Michael Patrick Trimm and Shannon Donovan in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea Don’t be fooled by the placid opening moment of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea , a tumultuous look into the mental makeup of two tortured souls. Playwright John Patrick Shanley wastes no time launching the two characters who sit alone and apart at opposite ends of a grungy Bronx bar into verbal fisticuffs that sometimes gets perilously close to physical assault. Roberta (Shannon Donovan) sits quietly munching on a bowl of pretzels while Danny (Michael Patrick Trimm) lounges agitatedly at another table mulling over a pitcher of beer with a foamy head that nearly fills half the pitcher. The two are the bar’s sole occupants, their isolation accented by lighting designer, Annmarie Duggan’s shadowy, low-level illumination. The conversational ice is broken when Danny asks if she’d like to share her salty snack. Instead of a polite no, he gets a rebuke as sharp as a slap in the face. Roberta, you see, is as ...
The personal blog of western Pennsylvania journalist Dave Zuchowski.