Adi Teodoru's Melville & Hawthornefollows the year and a half that authors Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne spent living only a mile away from each other in the Berkshires while Melville wrote and developed the novel Moby Dick (which is dedicated to Hawthorne).

The play is based entirely on historical fact and the correspondence between the two, and it fills in the gaps in their relationship. It chronicles their growing feelings for each other and Melville’s struggle to write about open sexuality and race in the year 1851, as the country struggles with talks of secession and heads into civil war, as well as the influence Melville’s relationship with Hawthorne had on Moby Dick.

The play covers modern themes such as race equality, sexual liberation, social justice, freedom and the impact of literature on political events. The world premiere production, directed by Andrew Ruthven, is the latest from Thunderclap Productions' John Steven Kellett Memorial Series.