The Whale

Marin Theatre Company
397 Miller Ave. Mill Valley

Sometimes "livin' large" is no kind of living at all. At least not when you're tipping the scales at 600 pounds like Charlie, the moving (but nearly immobile) protagonist of The Whale. Since the death of his boyfriend, Charlie has confined himself to his small Idaho apartment and is eating himself to death. His only friend, a nurse, nearly kills him with kindness while his only acquaintance, a troubled young missionary, is determined to rescue his soul. Unwilling to seek medical treatment despite a health scare, Charlie instead attempts to reconnect with the teenage daughter he hasn't seen in 15 years. MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient and Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter (A Bright New Boise) wrote this humorous and devastating drama that won the 2013 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play.