Moby Dick (musical)
Encyclopedia
Moby Dick is a musical
with a book by Robert Longden, and music and lyrics by Longden and Hereward Kaye.
A mixture of high camp
, music hall
-style smut
, and wild anachronism
overflowing with double entendres, the show focuses on the anarchic and nubile girls of St. Godley’s Academy for Young Ladies who, determined to save the institution from bankruptcy, decide to stage Herman Melville
's classic novel
in the school's swimming pool.
Having become involved with the restoration of Oxford
's Old Fire Station Theatre, producer Cameron Mackintosh
sought a new musical to inaugurate its re-opening. Impressed by an audio tape sent him by Longden, Mackintosh offered him £25,000 to stage what was then called Moby Dick: A Whale of a Tale. Originally an intimate piece with a cast of twelve performing with an upright piano, it became a greatly expanded version featuring a troupe of thirty and a six-piece band. The end result was a madcap romp, with veteran cabaret
star Tony Monopoly
playing the headmistress/Captain Ahab
in drag
, that immediately developed a cult following
among the university
students. One of its first venues was aboard Ki Longfellow
's Old Profanity Showboat where after a slow start, it quickly became sold out.
Against the advice of his staff, Mackintosh decided the show was suited for a full-fledged West End
production, and in March 1992 he transferred it to the cavernous Piccadilly Theatre
, where it opened to almost universally scathing reviews. Despite an increasingly appreciative audience and nightly ovations the musical failed to find its audience quickly enough and the economics of the large venue forced it to close after 4 months. Such was its public appeal, Cameron later recalled, that the announcement of closure sent audience reaction into orbit and it barnstormed out of the West End as if it were one of the greatest hits of all time.
Over the years, the show, alternately titled Moby Dick! The Musical or Moby!, has proven to be a popular choice with regional theatre
groups. In 2003 an Americanized
version deleted all the unfamiliar British references and played down many of the burlesque
aspects. No matter where it's produced, the tradition of having the headmistress portrayed by a male continues to be upheld.
Act II
Act II
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Robert Longden, and music and lyrics by Longden and Hereward Kaye.
A mixture of high camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
, music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
-style smut
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
, and wild anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
overflowing with double entendres, the show focuses on the anarchic and nubile girls of St. Godley’s Academy for Young Ladies who, determined to save the institution from bankruptcy, decide to stage Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
's classic novel
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
in the school's swimming pool.
Having become involved with the restoration of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
's Old Fire Station Theatre, producer Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
sought a new musical to inaugurate its re-opening. Impressed by an audio tape sent him by Longden, Mackintosh offered him £25,000 to stage what was then called Moby Dick: A Whale of a Tale. Originally an intimate piece with a cast of twelve performing with an upright piano, it became a greatly expanded version featuring a troupe of thirty and a six-piece band. The end result was a madcap romp, with veteran cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
star Tony Monopoly
Tony Monopoly
Tony Monopoly was a popular Australian cabaret singer and actor who enjoyed success in the United Kingdom.Born Antonio Rosario Monopoli in Adelaide, Australia, he was a regular on the national radio show Kangaroos on Parade at the age of nine. At the age of sixteen he became a Carmelite monk and...
playing the headmistress/Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab may refer to:* Ahab , the captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick* Captain Ahab , a Los Angeles based pop/electronic band...
in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
, that immediately developed a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
among the university
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
students. One of its first venues was aboard Ki Longfellow
Ki Longfellow
Ki Longfellow is an American novelist, playwright, theatrical producer, theater director and entrepreneur. In Britain, as the widow of Vivian Stanshall, she is well known as the guardian of his artistic heritage, but elsewhere she is best known for her own work, especially the novel The Secret...
's Old Profanity Showboat where after a slow start, it quickly became sold out.
Against the advice of his staff, Mackintosh decided the show was suited for a full-fledged West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production, and in March 1992 he transferred it to the cavernous Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
, where it opened to almost universally scathing reviews. Despite an increasingly appreciative audience and nightly ovations the musical failed to find its audience quickly enough and the economics of the large venue forced it to close after 4 months. Such was its public appeal, Cameron later recalled, that the announcement of closure sent audience reaction into orbit and it barnstormed out of the West End as if it were one of the greatest hits of all time.
Over the years, the show, alternately titled Moby Dick! The Musical or Moby!, has proven to be a popular choice with regional theatre
Regional theatre in the United States
Regional theaters, or resident theaters, in the United States are professional or semi-professional, theater companies that produce their own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to professional theatres outside of New York City...
groups. In 2003 an Americanized
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
version deleted all the unfamiliar British references and played down many of the burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
aspects. No matter where it's produced, the tradition of having the headmistress portrayed by a male continues to be upheld.
Original song list
Act I- Hymn
- Parent's Day
- Forbidden Seas
- In Old Nantucket
- A Man Happens
- Ahab's Curse
- Gypsy Dancer
- Love Will Always
- Primitive
- Punish Us
- People Build Walls
- Pequod
- At Sea One Day
- Building America
Act II
- Living Shadows
- Mr. Starbuck
- Heave Away
- Deck Dance
- Can't Keep Out The Night
- Ahab's Insomnia
- A Whale Of Tale
- Daily Massacre
- Ship Ahoy
- Shadows Of The Deep
- Storm
- Heave Away (Reprise)
- The Whale's Revenge
- Save The Whale
2003 song list
Act I- Hymn
- Moby Dick
- I Live and Breathe
- Old Nantucket Town
- A Man Happens
- Ahab's Homecoming
- Love Will Always
- Primitive
- A Sinking Man
- Jonah Fell
- Pequod
- At Sea One Day
- Building America
Act II
- Moby Dick (Reprise)
- Deck Dance/Death to Moby/Heave Away
- Can't Keep Out the Night
- Whale of a Tale
- Love Will Always (Reprise)
- The Rachel/Shadows of the Deep
- Bones
- Heave 2
- Ahab's Death
- Finale (Ahab's Dead!)