The white whale Moby Dick is a sperm whale that’s had many run-ins with mankind and always survives. He is alive beneath the water’s surface—unstoppable and, it seems, all knowing. In short, he is symbolic of life force and its mysteries. The whaler Ahab, who lost his lower leg to Moby Dick, is hunting him down, having bent his crew to his will. Herman Melville’s 1851 behemoth of a book, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, is considered by many to be the greatest American novel. It is certainly a challenge to stage. Now comes a 90-minute production from the Norwegian theater company Plexus Polaire, staged by Yngvild Aspeli. Part puppet show, part theater, it features seven actors, 50 puppets, video projections, and what is described as a “drowned orchestra.” There’s also a whale-sized whale. As Ahab says, “I see in him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate.” —Laura Jacobs