New York, NY— October 22, 2018: The Stella Adler Studio of Acting’s Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater will present The Whale, the critically acclaimed play by award winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter. The Whale runs from November 14-30, 2018.
Artistic Director Tom Oppenheim said, “The Whale speaks to an essential question of this moment, in this country: how can we understand each other when we seem so far apart. Like all of the plays in the Lab’s 2018-2019 season, The Whale shows us people who are desperately trying to reach each other despite the odds.” Said Director Luis-Daniel Morales, “The Whale gives audiences an opportunity to witness human beings trying to rediscover their humanity as time works against them.”
The Whale tells the story of Charley, who weighs in at 600 pounds and he won’t stop eating. He refuses medical intervention, spiritual intervention and the advice of desperate friends. Before he dies will he find something worth living for or is this the end? Could it be his enraged teenage daughter who is furious with him? He faces an impassioned missionary, an acerbic nurse, and his ex-wife ready for confrontation. Can Charley save himself or is he resigned to die a slow death in the middle of America?
Luis-Daniel Morales will direct. The cast features Mike Grenham, Ayse Babahan, Christa Kimlicko Jones*, Justin Phillips and Elizabeth Savage.
The Whale will run from Wednesday, November 14 to Friday, November 30, 2018 with a 7:30pm curtain. Tickets are $20 general admission, $5 for students; a limited number of “pay what you can” tickets will be available at the door for every performance.
The Whale is part of the Harold Clurman Lab Theater’s 2018-2019 season. The season also includes What’s Wrong With You, a new play by Jan Rosenberg which was directed by Shira-Lee Shalit in September as well as The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, to be directed by Tom Oppenheim in early 2019 and a festival of new play readings in June 2019. The Lab is currently presenting The Turn of the Screw at the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles.