A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Moby Dick – Rehearsed

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2w, 12m

By Orson Welles
Adapted from Herman Melville

In this thrilling stage play from Oscar-winning writer/director Orson Welles, a Shakespearean theatre company presents Melville’s classic tale about Captain Ahab’s obsessive pursuit of the White Whale.

Moby Dick – Rehearsed

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 12m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
An ingenious idea is employed to accommodate the sweep of this classic story on the stage. The members of a Shakespearean company put down their rehearsal sides of Lear and curiously take up those of a new play entitled Moby Dick. On the rehearsal stage of platforms, the teasers overhead suddenly become yardarms with sails and a tall ladder becomes a mast. The platforms become the decks of the ship on which the cast sails through the storms and tribulations of the Pequod as they hunt for Moby Dick.
History
Moby Dick – Rehearsed premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on November 28, 1962. Directed by Douglas Campbell, the production featured Rod Steiger, Bruno Gerussi, Lex Monson, Roy Poole and Louis Zorich.
Performing Groups
A MEMBER OF THE COMPANY, later ELIJAH
A YOUNG ACTOR, later ISHMAEL
A CYNICAL ACTOR, later FLASK
A MEMBER OF THE COMPANY, later THE MASTHEADER and VOICE OF THE BACHELOR
A YOUNG ACTRESS, later PIP
A MEMBER OF THE COMPANY, later QUEEQUEG
A STAGE MANAGER, later CAPT. PELEG and VOICE OF THE RACHEL
A SERIOUS ACTOR, later STARBUCK
A MEMBER OF THE COMPANY, later DAGGOO
AN ACTOR-MANAGER, later FATHER MAPPLE and CAPTAIN AHAB
AN OLD PRO, later THE CARPENTER
AN ACTOR WITH NEWSPAPER, later STUBB
A MIDDLE-AGED ACTOR, later TASHTEGO
  • Time Period 19th Century
  • Setting An American theatre at the end of the 19th century.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“Admirably bold and imaginative.” – The New York Post
“An adventure in theatregoing. As I left the first performance I felt myself rather oddly shaky and breathless... There is nothing else anywhere near like Moby Dick in the theatre.” – The New York Daily News

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Author

Orson Welles

Author

Herman Melville

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