Whale of a Tale: ‘Moby-Dick’ Adaptation Takes UA Stage

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s department of theatre and dance is presenting the world premiere of “Moby-Dick,”  a play by Dr. Steve Burch, UA associate professor of theatre.

The play will be performed Monday, Feb. 21, through Sunday, Feb. 27, in the Marian Gallaway Theatre on Stadium Drive in the UA Theatre District. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

A stage adaptation of the classic American novel published in 1851 by Herman Melville, “Moby-Dick “tells the story of the Pequod, a whaling ship run by Capt. Ahab, a Quaker whaling captain turned vengeance seeker.

Moby-Dick, a white sperm whale of tremendous size and ferocity, took Ahab’s previous whaling boat and his leg. The now-obsessed captain is driven by a monomaniacal desire to kill the beast, even risking his entire crew’s lives to satisfy his terrifying hatred.

Become enthralled in the story as you uncover themes of obsession, religion, revenge and irony in one of America’s greatest masterpieces.

Burch has written almost 30 plays since 1981. He has won two Critics’ Choice Awards at the Samuel French Short Play Festival (“White Boys,” “Charon the Ferryman”) and is the recipient of a play-writing fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts (“Love Nor Money”).

He is a founding member of the Playwrights Unit at the T. Schreiber Studio in New York City, and he was commissioned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison to create a theatre piece to celebrate the university’s sesquicentennial (“From the Terrace”). He joined the faculty of the theatre and dance department at UA in 2002.

Seth Panitch, UA associate professor of theatre, is the director. The production features choreography by Qianping Guo, assistant professor of dance, and music performed by the Nozomi Daiko ensemble on Japanese drums.

Andy Fitch, associate professor of theatre, is scenic designer; Jennifer Bronsted is costume designer; Will Cotton is the lighting designer; Sarah Miller is the hair and makeup designer; Paul Schreiner, technical director, is the sound designer; and Mark Woodham is the props designer.

Tickets for “Moby-Dick” can be bought at the department of theatre and dance box office in the lobby of Rowand-Johnson Hall from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 4 p.m. Friday.

Tickets can also be ordered by phoning 205/348-3400 or by visiting the online sales office at http://theatre.ua.edu. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for UA faculty and staff and senior citizens and $12 for students.

The department of theatre and dance is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships in the USA Today Academic All American Team.