and did a remix, Black Distress - The Vengeful God, which tells the whole Moby tale in a rap. Then he teamed up with Nate Hall, our Ishmael, to put out a soulful version of To The Sea, featuring Nate on vocals & sax. And Chris Jowett, our Bulkington, posted this on FaceBook: "This is so soon!! My first musical in four years and I'm not KIDDING you, I play a burly IRISH guy who leads the sailors of the Pequod in a huge Irish Drinking number! YOU'LL BE MISSING OUT IF YOU DON'T COME! The creators are an insanely talented group of people coming all the way from Spokane, WA to put this show on in Chicago. Support them and this Chicago cast and musical theater!" |
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Moby Dick - A Musical is a serious theater work with many light moments taken from Melville's epic adventure tale of man battling nature and his own inner turmoil as seen through the eyes of Ishmael, whose yearnings for adventure leave him the lone survivor who can tell the tale.
The Chicago Cast begins chasing the white whale. Individual pictures below and click for bios!
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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CHICAGO PERFORMANCE!
Is Ahab Ahab? is a short spoken soliloquy at the point where Ahab realizes he is losing control of his mind. This is a nice example of the music continuing to elevate the mood even when the characters are not singing.
To The Sea was not in the Civic production in 2019. The feedback and brainstorming after those performances led us to think we needed to cement the Ishmael-Queequeg friendship in people's minds and to add a feature song for Ishmael in Act 1. In this duet, Ishmael & Queequeg decide to set off on an adventure together.
I Alone Survived is the show finale from just after the wreck of the Pequod. A somber Nantucket mourns the loss of the Pequod crew as Ishmael's tragic tale ends in solace. The flow shows how quickly the ship and whale boats become the church on our small stage and gives at least a taste of the impact of a large cast chorus, even though it is not nearly as boisterous as the tavern or ship scenes.
Is Ahab Ahab? is a short spoken soliloquy at the point where Ahab realizes he is losing control of his mind. This is a nice example of the music continuing to elevate the mood even when the characters are not singing.
To The Sea was not in the Civic production in 2019. The feedback and brainstorming after those performances led us to think we needed to cement the Ishmael-Queequeg friendship in people's minds and to add a feature song for Ishmael in Act 1. In this duet, Ishmael & Queequeg decide to set off on an adventure together.
I Alone Survived is the show finale from just after the wreck of the Pequod. A somber Nantucket mourns the loss of the Pequod crew as Ishmael's tragic tale ends in solace. The flow shows how quickly the ship and whale boats become the church on our small stage and gives at least a taste of the impact of a large cast chorus, even though it is not nearly as boisterous as the tavern or ship scenes.
Moby Dick, adapted for the stage, necessarily passes over a few things you might remember from Herman Melville's epic 1851 novel, while adding a few things Melville forgot to include in his book. In order to tell the tale in two hours and survive, the thrust and spirit of the story have been preserved by highlighting a few key moments and characters, and the poignancy of the loss of the crew has been intensified by giving them wives, girlfriends, and children back home.
Several iconic moments jump out of the dusty pages and come vibrantly to life when staged and set to music. The musket scene, for instance, in which Starbuck faces the eternal philosophical debate whether it is right to kill Ahab in order to save the entire crew, becomes palpably frightening when witnessed live. Also, Ishmael's unlikely friendship and bonding with the initially threateningly foreign Pacific islander Queequeg starts out comically terrifying and winds up poignantly tender in a way that ink on paper simply can't convey.
As there are many stories within Moby Dick, there are many ways to tell them. We have chosen to keep Ishmael as our narrator, allowing him to come forward here and there throughout the adventure to turn the pages of our book. Even though the drama follows the obsessed Ahab, pursues the great white whale, and shares the loss of the Pequod's crew, it is Ishmael's story to tell, as he alone survives to tell the tale.
Ishmael, a young man at loose ends, arrives at the Spouter Inn where Nantucketers drink, dance, and plan for their next whaling voyage. Ishmael must share a bed with Queequeg, whom he believes to be a cannibal. But they become fast friends and sign on the Pequod together. Meanwhile, a physically and psychologically injured Captain Ahab rebuffs the pleas of his wife to stay on shore. On the Seaside Road, Aunt Charity bustles about outfitting the ship as the sailors gather their articles and go aboard.
