Finalist for Mach 33 Festival

Last week, I announced that my play Dark Night of the Soul had made the longlist of shows being considered by the Free Spirit Theatre. Unfortunately, the play ended up not making the shortlist for the company.

However, my play Bones of the Sea has now been named a finalist for the 2019 Mach 33: Caltech/Pasadena Playhouse Festival of New Science-Driven Plays. Three winners are slated to be announced shortly.

Mach 33 seeks to foster conversations around science, math, and technology. It presents staged readings of unpublished new work, hosted by the Pasadena Playhouse, but produced by Caltech Theater. Plays are presented by casts including Caltech students, faculty, staff, and other members of the community. All readings are followed by post-show discussions with playwrights.

Bones of the Sea tells the true story of Mary Anning, a working-class woman and religious dissenter who revolutionized the scientific world at the beginning of the 19th century. Anning was the ultimate outsider: wrong class, wrong sex, wrong religion. Yet she managed to make remarkable contributions to the world, and I think it's about time to tell her story.

The script had a reading in New York City with a cast of wonderful theatre veterans, including Jessica Vera, Steven Haworth, Gordon Stanley, and Carole Monferdini. Elephant Room Productions subsequently did a reading of the play and featured it on a podcast.

In addition to Bones of the Sea, Mach 33 also chose as finalists ProjectX by Taylor Hatch, Sizzle Sizzle Fry by Susan Bernfield, The Surest Poison by Kirsten Idaszak, and Ushuia Blue by Caridad Svich.

Wish me luck!

Our First Read of BURNED

Tonight, composer Joshua H. Cohen and I had our first table read of our new musical Burned.

We debuted some songs from Burned earlier this year as a part of Golden Fleece's Square One Series. Hana Slevin and Owen Beans sang the parts of Pamela and Gerald, and they helped us out again tonight, reading those same roles.

Burned is inspired by A.A. Milne's play The Lucky One about two brothers and their shifting fortunes. We’ve reset the piece during the 2008 financial crisis. We also gender swapped the character of the family lawyer, which worked quite well when read this evening by Erin Leigh Peck.

Other actors who read for us included Doug Rossi, Mat Hostetler, Gordon Stanley, Nick Luckenbaugh, Ali Gordon, and Joan Barber. Thanks to all involved!

Two Chances Left to See MOBY-DICK at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater

My stage adaptation of Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick closes on July 18th. That means there are only two chances left to see this amazing production at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater.

The production, beautifully directed by Christopher Ostrom, stars (pictured below from left to right) Lee Seymour, Joseph Pietropaolo, Freddie Biddle, James Marin, Wesley Volcy, and Gordon Stanley. (Photo courtesy of Michael and Suz Karchmer.)

Curtain is at 8:00 pm Friday and Saturday. For tickets go to:

MOBY-DICK at WHAT

Last weekend to see MOBY-DICK on Cape Cod!

All good things must end, and sadly, this weekend will be your last chance to see my stage adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater on Cape Cod.

Final performances will be this Thursday through Saturday, July 16th through 18th, at 8:00 pm. Christopher Ostrom did a wonderful job directing this production (not to mention designing the spectacular set), so if you haven't seen it yet, I hope you will soon.

Should you need any further incentive, check out these wonderful photos by Michael and Suz Karchmer of the production! First off, here's Gordon Stanley as Father Mapple (far right), delivering the famous sermon on the Book of Jonah:

Queequeg, played by Wesley Volcy (center with harpoon), signs up to ship with the whaler Peequod.

Stubb, played by Joseph Pietropaolo (far left), looks on as the crew lowers to hunt a whale:

Ishamael, played by Lee Seymour (center), narrates as the whale meets its grisly doom:

The old cook Fleece, played by Freddy Biddle, tries to speak to the murderous sharks:

The mad sailor Gabriel, played by James Marin (far left) delivers a chilling prophesy:

And here is the whole case assembled:

Remember, there are only three more performances, so catch this show before it sails away!

Aboard the Pequod

I've returned from Cape Cod, where Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater has now opened their wonderful production of Moby-Dick. The first weekend went well, and performances resume tonight. Moby-Dick runs at WHAT until July 18th.

The radio program Arts Week on WOMR earlier did an interview with Gordon Stanley and Lee Seymour who play Captain Ahab and Ishmael respectively. Of course the Boston Globe, not surprisingly, gave the show a less than stellar review, but they hate anything and anyone local. The Cape Cod Times gave a somewhat more balanced reaction.

What does the play look like? Well director Christopher Ostrom, who also designed the set, created some wonderful stage moments, utilizing Bailey Costa's lighting design and Nancy Leary's costumes, which appropriate modern clothing to invoke a mythic past.

Photographers Michael and Suz Karchmer took some wonderful photos during our dress rehearsal. Here is Lee as Ishmael confronting the Landlord (played by Joseph Pietropaolo) at the beginning of the play:

Ishmael then encounters Queequeg, played wonderfully by Wesley Volcy.

The two sign up with one of the owners of the Pequod, Captain Peleg (played here by James Marin), to join the crew of the ship.

