Directed by Casey Biggs.

In our 2007/08 season, The Acting Company presented Orson Welles' stage adaptation, Moby Dick Rehearsed, adapted from the classic novel by Herman Melville.

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.

OrsonWelles 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.”       

"The Acting Company’s production transforms Orson Welles’ play into deeply affecting theater.  Director Casey Biggs and a team of extremely talented actors and designers create a mesmerizing theatrical tour-de-force that should be seen by young audiences and avid theater goers alike." 

Appearing in photos: Michael Stewart Allen, Timothy Sekk, Seth Duerr, Kelley Curran, Peter Macklin, David Foubert, Louis Moreno, Christopher Oden. Photos by James Culp.