The Moby Dick Blues – June 7-22

ABOUT

Playwright Michael Gorman’s epic new blues/rock opera The Moby Dick Blues begs the question “What was Ahab, but an addict really, and what was Moby Dick but an allusion to opium, and heroin, its contemporary scourge?”

In a tale that stretches across generations and ancients—lost mariners, lost souls, lost lives—this iconoclastic working-class opera about a New England fishing community’s daunting quest for survival and transformation in the face of the opiate crisis calls for a reevaluation of Ahab’s vengeful obsession with the White Whale, and our own destructive relationship with nature, the environment, and ourselves.

Told through lyrics and live music that span the spectrum from blues, spoken word, rap, and rock, this enthralling theatrical experience and environmental installation takes us down to “the crossroads” where the past and future collide in a dramatic struggle for the soul of a community.

 

CAST

CREDITS

Michael Gorman (Playwright /Producer/Experimental Theater Artist/Advocate)

Michael Gorman and his production company—The Forty Hour Club—are long-time residents of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in New York City, where Mike has a long-standing history and has produced many of his plays over the past 25 years. As an artist, advocate, and tradesman, Gorman embraces the collaborative spirit of the job-site to tackle major issues and bring an authentic working-world perspective to the stage. His work focuses on the social, environmental, economic, and systemic challenges facing working communities, and the paramount issue of sustainability.
Through his art & advocacy theatrical model—“Chasing The New White Whale—Harpooning Addiction”, and through his work with the addiction/recovery and reentry communities, Gorman has been able to directly address the opioid crisis taking place in fishing and working communities in his home State of Maine, and beyond. His latest epic work—“The Moby Dick Blues”—is the product of a seven-year developmental journey deep into the heart of the opiate epidemic in New England.

Creatives/Production Team

WRITTEN & CREATED BY: Michael Gorman
PRODUCED BY: The Forty Hour Club
Michael Gorman/Donna Daly
DIRECTED BY: Joe John Battista
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Mari Tompkins
MUSIC DIRECTOR: Kavi Gasper
SONG LYRICS BY: Michael Gorman
SET DESIGN:
The Forty Hour Club
SET INSTALLATION:
Donald Eastman
LIGHTING DESIGN: Christopher Akerlind (Obie & Tony Award Winner)
COSTUME DESIGN: Angela Wendt (Multi-Award Winner) 
ASSOC. COSTUME DESIGN: Sarah Boyden
SOUND DESIGN:  Iaan Fine
STAGE MANAGER: Sara Gierc
PRODUCTION MANAGER:
Donna Daly
COLLABORATING ARTIST: Gregory De La Haba
LEAD CHOREOGRAPHER: Sevin Ceviker
SONG CHOREOGRAPHER: Mackenna Goodrich

BAND

LEAD GUITAR: Joe John Battista
KEYBOARD: Kavi Gasper
BASS/PEDAL STEEL & LAP STEEL GUITAR: Ron Raymond
DRUMS: Zianni Orange