Theatre

MORTAL FRIENDS by Steve Otfinoski

Monday, March 20
7:30 PM

On the afternoon of August 5, 1850, a most unusual literary party tramped up Monument Mountain in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.  Among them were two titans of American literature - Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, who met that day for the first time.  
   Filled with humor, wit, passion and drama, Mortal Friends is a play that delves deeply into the nature of friendship and its betrayal, the mystery of creation, and the difficult choices all artists must make to survive in a materialistic society that often rejects the truths their work reveals.  It exposes how that friendship blossomed and provided the inspiration for Melville's masterpiece, Moby Dick, as well as how it joined in brotherhood two men who had  much in common, but just as much that divided them.  
   Why their friendship ended as abruptly as it began, less than two years after they met, remains a mystery.  Mortal Friends attempts to shed light on that mystery, while raising new questions about this most extraordinary of literary relationships.
   Theatre Artist's Workshop, founded by Keir Dullea in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a place where professional actors, directors and writers practice and expand their skills. They bring us this new play, Mortal Friends, written by Steven Otfinosky  and directed by Mark S. Graham with scenography by Peter Ling.