Aboard the Pequod, the entire crew vows to hunt Moby-Dick, even the reluctant first mate Starbuck (played by Freddy Biddle) whose honest eye falls downright.

After many adventures, Captain Ahab sights the white whale!

The crew is off in hot pursuit.

Alas, the ill-fated Pequod has but one survivor.

Excited to see it? All performances are at 8 pm, except for a special 6 pm Independence Day showing on July 4th, so make sure you get your tickets!

And our first review is in!

Last night was the opening of my stage adaptation of Moby-Dick at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. The folks at WHAT, led by director Christopher Ostrom, did a great job, and I'm very proud of our fabulous actors.

And now we have our first review! We've gotten a rave from international media juggernaut Wrong Side of the Camera! Okay, so WSOTC happens to be run by my friend Natalia, but the world-famous blog raves: "head over... to check out this wonderful cast"!

Here's a picture of that wonderful cast, photographed by Michael and Suz Karchmer. Pictured left to right are Lee Seymour, Joseph Pietropaolo, Wesley Volcy, James Marin, Gordon Stanley, and Freddie Biddle.

Moby-Dick runs until July 18th, so I hope you can make it!

We've Set Sail!

Last night was the first preview of Moby-Dick at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. We had a small but enthusiastic audience. Tonight, we have our second preview at 8:00, and then tomorrow we open!

Also, Steve Desroches wrote a lovely article that appeared in Provincetown Magazine. Hopefully it will get lots of people to come see the show. He even interviewed yours truly. (Hopefully that at least won't keep people away!)

Moby-Dick plays through July 18th. The cast features Gordon Stanley as Ahab and Lee Seymour as Ishmael, along with an ensemble that includes Freddie Biddle, James Marin, Joseph Pietropaolo, and Wesley Volcy. Christopher Ostrom directed the production.

Theater on Cape Cod

Yesterday was our second day of rehearsal for Moby-Dick at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. Before we had rehearsal, however, Gordon Stanley and Lee Seymour, who play Ahab and Ishmael, did a radio interview with our fearless captain, director Christopher Ostrom.

The interview was up in Provincetown. I had never been there before, so I snagged a ride with Gordon and Lee and walked around the place. The architecture is beautiful, and I was particularly struck by an old church that has been converted to a public library.

Apparently, the interview went well, as Lee and Gordon seemed happy afterward. We got some lobster rolls and clam chowder and headed to the theater. It was the second day of rehearsal, but I quickly had a couple of tweaks to make to the script. We mainly just did table work for Act One, but we'll be working on Act II today.

After rehearsal, the cast headed over to Moby-Dick's Restaurant. (Where else would we go?) There was more good seafood, and we got ready to see Seminar at W.H.A.T. Seminar stars Alan Campbell, but also features some of our housemates here in company housing, Satomi Blair, Rachel Casparian, and Jacob Heimer, as well as local actor Ben Berry.

Seminar was great. I missed this Theresa Rebeck play when it was on Broadway, so I was glad to see it here, wonderfully directed by Christine Toy Johnson. The production is only running until June 13th, so if you'll be out on Cape Cod anytime before then, make sure to check it out.

I'm looking forward to rehearsal for Moby-Dick today. Tomorrow, I head down to New York, and I won't be back on the Cape until tech week. Fortunately, the cast is excellent, so I'm sure it will be a great production!

Moby-Dick, Day One

Today was our first rehearsal of Moby-Dick at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. I finally got to meet the director, Christopher Ostrom, in person, and to see his magnificent set design. Audiences are in for a treat!

We had our first read-through of the script, which has had a few changes since the last staged reading at the Abingdon Theatre Company. Fortunately, Gordon Stanley, who played Ahab in that reading, is back to play that role again.

The rest of the cast includes Lee Seymour as Ishmael, Freddy Biddle as Starbuck, Joseph Pietropaolo as Stubbs, Wesley Volcy at Queequeg, and James Marin as Gabriel. Of course, other than Lee, everyone is playing multiple roles, so it's great we have such a versatile cast.

Tickets are on sale now at W.H.A.T., so get them soon! The show runs from June 18th through July 18th.

A Time for Singing

On Saturday, I hope you all come to see my play THE STATE OF COLORADO v. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS  at the Bad Theater Fest. However, if you're free on Sunday, you might want to head over to the York Theatre for their Musicals in Mufti presentation of A Time for Singing.

Based on Richard Llewellyn's novel How Green Was My Valley, this 1966 musical tells the story of a Welsh coal-mining town that goes through a bitter strike. The first act shows the happy memories of Huw, played as a boy by Dylan Boyd and as an older man by Greg Walter. The wedding that ends the act, however, is interrupted by a whistle signaling a strike. From here on out, the play goes to some very grim places indeed.

The original musical was criticized chiefly for its length. The York has trimmed by the dialogue, but the first act has a total of nineteen different musical numbers! The rather superior second act has a more manageable eight numbers.

