LITERATURE LIVE! Returns to Bay Street With Virtual Production of MOBY DICK

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts has announced the return of Literature Live! with an online theatrical production of Herman Melville's American classic Moby Dick. This virtual production is adapted by Bay Street Theater Director of Education & Community Outreach, Allen O'Reilly, and directed by Associate Artistic Director, Will Pomerantz. The production airs online at baystreet.org on Tuesday, November 17, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 per household.

This 90-minute adaptation is based on the seminal 1851 Herman Melville novel Moby Dick; or, The Whale. Skillfully condensing and theatricalizing Melville's classic tale, the show features a versatile ensemble of actors who portray the book's unforgettable characters, including Ishmael, Queequeg, Starbuck, and Captain Ahab. For more information, contact Director of Education Allen O'Reilly at allen@baystreet.org. For press interviews contact mpintauro@baystreet.org.

Bay Street's Literature Live! presentation of Moby Dick boasts an exciting cast that features celebrated actor and East End native Harris Yulin; Broadway and stage stars Dan Domingues, Wonza Johnson, Nehal Joshi, John Kroft, and Trent Saunders; and Bay Street's Director of Education, Allen O'Reilly. The production is directed by Bay Street Theater's Associate Artistic Director Will Pomerantz, and features special video affects and editing by Mike Billings, an original score by Michael Holland, and costume design by Meghan O'Beirne.

Director Will Pomerantz notes, "This production will go well beyond the normal empty 'Zoom boxes' presentation, with actors merely appearing in street clothes in their bedrooms. Instead, all actors will be costumed, and will appear-via the magic of green screen technology-in front of exciting backdrops and settings created by designer Mike Billings. All the design elements are being created remotely (with costumes and green screens mailed to actors), and a wonderful original musical score will be created to add yet another dimension to this world-premiere 'virtual production.' We are continuing to work to raise the production values of our online presentations, and we think Moby Dick will be another step forward, as we explore the exciting possibilities of this new technology."

Following this online premiere, the home viewing audience is invited to "raise a cup of ale" alongside the cast as part of a talkback segment held via Zoom. This in-depth talkback segment featuring the show's creators and cast will also be provided to school groups following performances on other dates and times set specifically for their viewing needs.

Now in its twelfth year, Literature Live! is a BOCES-approved Arts-in-Education program designed specifically with middle and high school age students, their teachers, and administrators in mind. Plays are chosen from standards-based literature and are supported with teacher-developed lesson plans and reference materials. All performances are approximately 90 minutes in length, and provided free of charge to any school group, their teachers, and administrators. In the past, schools from as far west as Hempstead and Brentwood have enjoyed Literature Live! productions, and additional showings for those with special needs, including the Cleary School for the Deaf, have been provided, as well. With over 30,000 students and nearly 60 schools participating, Literature Live! remains a cornerstone of Bay Street's Educational outreach programming.
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As the 2020 presentation of Literature Live! will be virtual, schools from across the country can sign up for this free offering. This year's production, while available nation-wide, will garner special appeal by the East End community, with its roots planted firmly at the center of the American whaling industry. Melville's famous story of the whaling ship Pequod and the fate of its obsessive captain, Ahab (Harris Yulin), has become one of the most famous works of the American Renaissance of literature. The book established a later reputation amongst famous authors of the turn of the century, who praised the work for its portrayal of nineteenth-century American society and its romanticism of the whaling industry. Since its revival as a Great American Novel, it has influenced the works of novelists J.M. Barrie and William Faulkner, singer Bob Dylan, and artist David Klamen.

Harris Yulin (Ahab) appeared at Bay Street Theater in the Mainstage productions of Hedda Gabler and Frost/Nixon, and directed the 2012 production of Joe Pintauro's Men's Lives. Broadway credits include Hedda Gabler, Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Visit, Arthur Miller's The Price, The Diary Of Anne Frank, Lillian Hellman's Watch On The Rhine, and Athol Fugard's A Lesson From Aloes. He has performed in many plays off-Broadway, The New York Shakespeare Festival and regional. His production of Horton Foote's The Trip To Bountiful won many Lortel awards at the Signature Theatre in New York, playing an extended run before moving to The Goodman Theatre in Chicago. He began his directing career in 1970 at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, with a production of Candida, featuring Stanley Holloway. His first film was in 1968-John Barth's End Of The Road, adapted by Terry Souther and directed by Adam Avakian. Film credits include Clear And Present Danger, Scarface, Multiplicity, Ghostbusters 2, and Candy Mountain. Television credits include Ozark; Wiou, a series for CBS; and many other movies and series. He has done extensive work in radio and many narrations, the audiobooks of two Ross MacDonald novels, as well as Norman Mailer's The Castle And The Rock. He taught, acted, and directed at the Juilliard School for ten years.

Dan Domingues (Starbuck, Bildad, and Sailor) has worked Off-Broadway at The Sheen Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Public, Atlantic, 59E59, Rattlestick Playwrights, Gingold Group, Cherry Lane, and the Abingdon. Recently, he appeared at The Sheen Center in About Love, written and directed by Bay Street Theater Associate Artistic Director Will Pomerantz. Regional credits includes lead roles at The Alley Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, Goodman Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, The Cape Playhouse, A.R.T., Portland Stage, Studio Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Pioneer Theatre, and George Street among others. Television and film credits include Run All Night and Future '38, and Blacklist, Law & Order, 5A5B and West 40s. Dan has an MFA from the ART at Harvard and is an associate artist with The Civilians.

