John Patrick Shanley’s Stunning Two-Hander is Revived at the ATA

The renowned one-act playDanny and the Deep Blue Sea, which originallypremiered off-Broadway in 1983, is given a magnificent retelling at the American Theatre of Actors in its 50^th season. Penned by prolific playwright and Oscar winner John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck), it is an intense and compelling study of loneliness and human frailty, and the desperate desire to be seen and understood, forgiven and loved.

As observed in a holiday season where the “meet-cute” scenario is one of its hallmarks (pun intended), Danny stands out as a “meet-ugly”, and feels all the more real as a result.

Tashia Gates (producer) is Roberta, a divorced mom who encounters Danny (James Liddell) in a dilapidated, empty Bronx dive bar. Danny’s black eye and bruised hands indicate a recent altercation, creating an unsettling mood from the outset and the implication that he might erupt at any moment. He asks for one of Roberta’s pretzels and wants to leave it at that, but Roberta decides that she needs company and goes to sit with him, prompting Danny to act like a bear who’s been poked with a stick. Danny is bad news and makes no attempt to hide that, but Roberta is a woman in pain, trapped in her own life but yearning for some kind of human connection and normality that will release her from reality, at least for a handful of heartbeats.

“I can’t stay like I am,” she says to the only person she’s ever found who just might listen. “I can’t stay in this effing head anymore, I’ll go crazy.”

Danny is in a prison of his own. Feral and fearful and unable to connect to anyone except with his fists, he is in danger of losing his blue-collar job where his coworkers have labeled him “the beast.”

Undeterred, Roberta goes all in and tells this stranger of a dark, horrifying secret from her past, making Danny the only person who knows it and forcing a bond between them. Danny also suspects that his most recent actions may have led to tragedy, and the two debate the severity of their crimes and the depth of their pain until things get edge-of-your-seat frightening. As Danny grows more violent Roberta grows more defiant, winning the psychological and physical battle and convincing Danny to come home with her. She wants to play at “domestic bliss”, if only for one night; she even coaches her new partner in the art of being nice. But when Danny decides he wants the dream to become reality, they awake to a new nightmare that now imprisons them both.

Gates is astonishing as the broken Roberta, so trapped in her own mind that she wonders if prison would be a nice change of pace. She is looking for punishment, and then maybe forgiveness, though she suspects the latter impossible. Liddell is at turns terrifying and heartbreaking, a ticking time bomb who solves every issue with fighting, but crumples into a scared child as his unanticipated new lover takes him on a rollercoaster of emotions. These two damaged souls coming together in mutual desperation is portrayed compassionately and genuinely; and though most of us haven’t had Danny and Roberta’s experiences, Gates and Liddell make them relatable and even lovable.

Presented on a sparse stage and clocking in at a tight 80 minutes, this new incarnation of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is a remarkable piece of work and a triumph for producer Gates and Liddell, who beautifully portray their characters in three dimensions. It is directed impeccably by Tessa Welsch, who makes brilliant use of the sparse surroundings to portray the dark, empty lives of the protagonists. And serving as executive producer along with Nick Milodragovich, this is Dr. Cynthia Hsiung’s first foray into theater, adding to an accomplished career in Film and TV. This iteration of Danny is a jewel in the crown for all involved.

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is performed at the Sargent Theater at the American Theatre of Actors through December 7. It is dedicated to the memory of Maxine R. Gibbs.