Dave Malloy is going conceptual with casting the title role in Moby Dick

I read an article recently where he went into greater detail about Moby Dick.  He said that it will be about 5 hours long and 4 acts long, with each act being a differently styled show.  It sounds absolutely incredible and I can't wait to see it.

There was a workshop of his Moby Dick in Berkeley Rep this month (or it's coming up?). I know some of the actors involved and I understand it is pretty spectacular. 

This sounds like the same vain as Ghost Quartet, but definitely broader and much longer. I cannot wait to see more about this project!

schubox said: "Didn’t want to start a new thread, but I talked to Dave after the presentation for Octet at the Guggenheim on Sunday and asked him specifically about Moby Dick. He said it’s coming December this year. He knows where but could’t tell me. But he said somewhere else on December, then it would move to NYC"

I certainly won't complain about more of Dave's work being produced  

Did any other details emerge about Octet? Tickets go on sale soon, and I'm wondering if casting will be released before then.

Kitsune said: "schubox said: "Didn’t want to start a new thread, but I talked to Dave after the presentation for Octet at the Guggenheim on Sunday and asked him specifically about Moby Dick. He said it’s coming December this year. He knows where but could’t tell me. But he said somewhere else on December, then it would move to NYC"

I certainly won't complain about more of Dave's work being produced

Did any other details emerge about Octet? Tickets go on sale soon, and I'm wondering if casting will be released before then."

Two actors were there and each sang a song. One was Starr Busby, I cant remember the other woman’s name. The whole thing is acapella, but with the lack of the full cast Dave played the piano. 

They showed pictures of the set. It’s set in an AA style group meeting in a church basement. There is a circle of chairs around the chairs the cast sits in where the audience sits. Then there looked to be a standard audience section as well.

I enjoyed both songs. One was a woman who was lying in bed while her husband ignored her and constantly looked at his phone. The other was a woman who found someone in the internet ands felt beautiful for the first time. 

I’m really bummed I won’t be in town to catch the show

bungalowbob2 said: "It's co-produced by Berkeley Rep and The Public. If it's not getting its premiere in NYC it'll probably be out in California I'd imagine."

That was my thought as well. I asked him specifically if it was going to Berkeley but he said he wasn’t allowed to say 

Call_me_jorge said: "I hope Dave Malloy ends up as like Stephen Sondheim or something. None of his shows are successful financially, but they are forever ingrained in the American musical theatre canon and are just technically the best, but just not loved as much. Compared to his counterparts Pasek&paul and Lin who are the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s of this current generation of musical theatre writers and write decent shows that just become way too overrated."

You owe apologies to P&P, Lin AND Sondheim.

Updated On: 3/7/19 at 09:53 PM

Call_me_jorge said: "I hope Dave Malloy ends up as like Stephen Sondheim or something. None of his shows are successful financially, but they are forever ingrained in the American musical theatre canon and are just technically the best, but just not loved as much. Compared to his counterparts Pasek&paul and Lin who are the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s of this current generation of musical theatre writers and write decent shows that just become way too overrated."

This is my favourite comment on this board ever. I love Dave's work and I can't help but feel he's WAY ahead of his time. 

GavestonPS said: "Fan123 said: "I'm guessing that this is the article icecreambenjamin references above:http://www.broadwaybox.com/daily-scoop/five-burning-questions-with-great-comet-creator-dave-malloy/. I'm a fan of Dave Malloy and all, but to me at least, this doesn't bode well: "WithMoby Dick, duration and a sense of boredom have to be part of the story."....

Arthur Miller saidsomething similar in his stage directions to Act I of ALL MY SONS. He wanted the audience to get a feeling for life in the MidWest. He did NOT mean the audience should be bored; he was talking about the characters.

John Heggye dealt with the tedium of a long voyage in his recent opera of MOBY DICK. It wasn't at all boring to see or hear, but it motivated the crew's growing impatience with Captain Ahab."

I asked him about runtime too. I thought I had once heard it was 4+ hours and I asked iof that was ture, and he said more like 3.5 hours

Call_me_jorge said: "I hope Dave Malloy ends up as like Stephen Sondheim or something. None of his shows are successful financially, but they are forever ingrained in the American musical theatre canon and are just technically the best, but just not loved as much. Compared to his counterparts Pasek&paul and Lin who are the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s of this current generation of musical theatre writers and write decent shows that just become way too overrated."

wtf Lin Manuel is nothing like Andrew Lloyd Webber, you need to retract that statement

 

also i cannot wait for this show... what is taking it so long??