A SCRIVENER WHO PREFERS NOT TO

A minimalist Melville adaptation turns
quiet resistance into compelling theater

Andy Grotelueschen as The Lawyer and Michael Crane as Bartleby

Fiasco Theater is presenting the world premiere of Bartleby at The Old Globe in Balboa Park. The play is a stage adaptation of Herman Melville’s 1853 short story, “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street” and is likely to stir reactions ranging from dramatic to comic to “I’m not sure I get it.”

(from left) Andy Grotelueschen as The Lawyer, Matt Dallal as Turkey, Michael
Crane as Bartleby, Devin E. Haqq as Nippers, and Myka Cue as Ginger Snap

Running about 75 minutes, the play is narrated by a lawyer who operates a law firm on Wall Street in New York City. He seeks a clerk—called a scrivener—to copy and proofread legal documents for the lawyer’s expanding business. Bartleby is hired and quickly becomes a whiz at the job. But to his employer’s mystification, Bartleby eventually rejects all assignments, answering every request with the toneless refrain, “I should prefer not to.”

Andy Grotelueschen as The Lawyer, Devin E. Haqq as Nippers, Myka Cue
as Ginger Snap, Michael Crane as Bartleby, and Matt Dallal as Turkey

The phrase has become one of the most famous in American literature. It surfaces repeatedly in the play, always spoken calmly and without anger—or even a smidgeon of emotion. The lawyer is unable to persuade Bartleby either to work or to leave, and in desperation eventually moves to a new office. Ultimately, Bartleby is arrested and dies of starvation in jail.

Matt Dallal as Turkey, Myka Cue as Ginger Snap, Andy Grotelueschen
as The Lawyer, Devin E. Haqq as Nippers, and Michael Crane as Bartleby

The enigmatic character has fascinated critics for generations. A variety of explanations have been proposed for his bizarre conduct. Some commentators see Bartleby as a figure of civil disobedience. Others invoke heavyweight thinkers such as Franz Kafka and Albert Camus. Yet because Bartleby never explains his actions—or nonactions—the scholarly debate remains wide open, and interpretations often reveal more about the critic than the character.

(from left) Devin E. Haqq as Nippers, Matt Dallal as Turkey, Myka Cue as Ginger Snap,
Andy Grotelueschen as The Lawyer, and Michael Crane as Bartleby

The title role is a formidable challenge for Michael Crane. His dialogue consists almost entirely of variations on “I should prefer not to,” and he appears throughout in the same somber office suit. The play offers no personal background for Bartleby; the character is hermetically sealed inside the workplace. Yet Crane makes him strangely magnetic—I couldn’t take my eyes off him whenever he was on stage.

Matt Dallal as Turkey, Andy Grotelueschen as The Lawyer, and Devin E. Haqq as Nippers

The real heavy lifting falls to Andy Grotelueschen as the sympathetic lawyer trying to cope with his maddening, low-key clerk. The cast is rounded out with excellent support from the actors portraying the three office workers, each with a picturesque name: Devin E. Haqq (Nippers), Matt Dallal (Turkey), and Myka Cue (Ginger Snap). They also take on smaller supporting roles, giving the acting roster a fuller feeling.

Andy Grotelueschen as The Lawyer and Michael Crane as Bartleby

Co-authors Noah Brody and Paul L. Coffey, working with director Emily Young, elevate Melville’s wordy story into an inventive piece of stagecraft. The production was several years in the making from concept to opening, and the team’s imagination and artistic sensibilities are impressive.

Devin E. Haqq as Nippers and Andy Grotelueschen as The Lawyer

Scenic designer Lawrence E. Moten III uses the intimate in-the-round stage to give the static narrative a welcome sense of motion. Emily Rebholz’s costumes create a credible mid-19th-century look, while the sense of time and place is further enhanced by original music and sound design from Uptown Works, Bailey Trierweiler, Daniela Hart, and Noel Nichols. Together, these elements create a persuasive visual and sonic world for a play that relies on very little physical action.

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photos by Rich Soublet II
artwork by Ben Wiseman

Bartleby
Fiasco Theater
The Old Globe
Sheryl and Harvey White Theater, 1363 Old Globe Way in San Diego
Tues–Fri at 7.; Sat at 2 & 8; Sun at 2 & 7
75 minutes, no intermission
ends on March 22, 2026
for tickets ($44 and up), visit The Old Globe

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