Once at sea, Ahab promises a gold doubloon to whomever first sights his perceived nemesis, Moby Dick, the whale who took his leg. Once the hold of the Pequod is filled with casks of oil, Starbuck begs Ahab to head for home, but Ahab reveals his obsession to find and destroy Moby Dick. Even as the citizens of Nantucket wonder about the fate of the Pequod, Ahab grapples with the leviathan, dooming the crew and the Pequod herself to a watery grave. Ishmael, alone, lost and adrift on Queequeg’s coffin, survives to tell the tale and turns, at last, toward the warm comforts of home and country.
Several iconic moments jump out of the dusty pages and come vibrantly to life when staged and set to music. The musket scene, for instance, in which Starbuck faces the eternal philosophical debate whether it is right to kill Ahab in order to save the entire crew, becomes palpably frightening when witnessed live. Also, Ishmael's unlikely friendship and bonding with the initially threateningly foreign Pacific islander Queequeg starts out comically terrifying and winds up poignantly tender in a way that ink on paper simply can't convey.
As there are many stories within Moby Dick, there are many ways to tell them. We have chosen to keep Ishmael as our narrator, allowing him to come forward here and there throughout the adventure to turn the pages of our book. Even though the drama follows the obsessed Ahab, pursues the great white whale, and shares the loss of the Pequod's crew, it is Ishmael's story to tell, as he alone survives to tell the tale.
Ishmael, a young man at loose ends, arrives at the Spouter Inn where Nantucketers drink, dance, and plan for their next whaling voyage. Ishmael must share a bed with Queequeg, whom he believes to be a cannibal. But they become fast friends and sign on the Pequod together. Meanwhile, a physically and psychologically injured Captain Ahab rebuffs the pleas of his wife to stay on shore. On the Seaside Road, Aunt Charity bustles about outfitting the ship as the sailors gather their articles and go aboard.
Once at sea, Ahab promises a gold doubloon to whomever first sights his perceived nemesis, Moby Dick, the whale who took his leg. Once the hold of the Pequod is filled with casks of oil, Starbuck begs Ahab to head for home, but Ahab reveals his obsession to find and destroy Moby Dick. Even as the citizens of Nantucket wonder about the fate of the Pequod, Ahab grapples with the leviathan, dooming the crew and the Pequod herself to a watery grave. Ishmael, alone, lost and adrift on Queequeg’s coffin, survives to tell the tale and turns, at last, toward the warm comforts of home and country.
THE CREW
Ed Bryan - Book & Lyrics | William Berry - Music | Jean Hardie - Director | Annie Flood - Music Director
Ed Bryan - Book & Lyrics | William Berry - Music | Jean Hardie - Director | Annie Flood - Music Director
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THE MUSIC YES! It's Moby Dick - A Musical! Here are a few highlights - please give a listen! SETTING SAIL WITH A TAILWIND
In the fall of 2014 Ed Bryan was inspired to write a musical play based on Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick,” and since then he has been pursuing the project as if it were his own white whale. In December 2015 William Berry got on board to compose the musical score and orchestration for this project. Early in the voyage, there were a couple of table readings to assess the script and music completed at the time. In April of 2019, with partial support of a SAGA grant from Spokane Arts, Spokane Civic Theatre helped mount a four-show staged reading, directed by Jean Hardie, in order to evaluate and hone the show even further. For that production, the script and music was complete, it was done off-book and costumed, and it was quite successful, selling out all four performances. Based on feedback from that presentation, there has been a process of cutting, refining, and rewriting parts of the script and music to make further improvements. Moby Dick – A Musical was submitted to the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival, which presents all-new musicals every year as part of Chicago Theatre Week, and we were accepted. What a great honor, and what a wonderful opportunity to take our show to the next level and have it seen by audiences from all over, not to mention exposure to people in the world of theater business and production! |
THE CHICAGO CAST
Ahab - William Garry
Ishmael - Nate Hall Queequeg - Peter Ruger Starbuck - Kyle Kite Mary Starbuck - Ginny Weant James Starbuck - Charlie Scriven-Young Annie (Ahab's Wife) - Hannah Silverman Father Mapple - Grant Brown Stubb - Aaron Johnson Flask - Stefan Schallack Bulkington - Chris Jowett Tashtego & Daggoo - Nicholas Pardo & Sean Rhead Aunt Charity - Melody DeRogatis Captains Bildad & Peleg - Zander Galluppi & Peyton Lynch Elijah - Sean Rhead Fedallah - Grant Brown Pippin & Doughboy - Courtney Miller & Kevin Blair Peter Coffin - Peyton Lynch Soddy, Gail & Sally, the Spouter Women - Theresa Egan, Hope Campbell & Aszkara Gilchrist Captain Gardiner - Zander Galluppi Pascal Innocenti - Violin CAST & CREW BIOS |