In Pursuit of the White Whale

Lookingglass Theatre Company
Presents MOBY DICK
Adapted and Directed By David Catlin
From The Book By Herman Melville
June 7, 2017 – September 3, 2017

The Lookingglass Theatre version of Moby Dick is not our usual theater production.  You will not encounter a huge white whale nor will you see the fierce and roaring seas or a big boat sailing in pursuit. However, what you will see is the obsession of one man’s desire to avenge the world of a great evil that plagues the seas. But wait…don’t get upset get excited because their adaptation brings you into the lives of the men that dared to pursue this legendary whale.
The book which draws from Melville’s life and experience in the sea and as legend has it, was from an actual albino whale called Mocha Dick. Its illustrious and well-known ending is based on the actual sinking of a ship called the Essex by a whale. For those that never read the book, this classic story orbits around Captain Ahab unyielding fixation of an enormous and gigantic whale renamed Moby Dick.
A Whale of a story!
Ahab’s leg was severed off during a previous pursuit of the creature, made him even more gripped by his schizophrenic passion to kill the beast. Willing to sacrifice everything and seemingly anyone which includes his own life, he brings together a couple of lost souls seeking to find their own identity into the saga of life or death to defeat his nemesis.
One of the characters is Ishmael who travels from Manhattan Island to New Bedford with an ambiguous idea to join himself with a group of men on a whaling voyage. He misses the ferry and must find shelter but all of the inns were filled or overcrowded. His only lodging is with the seemingly crazy and peculiar tattooed Polynesian Queequeg; whose father is king of Rokovoko. This is where this adaptation changed into a harmonious ballet as Ishmael and Queequeg performs a marvelous nightmarish soiree. After listening to a sermon of Jonah, they both head to Nantucket to begin the reckless voyage of Moby Dick.
Directed by David Catlin, this version of Moby Dick will take you on a long arduous journey of seven men that came together at the ship Pequod. This 1851 published book that begins with “Called me Ishmael,” was taken to new heights literally. Mixed with what I would call Greek Mythology meets Circus Soleil, this play will keep you mesmerized with the different feelings of determination, dedication, destiny and the rebelliousness with reality. As I stated earlier, there is no giant whale but David, who we can only describe as one of the most passionate director’s we have ever met, brings to life this phenomenal creature in the form of spirits cascading upon the waters of your imagination.
It will make your imagination soar with excitement!
This theatrical edition of Moby Dick is filled with beautiful performances of ballet, drama and high wired aerial gymnastics that will delight your soul. From the spirits walking among the stage, to the magnificent and breathtaking dance of death to the seas; if you are an avid reader or sophisticated theater enthusiast, the escalation of spiraling scenes and the décor of emotions throughout this play will leave you overjoyed.  
We recommend this play.
The cast includes:
Kelly Abell (Fate #1, Innkeeper)
Jamie Abelson (Ishmael – evening performances)
Kareem Bandealy (Starbuck, Bunger/Lookingglass Ensemble)
Walter Owen Briggs (Ishmael – matinee performances)
Cordelia Dewdney (Fate #3, Mary Starbuck, Crone)
Micah Figueroa (Cabaco, Captain of New Bedford Whaleship)
Anthony Fleming III (Queequeg/Lookingglass Ensemble Member)
Raymond Fox (Stubbs, Captain Boomer, Captain Gardiner/Lookingglass Ensemble Member) 
Mattie Hawkinson (Fate #2, Sea Fate, Cetologist)
Nathan Hosner (CaptainAhab)
Javen Ulambayar (Mungun).

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