This is a story about a man who lost his leg. Lost: leg. Adrift. At sea.

Following sold out runs of Drowned Horse Tavern and All Well, [or the whale] is the third installment in PETE’s The Journey Play Is The Whole Thing: A Constellation Of Art Events, Objects and Experience. The play is a meditation on finding and forgetting, loss and madness, in which four actors play the infamous Captain Ahab. Driven by an impossible hunger, PETE’s four Ahabs will search the deep for the long lost leg. We search for  wholeness. But who’s ever heard of an Ahab with two legs? No one. [or, the whale] is playful and profound, diving into Melville’s existential questions with humor and wry self-reflection.

PETE are putting on the boldest and bravest productions in town.

-THRU Magazine on PETE’s [or, the whale]

[The] crack ensemble in fine form playing in the deep of a dense yet whimsical text by playwright Juli Crockett. The play of language, meaning, and ideas is deeply rooted in the physical choices centering around the company’s ghostly, latex-painted lower limbs, representing Ahab’s ivory pegleg... Genius.

-American Theatre on PETE’s [or, the whale]

Original, funny, thought-provoking... As we scurry about for “meaning,” one of the things we start to understand better is the power of art.

-Oregon Arts Watch on PETE’s [or, the whale]

It’s a wild and intensely emotional ride. When it was over, I felt that same calm you get after exhausting yourself in a temper tantrum, or a good cry... PETE charges straight through the boundaries of what you think you can experience at the theatre.

-Broadway World on PETE’s [or, the whale]

A melodic, entrancing and downright bizarre interpretation of Moby Dick from PETE that is a kick in the emotional gut.

-Willamette Week on PETE’s [or, the whale]

Carefully pared-down minimalism permeates everything about [or, the whale], from Peter Ksander’s perfectly-appointed set to the show’s exquisite final moment.

-Portland Mercury on PETE’s [or, the whale]

An impressive cast... a full range of individually brilliant performances.

-THRU Magazine on PETE’s [or, the whale]

Production Credits:

January 9-23, 2016

Venue: Reed College

Text by Juli Crockett

Director: Peter Ksander

Performers:

Jacob Coleman

Rebecca Lingafelter*

Paige McKinney

Cristi Miles*

Maureen Porter*

Amber Whitehall

*Member, Actors' Equity Association

Designers:

Costume design: Jenny Ampersand

Lighting design: Miranda K Hardy

Set design: Peter Ksander

Sound design: Mark Valadez

Stage Manager: Kristina Mast

Assistant Stage Manager: Jenn Lindell

Production Assistant: Claire Thomforde-Garner

Photography: Owen Carey

Made possible with support from Ronni LaCroute, The Kinsman Foundation, The Jackson Foundation, and The Oregon Cultural Trust.