Melvilliana: A Suite of Poems
written and performed by Angela Alaimo O'Donnell
In this cycle of poems, lauded poet Angela Alaimo O'Donnell recites from her work inspired by the writings of Melville. Conceived as an homage to the author and his themes, the poems will be given a dramatic interpretation by the poet.
Voyage E
The First Lowering
by Laura Livingston
Ishmael and the crew of the Pequod go out in the whale boats, for the first time of the voyage, to chase a pod of whales. A cast of ten performs Melville's text, almost as an athletic event, evoking the ship, the whale boats, the chase, the ocean, the whales, a storm, a capsizing, and a rescue at sea. By the author of Pearl of Great Price (Hawthornucopia), Inconvenient River (Twainathon), and The Purloined Detective (Poefest.)
William Bell
by Alejandro Morales, directed by Scott Ebersold
a Packawallop production
In a not too distant future, after an economic collapse, luxury liners shelter the very rich from the squalor of the cities. Summoned by his superior Lucas Brown, William Bell must entertain Edwards, a drunk passenger. In a dark bar on board the ship, the connections between all three men are illuminated forcing them to confront what they desire and what they'll never possess. Inspired by Melville's Billy Budd.
Voyage F
A Tanglewood Tale
A staged reading of a full length play by Juliane Hiam
From 1850-1851, Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne's became neighbors and friends in the Berkshire Mountains. While Hawthorne labored at the "House of the Seven Gables", and Melville finished Moby Dick, both men struggled with critical acceptance and financial security. This historical drama, first produced by Shakespeare and Company in 2001, is drawn from their and their families' journals and letters.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Thursday, January 15th at 9 pm: A reading of Trav S.D.'s new adaptation of Melville's The Confidence Man. Melville's last novel, interpreted for the stage by Trav S.D., author of 2007's No Applause Please, Just Throw Money.
Sunday January 18th at 7 pm: An evening with novelist Nicole Galland, author of The Fool's Tale (HarperCollins 2003). Ms.Galland will read from her current work Moby Rich, a serialized novel currently being published weekly in the Martha's Vineyard Gazette.
Tickets are $18.00 per "Voyage." Student and senior discounts are $15.00. TDF vouchers are accepted. Visit www.metropolitanplayhouse.org for more information and to purchase tickets online or call 212-352-3101 for phone orders.
