
Attention, Herman Melville devotees! You could win a pair of tickets to Portland Story Theater’s The Essex, which tells the real-life story of the ship that inspired Moby Dick (and also Ron Howard, turns out) by being rammed into by a sperm whale and sinking into a watery grave in the Pacific Ocean in 1820. Plus, cannibalism, murder, and what promises to be a lot of sea-farin’ intrigue. Get at it:

You can also read a friggin’ riveting first-hand account by one of the surviving Essex sailors here: http://bit.ly/1yKZvN1