The richly imaginative work of the great American novelist Herman Melville has inspired numerous contemporary adaptations, from the opera of Benjamin Britten to the performance art of Laurie Anderson. At this event, USC students will perform a work-in-progress by USC professor Joseph Boone and composer Benjamin Boone, based on Melville’s The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade. This tale unfolds on a Mississippi riverboat on All Fools’ Day, just before the War Between the States threatens to explode and expose the empty promises that lie at the heart of the American Dream.

The play will be directed by David Schweizer, who has won widespread acclaim for his productions in New York City and Los Angeles.

Organized by Joseph Boone (English)

Related Event
September 10-11, 7 p.m. And God Created Great Whales. Rinde Eckert reprises his 2000 Obie Award–winning performance as a monomaniacal composer desperately attempting to complete an opera based on Melville’s Moby-Dick.