Composer John Morris, who later went to Hollywood to work on (among other things) Mel Brooks movies, reportedly couldn't bring himself to trim the show. It's a pity, as this is a case where less really would have been more.

Musicals in Mufti are not full productions, but rehearsed staged readings. Though this is not a full production, it is likely to be one of your few chances of seeing an obscure piece of Broadway history. The performers are all quite game, and their talent shines through even with minimal rehearsal time.

Broadway veteran Gordon Stanley plays the patriarch of the Welsh family in the play. As Dada, he is by turns stubborn and conciliatory. Barbara Marineau (another Broadway veteran) plays his wife, Beth, who is capable of challenging not just him, but even God in her fight for her family.

For more information and for tickets go here:

York Theatre

http://www.yorktheatre.org/mufti-info-a-time-for-singing.html

Meet the Crew

Tomorrow, June 1, my adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick will be done as a reader's theatre presentation as a part of the Abingdon Theatre Company's Sunday Series.

The show is at 7:00 pm at the Abingdon, 312 W. 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan.

You can get tickets here:

Sunday Series

Tickets are $20, but blog readers can use the discount code "BigFish" for $5 off.

The production is directed by Dev Bondarin and stage managed by Jodi M. Witherell. I thought you might want to meet the folks playing the crew of the Pequod. Here they are:

Alex Herrald Theater: Please Continue, Carry the Zero (Ensemble Studio Theatre). Just Right Just Now (Lesser America). Life And Times (Soho Rep/Public Theater). These Seven Sicknesses, The Wundelsteipen, Future Anxiety, Just Cause, and #serials@theflea (Flea Theater). Victor Frange Presents GAS! (Incubator Arts). The Consequences (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre). Film: The Conservatory (College Emmy Award winner). Webseries: Wiggles (Channel 101/dir. Kris Knight). www.alexherrald.com

Russell Jordan worked with director Dev Bondarin earlier this year in the Manhattan Theatre Works (MTWorks) staged reading of Fengar Gael's The Draper's Eye. Recent Stage: Dig Infinity! (Planet Connections Theatre Festivity), The Messiah Complex (Downtown Urban Theater Festival). Recent Television: Blue Bloods and Black Box. Russell is an MTWorks company actor, co-owner of The Harlem Camerata reading salon, and an adjunct professor at York College/CUNY where he teaches Performance for Television. Member: AEA & SAG-AFTRA. www.russelljordan.com

Doug Rossi has played such classical roles as Tartuffe, Macbeth, Orlando, Friar Lawrence, Caliban, Orsino, Brutus, Ford, Don Pedro, and Hamlet. In NYC, he's appeared in over 70 productions including several at FringeNYC, Planet Connections (Best Featured Actor winner) and MITF (Best Supporting Actor nominee). MFA from Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

Conrad Schott Regional: Our Town (dir. Les Waters, Actors Theatre of Louisville), Remix 38 (ATL Humana Festival), All's Well That Ends Well and The Atheist's Tragedy (in repertory at Academy for Classical Acting). New York: The Collective (Zoo Theater), King Lear (American Bard Theatre Company). Schott was an Actors Theatre of Louisville Acting Apprentice and trained at The National Theatre Institute and BADA Midsummer in Oxford. BA: Vassar College, MFA: Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting.

Gordon Stanley Seven original Broadway casts, including Joseph…Dreamcoat, Beauty and the Beast, and Ragtime; also Cabaret (1st Roundabout revival). Off-Broadway: Lies My Father Told Me, Iron Curtain, Flamingo Court, White Woman Street, Take Me Along, many others. Movies /TV: Beauty and the Beast, Pocohontas,  Law and Order: CI.  Best credit/longest run: thirty-four years with Renee.

William Oliver Watkins has guest-starred on Nurse Jackie, Law & Order: SVU and Rescue Me. Stage: Jackie & Me and Ruined (Denver Center), Lombardi (Cleveland Playhouse), The Underside of Jackfruit & Papaya and McRib (Abingdon), BIOLIFE (Nuyorican Poetry Club), Snakeskin Suit and Nodding Off (Ensemble Studio Theatre), A Raisin in the Sun (Studio Arena), To Kill A Mockingbird (Great Plains Theater) and Blues for an Alabama Sky (St. Louis Black Rep). William trained at Webster Conservatory.



And what a crew they are! Come out to the Abingdon at 7:00 on Sunday to set sail on a grand adventure!

We have a cast!

I am happy to officially announce the cast of Fireboat Productions' reader's theater presentation of my adaptation of Moby-Dick.

The cast will include:

Alex Herrald*
Russell Jordan*
Doug Rossi
Conrad Schott
Gordon Stanley*
William Oliver Watkins*

*denotes member of AEA

You can get tickets here:

TICKETS

Tickets are $20, but blog readers can get a $5 discount by using the code: BigFish.

If you're a member of the Theater Development Fund, tickets through TDF are also available for $9.

The performance, which is being directed by the incomparable Dev Bondarin, will be at the Abingdon Theatre Company as part of their Sunday Series at 7:00 on June 1st. Hope to see many of you there!