In Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, the two characters delve into a bitter argument at a bar. Roberta is a single mother of a teenage son who spends her evenings partying, hoping to boost her self-esteem. Danny is a misunderstood loner who lives with his mother. The two strangers share their self-destructive habits and battles with addiction. As the characters excavate their deep darknesses, they make room for empathy.
Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley wrote Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, his second play, in 1984. Shanley is known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt: A Parable, and writes searing dramas that explore complex, human topics. Danny and the Deep Blue Sea premiered at the Humana Festival of New Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville before debuting in downtown New York with the Circle in the Square Theatre.
Yet Ms. Plaza’s work in this maiden voyage is deeply impressive — so impressive that were I to have seen this “Danny” knowing nothing about its stars and been asked which one had no prior theater experience, I’d have been stumped. That’s in no way a negative reflection on Mr. Abbott; what’s most striking about the staging, in fact, is the seemingly effortless rapport between the performers, even as they’re playing characters to whom little has come easily.
Yes, Danny’s final turnaround stretches credibility close to its breaking point, and the way he finally pierces Roberta’s abscess of shame and fury is rather over the top — not to mention the idea that a physical remedy would shock a psychic wound into healing. But by then Abbott and Plaza have made us care enough for these two misfits that we are ready to believe that maybe, just maybe, they can get a break.
| 1984 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2004 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2023 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Production Off-Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Aubrey Plaza |
| 2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Danny and the Deep Blue Sea |
| 2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play | Christopher Abbott |
| 2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lighting Design | John Torres |
| 2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Revival | Danny and the Deep Blue Sea |
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