2019 stage musical
Moby-Dick musical in four parts with lyrics, music and book by Dave Malloy . An adaptation of the classic 1851 novel by Herman Melville , the musical made its world premiere in December 2019 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts , directed by Rachel Chavkin .[ 1]
Production history
Part III: "The Ballad of Pip " was performed as a standalone jazz song-cycle at Joe's Pub on March 20, 2014.[ 2]
On July 26, 2019, and July 27, 2019, a 90-minute concert of excerpts from Moby-Dick was performed at the American Museum of Natural History , in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life underneath the whale.[ 3]
The musical had its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 11, 2019, after one week of previews.[ 1]
Musical numbers
Prologue The Sermon – Mapple
Etymology – Ishmael Part I "The Doubloon" "Loomings" – Ishmael, Company
"Knights & Squires" – Ishmael, Company i. Knights & Squires (I)
ii. Knights & Squires (II)
iii. Isolatoes "A Bosom Friend" – Ishmael, Queequeg, Company
"Ahab" – Company
"The Quarter-Deck" – Ahab, Starbuck, Company
{Whalesong Interlude (I)}/The Albatross – Daggoo, Pip
Sunset – Ahab, Company Part II "The Honour and Glory of Whaling" Cetology – Ishmael, Company
Stubb Kills a Whale – Company
Fedallah – Fedallah
The Whale as a Dish/Cutting In – Stubb, Company
A Squeeze of the Hand – Company
The Pequod Meets the Bachelor – Boomer, Sailors
The Try-Works – Ishmael, Fedallah, Company
{Whalesong Interlude (II)} – Tashtego
The Cabin – Ahab, Starbuck
Dusk - Starbuck, Company
Part III "The Ballad of Pip; or, The Castaway" Pip – Ishmael
Tambourine – Elijah, Company
Shanty – Shanty Singer, Company
Ocean – Mapple, Company
Coda – Ahab, Pip Part IV "The American Hearse" The Pacific – Queequeg, Ishmael
Sextet – Company
The Pequod Meets the Rachel – Gardiner, Company
The Symphony – Company
The Chase – Company i. First Day
ii. Second Day
iii. Third Day Roll On {Whalesong Interlude (III)} – Tashtego, Daggoo, Company Epilogue
Cast
Character
Original Cambridge Cast (2019)[ 4]
Ishmael
Manik Choksi
Captain Ahab
Tom Nelis
Father Mapple /Captain of the Albatross/Captain Boomer of the Bachelor/Captain Gardiner of the Rachel
Dawn L. Troupe
Queequeg
Andrew Cristi
Fedallah
Eric Berryman
Starbuck
Starr Busby
Stubb
Kalyn West
Flask
Anna Ishida
Tashtego
Matt Kizer
Daggoo
J.D. Mollison
Pip
Morgan Siobhan Green
Sailor 1/The Blacksmith
Ashkon Davaran
Sailor 2/The Carpenter
Kim Blanck
Reception
The Cambridge production was generally well reviewed, with praise for the music and the work of scenic designer Mimi Lien in particular, while common criticisms included the 3+ 1 ⁄2 -hour length and "The Ballad of Pip" section. Don Aucoin of the Boston Globe wrote that it was "ambitiously conceived and superbly executed ... if occasionally self-indulgent,"[ 5] [ 6] The Arts Fuse criticized the production for trying to adapt the entire book, and for "forcing" contemporary parallels.[ 7]
References
^ a b McPhee, Ryan (Dec 11, 2019). "World Premiere of Dave Malloy's Moby-Dick Musical Opens December 11 at the American Repertory Theater" . Playbill . Retrieved December 26, 2019 . ^ "Dave Malloy's official website" . Retrieved January 22, 2020 .^ Gans, Andrew (May 14, 2019). "Museum of Natural History to Present Excerpts From New Dave Malloy Musical, Moby-Dick" . Playbill . Retrieved December 24, 2019 . ^ "Moby-Dick" . American Repertory Theater . Retrieved December 26, 2019 .^ Aucoin, Don (Dec 12, 2019). "A captivating 'Moby-Dick' that ripples through time" . Boston Globe . Retrieved December 27, 2019 . ^ Clay, Carolyn (Dec 13, 2019). "In The A.R.T.'s Musical 'Moby-Dick,' The Whale Is An Extraordinary Sum Of Diverse Parts" . WBUR-FM ARTery . Retrieved December 29, 2019 . ^ Caggiano, Christopher (Dec 20, 2019). "A Musical "Moby-Dick" Lumbers from its Seabed at the A.R.T." The Arts Fuse . Retrieved December 29, 2019 .
