ZOE KIRIAZIS
Staff Writer
The Performing Arts Company opened John Patrick Shanley’s play “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea: An Apache Dance” this past weekend in Houghton Hall.
Directed by senior musical theatre major Carly Dieck, “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” follows the story of two rejected Bronx natives, Danny and Roberta, in the midst of their personal battles who come together to spend just one night together. They each take the journey of finding forgiveness towards their past, opening up about stories for the first time and exposing vulnerabilities to someone who understands. With a total of four performances, senior acting majors Andrew Vertucci and Robyn Baun portrayed the characters for two performances while sophomore acting major Noah Elman and junior musical theatre major Hayley Philyaw performed in the other two.
At a performance with Philyaw and Elman, the chemistry between the two fueled Shanley’s dialogue with fiery energy. The two sit separately at the bar indicating their reserved personas at first. The tension between the two characters showed with the lack of direct eye contact and beating around the bush of their inner instincts. Elman executed Danny’s inability to feel any other emotions besides anger with evident anxiety and physical tension. These were moments that were raw and real. The only time when he was able to be calm was when Roberta was next to him. Being together allowed them to be true to themselves without their past defining who they were.
Philyaw’s interpretation of Roberta left a sense of hope with her optimism throughout the entire show. Even with the events Roberta has experienced, Philyaw allowed Roberta to find the hope she wanted. She says to Danny the morning after their night together, “You think we can’t do nothin’,” in relation to who they are as people. Portraying open-ended characters with nowhere to go after all odds are against them, Philyaw exposes the feelings to Elman he has no capability of feeling. Philyaw’s storytelling of Roberta’s emotions, thoughts and feelings exposed true vulnerability every human is capable of feeling.
“I’m the beast,” Danny repeats throughout the play to Roberta who keeps pushing for some feeling out of him. What feeling that happens to be is unknown to both of them.
Dieck executes the staging of the show and execution of the story timeline with simplicity and the precision. There are no movements or actions that are out of place to the action of the show. In her director’s notes, she comments that that “it would be an injustice to this play to assume this is another love story.” Through Dieck’s analysis of these characters and with the actors’ individual interpretation, the characters resonate as two people who have experienced unfortunate events and now carry the damage that came along with it. This illustrated that Danny and Roberta were lonely but also proved that they were never alone.
The Performing Arts Company’s spring season will conclude with William Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night.”