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.
For its first half, the 80-minute play keeps your attention with its dated but energetic battle of the sexes, but the longer we spend with these folks the less authentic they become. The scope is intimate to the point of claustrophobia; it contracts rather than expands. There’s only so many times you can watch these two take one step towards joy, and two steps back in shame or fear. By the hushed, tentatively hopeful end, the actors are crumpled on Lucille Lortel stage—practically below the sightlines of my row. What began as two rabid animals tearing each other apart ends as a whimper as they agree to share a cage.
First-time stage director Jeff Ward takes a bold approach to the play, and even if all of the risks won’t pay off for all of the audience members – a sudden shift from brutal realism into avant garde modern dance (yes, you read that right) is bound to divide longtime Danny devotees – this revival nonetheless makes a fine display of Shanley’s streetwise Bronx poetry.
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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