A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Octet

Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy  /  4w, 4m

Inspired by internet comment boards, scientific debates, religious texts and Sufi poetry, this a cappella chamber musical from the author of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 explores addiction and nihilism within the messy context of 21st-century technology.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

Featuring a score for an a cappella chamber choir and an original libretto inspired by internet comment boards, scientific debates, religious texts and Sufi poetry, Octet explores addiction and nihilism within the messy context of 21st-century technology. Eight Internet addicts gather in a support group in a church basement to share their stories in a series of hymns and solo confessionals where they explain their relationship to technology, each of which corresponds to one of the Major Arcana cards in a tarot deck. With moments of both rawness and also levity, this musical from the author of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 deftly discusses the many ways in which technology and phones have affected people.

History

Octet premiered off-Broadway at Signature Theatre on 19 May 2019. Directed by Annie Tippe, the production featured Adam Bashian, Kim Blanck, Starr Busby, Alex Gibson, Justin Gregory Lopez, J.D. Mollison, Margo Seibert and Kuhoo Verma with understudies Jonathan Christopher and Nicole Weiss. It has since received numerous other regional productions, from Berkeley Rep in Berkeley, CA to Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Garrison, NY to Soulpepper/Crow’s Theatre in Toronto, ON. 

Cast Attributes

JESSICA
KARLY
PAULA
VELMA
ED
HENRY
MARVIN
TOBY

Octet is performed without a conductor; in the original production, the ensemble shared cues, often making the soloist the leader of their individual songs, while Paula lead the hymns and Tea Ceremony.

Additionally, in-ear monitors were used extensively in the original production, especially on songs that involved significant staging or choreography. The music team should work with the performer sand director to determine the minimum number of cues that will keep the music rhythmically and tonally together, while still maintaining the spontaneity, rawness, and humanness of a live, unclicked performance.

All actors should be amplified. In general, the vocal style should be blended but non-classical, favoring straight tones over more traditional vibrato. The sound should be homogeneous, except when it shouldn’t.

Octet is performed without a conductor; in the original production, the ensemble shared cues, often making the soloist the leader of their individual songs, while Paula lead the hymns and Tea Ceremony.

Additionally, in-ear monitors were used extensively in the original production, especially on songs that involved significant staging or choreography. The music team should work with the performer sand director to determine the minimum number of cues that will keep the music rhythmically and tonally together, while still maintaining the spontaneity, rawness, and humanness of a live, unclicked performance.

All actors should be amplified. In general, the vocal style should be blended but non-classical, favoring straight tones over more traditional vibrato. The sound should be homogeneous, except when it shouldn’t.

  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting

    A drab church basement on a rainy night. Now.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Refreshing… Original and timely!” – Toronto Star

“Bristling with individuality and universality… Mr. Malloy’s score makes fractured thought audible... What’s captured in these voices is how we feel – seduced, exhilarated, lost and dirty – every time we turn on our computers or smartphones and fall into a time-devouring wormhole.” – The New York Times

“Makes the Internet take musical form.” – San Francisco Chronicle

“Not only is Octet one of the most thought-provoking and soul-stirring musicals I’ve seen in ages, it has an ingeniously woven, harmonically lush score that you'll want to revisit. Malloy’s melding of indie-rock, punk, electronica and a sort of medieval plainsong is ridiculously catchy (and his deft lyrics quite witty).” – The Observer

“[Octet] once again reveals its writer-composer to be one of the most creatively audacious talents working in musical theater today.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“All of Malloy’s messy inclusiveness, his aggressive hoarding of data, attitude, allusions, science and superstition... It’s very Internet, right? But instead of eyesore and brain-fog, my time with Octet made me feel more alive, more connected: Forget the iPhone; pass the Iowaska.” – The Observer

“Ravishing… What makes Octet so remarkable is how it weds subject and form – part confessional, part choral meditation, part fever dream – It is about the loneliness of our digital obsessions, but it combats that isolation with the oldest instrument of human connection: the human voice. In a time when technology often divides us, this show insists on the redemptive force of live harmony.” – BroadwayWorld

Videos

  • Octet – Signature Theatre Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Octet – Signature Theatre Trailer

  • Octet – From the Author youtube thumbnail

    Octet – From the Author

  • Octet – Behind the Scenes at Signature Theatre youtube thumbnail

    Octet – Behind the Scenes at Signature Theatre

  • Octet – Hudson Valley Shakespeare Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Octet – Hudson Valley Shakespeare Trailer

  • Octet – Audience Responses at Hudson Valley Shakespeare youtube thumbnail

    Octet – Audience Responses at Hudson Valley Shakespeare

  • Octet – First Look at Hudson Valley Shakespeare youtube thumbnail

    Octet – First Look at Hudson Valley Shakespeare

Show more +

Music

Music Samples

Part One
I. “Hymn: The Forest” – All {XVIII THE MOON}
II. “Refresh” – Jessica {V THE HIEROPHANT}
III. “Candy” – Henry {IX THE HERMIT}
IV. “Glow” – Paula {II THE HIGH PRIESTESS}
V. “Fugue State” – All {X WHEEL OF FORTUNE}

~ coffee break ~

Part Two
VI. “Hymn: Monster” – All {XV THE DEVIL}
VII. “Solo” – Karly & Ed {VI THE LOVERS/XIII DEATH}
VIII. “Actually” – Toby {I THE MAGICIAN}
IX. “Little God” – Marvin {XII THE HANGED MAN}
X. “Tower Tea Ceremony” – All {XVI THE TOWER}
XI. “Beautiful” – Velma {0 THE FOOL}
XII. “Hymn: The Field” – All {XXI THE WORLD}

The text in { } denotes a Major Arcana tarot card that corresponds to each song in this show.

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Authors

Dave Malloy

Dave Malloy is a composer/writer/performer/orchestrator. He has written fourteen musicals, including Moby-Dick, a four-part musical reckoning with Melville’s classic novel; Octet, a chamber choir musical about internet addiction; Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, an ...

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