Wonza Johnson (Ishmael) is a South Carolina native whose Broadway and National Tour credits include "Hamilton" (First and Second National Tours). Regional credits include performances at The Muny, Music Theatre Wichita, and Theatre Under The Stars. He send his love and gratitude to Mom, Dad and Evalynn, DBA(Sheri T.) He thanks Bay Street for this amazing opportunity to create during this time. Wonza received a BFA from the University of Michigan. Instagram: @wonza1. Twitter: @wonjohn93.

Nehal Joshi's (Flask, Peleg, Fedallah, and Gardiner) Broadway credits include All my Sons, School of Rock, Threepenny Opera, Gettin' the Band Back Together, and Les Misérables (Original Revival Cast). Off-Broadway credits include Falling for Eve. Working (2008 revision, Drama Desk Award), Grand Hotel (Encores!). Select Regional credits include Disgraced (Arena Stage), Fly (La Jolla Playhouse), Peter & the Starcatcher (Actor Theatre of Louisville), Oklahoma! (Arena Stage), Mister Roberts (Kennedy Center), Les Miserables (Dallas Theatre Center), and Disney's The Jungle Book (Goodman Theater/Huntington Theater). Film and television credits include The Wire (HBO), Blackout (BET), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), and Search Party (TBS). He has done voice acting for the video game World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Twitter: @nehalpjoshi. Instagram: @nehaljoshi.

John Kroft (Melville) has performed for Bay Street Theater in Shakespeare's The Tempest and the 2018 Literature Live! adaptation of The Great Gatsby. He made his New York debut in Dan Cody's Yacht at MTC, in addition to having appeared regionally at such theaters as: Northern Stage, Pioneer Theater Company, The Williamstown Theater Festival, Eugene O'Neil's National Playwright's Conference, and The Chautauqua Theater Company. Television credits include Blue Bloods (CBS) and Red Oaks (Amazon). He has held leading parts in short films such as Compatibility, and narrated numerous audiobooks that can be found on Audible.com or Recordedbooks.com.

Allen O'Reilly (Stubb, Elijah, Perth, and Coffin) is Director of Education & Community Outreach at Bay Street Theater and has been an educator and professional actor for over thirty years. He has served as Artistic Director at Young Audiences of Atlanta, Education Director at Georgia Shakespeare and most recently Education Programs Manager at Cleveland Play House. Regional acting credits include Cleveland Play House, Geva Theatre, Clarence Brown, Alliance Theatre and Georgia Shakespeare for twenty- four seasons where Allen was an Associate Artist. TV/film credits include: Sleepy Hollow, TURN: Washington's Spies, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, The Assassin's Code, The Enormity of Life and the upcoming Wicked (The Wicked Trilogy).

Trent Saunders (Queequeg, Captain Boomer, and Sailor) was most recently seen in Bay Street Theater's 29th annual Starry Night Gala Telethon. Prior, he appeared in ACT of CT's production of Godspell (Jesus). He made his West End Debut last summer as Che in the Olivier-nominated revival of Evita, directed by Jamie Lloyd. He is an original cast member of Disney's Aladdin (Aladdin). He is sending much love to the entire Bay Street family in this crazy time.

Mike Billings (Special Video Effects and Editing) has designed the stage and lighting for Bay Street Theater productions Evita, Intimate Apparel, Death of a Salesman, The Great Gatsby, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, The Scarlet Letter, The New Sincerity, Conviction, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Lend me a Tenor, The Mystery of Irma Vep, My Brilliant Divorce, Tru, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crucible, The Miracle Worker, The Diary of Anne Frank, and Twelfth Night. He has designed the World Premiere of Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt at Theatreworks Silicon Valley, and Fredericia Theater in Denmark. He has designed for Abingdon Theatre and New York Film Academy, and regionally at the Laguna Playhouse, Rubicon Theatre, Quintessence Theatre, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and themed attractions at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Michael Holland (Original Music) is a com­poser, lyricist, orchestrator, music director, guitarist, keyboardist, and singer. He has joined Bay Street Theater numerous times, providing original music for the Mainstage productions of In­timate Apparel and Death of a Salesman, and the 2018 Literature Live! production of The Great Gatsby. As a composer and lyricist, his work includes Horizon Line (NEXT Fes­tival 2014), You're Gonna Hate This (54 Be­low, 2017, Joe's Pub 2013), Hurricane (New York Musical Theatre Festival 2009). He was also the orchestrator and vocal arranger for the 2011 Broadway revival of Godspell. Website: mi­chaelholland.com.

Meghan O'Beirne (Costume Designer) has an expansive background in cos­tume design, management, and wardrobe su­pervision, with her most recent job experiences within the past year being the Costume Shop Manager at Bay Street Theater and Wardrobe Supervisor on a national tour. She joined Bay Street as costume designer for their 2019 Literature Live! production of A Raisin in the Sun. She also enjoyed her time at Busch Gardens Williamsburg su­pervising in the costume shop, where she was given the opportunity to costume design two shows: OktoberZest and NightBeats Re-Vamped. Meghan is from Baltimore, Maryland, originally and received her MFA in costume design from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015. Check out her website for her work: costumesbymeghan.com.

Will Pomerantz is a writer and director who has developed new plays and musicals with such theaters as American Repertory Theatre, 2nd Stage, The Guthrie, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theatre, Hartford Stage, and the New York Theater Workshop. He is the first American director ever to direct for The National Theatre of Poland (Cinders by Janusz Glowacki), and his own scripts for the plays and musicals, This Side of Paradise, For The Last Time and About Love have been produced in New York and regionally.

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