Dave Malloy & Rachel Chavkin to Debut Moby-Dick Musical at American Repertory Theater

Dave Malloy and Rachel Chavkin are teaming up again. The Tony-nominated masterminds behind Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 will offer up their world premiere musical adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick as part of American Repertory Theater's 2019-2020 season. The new production will run from December 3, 2019 through January 12, 2020 at the Cambridge, Massachusetts theater, where The Great Comet played before Broadway.

Developed with and directed by Chavkin and featuring book, music, lyrics and orchestrations by Malloy, Moby-Dick centers on Ishmael, Captain Ahab and his crew as they pursue an elusive great white whale aboard the Pequod. In the new adaptation, Melville's 19th-century vision of America collides head-on with the present.

In addition to their joint work on Great Comet, Chavkin is currently represented on Broadway by Hadestown. Malloy's new musical Octet will make its world premiere with off-Broadway's Signature Theatre later this month.

American Repertory Theater's new mainstage season will also include the Olivier-nominated Six (August 21-September 27, 2019), Black Light (September 19-29, 2019), Gloria: A Life (January 24-February 22, 2020), Ocean Filibuster (March 7-27, 2020), Macbeth in Stride (April 23-May 10, 2020) and a new staging of 1776 (May 22-June 28, 2020) directed by Tony winner and A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus (Waitress).

Casting and additional creative team members for A.R.T.'s new season will be announced at a later date.