Iconoclastic Playwright Challenges The Destructive Myth Of MOBY DICK With New Blues Opera

The Forty Hour Club, a resident company of the famed La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in NYC will stage "The Ahab Inside Me-Redux"-an original Blues Opera written by Maine and La MaMa Playwright Michael Gorman. The Opera will premiere at the historic Colonial Theater in downtown Augusta, Maine, July 20-23.

"The Ahab Inside Me-Redux" is an inspirational tale about fishing, obsession, addiction, recovery, and a cathartic act of environmental justice for the maligned White Whale. The opera is the latest installation from The Forty Hour Club's epic ongoing performance art and advocacy project "Chasing the New White Whale-Harpooning Addiction" that deals directly with the opiate epidemic in the commercial fishing community of New England and beyond. Gorman, who lost his brother, a commercial fisherman, to a heroin overdose in 1998 has been writing and producing original work about the opiate epidemic for the past two decades.

The playwright's journey began with a staged reading series at La Mama Theater's Galleria in New York City and at The Maine Center for Contemporary Art in Rockland, following a "marathon staged reading" of his trilogy of plays-"The Honor and Glory of Whaling"-at New York Theater Workshop. It was the first step in the process of synthesizing the three plays into a single powerful performance piece. Now, Gorman is ready to bring this epic journey full circle with his production of "The Ahab Inside Me-Redux" in July before launching back out into the deep water and ultimate destination of New Bedford, Massachusetts-home of Moby Dick-and New York City.

Gutsy and sublime, "The Ahab Inside Me-Redux" builds upon the resounding success of the Company's pioneering production last September during National recovery Month, of "The Ahab Inside Me", which took place in the grand but crumbling theater on the banks of the Kennebec River. The production featured performers from the addiction and recovery community, and delivered a symbolic dose of Narcan to help revive the historic theater and provide hope and inspiration in Maine's once downtrodden but up and coming Capitol city.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION: Moby Dick meets The Perfect Storm in this high-seas adventure about a fishing community's daunting quest for survival and transformation in the face of the opiate crisis. The drama unfolds through an aspiring young fisherman's struggle with addiction; and in a grand delusion, an epic confrontation with Captain Ahab and his obsessive pursuit of Moby Dick. The show features both professional and non-professional actors in recovery.

Told through music, spoken word, recitative opera, movement, and spectacle, this epic tale calls for a reevaluation of Ahab's vengeful attitude toward the White Whale and our own destructive relationship to nature, the environment and ourselves.

Featuring a live blues band and a diverse cast of singers, musicians, actors and community performers from Maine, New England, New York City, and Los Angeles, this exciting new production is not to be missed before it sets sail for the deep waters of historic New Bedford, MA-home of Moby Dick-and its final destination of New York City.

Tickets $25 or pay-what-you-can.

Tickets and information at: www.fortyhourclub.com

Founded by Playwright and Director Michael Gorman, The Forty Hour Club is a collective of artists dedicated to creating original artist-driven independent theater that asks the question "To what consequence?". Their productions focus on the social, economic, environmental, and systemic challenges facing working communities, and the paramount issue of sustainability.

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