Romance-Bronx Style
St. George Production's "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea"
*** (out of *****)
Mark S.P. Turvin
(w) 965-1021  (h) 894-5443
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@asu.edu

	Famed for his Oscar-winning 1987 movie "Moonstruck," John 
Patrick Shanley wrote several over-the-top theatre pieces before 
heading to Hollywood. They tend to have certain things in common: 
they all take place in the Bronx, in bar settings, and have 
emotionally high-strung characters that speak in that wonderful 
modern rhythm reminiscent to working class David Mamet characters. 
His most famous, "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea," is an intense two 
person, two setting play that brings together two tormented people 
who bounce off of each other and fuse together in a fit of fury 
and passion. The play does involve violence, some male and female 
nudity, and a lot of swearing in the way that you'd expect from 
two unstable, lower class Bronx citizens. It also involves highly 
intense emotions in an adult situation that may put some people 
off.
	Danny is a street fighter, someone who can only escape his 
torment when pummeling another person. He encounters Roberta, a 
woman with a terrible secret she needs to share, in a bar. The two 
circle each other like weary prizefighters, sparring with one 
another, testing the others endurance and limitations, until they 
bond in a violent and inflamed way. They then spend a night of 
passion and unexpected tenderness together, until they have to 
deal once more with the realities that await in the light of day.
	This production, directed by Thomas C. Basham, Jr. and 
starring Joey Dismore as the intensely angered Danny and Razel 
Wolf as the overwhelmingly haunted Roberta, does a solid job with 
a flawed script. The first act of this play is incredibly 
powerful, building from tentative, wary start to explosive and 
emotionally draining end. The second act, though, does not deliver 
on the rising action of the first, and actually drags a bit near 
the end. 
	Part of this problem may have been the pacing established by 
Mr. Basham and carried out by Mr. Dismore and Ms. Wolf. When 
trying to keep up the kind of intensity required by the situation, 
it's only natural that there comes a time when things will fall 
flat. Whatever the reason, script or pacing, the power and passion 
of the first act is dimmed by the second scene in the second act, 
and despite the wonderful and dead-on portrayals by the two 
actors, the show slides rather than gallops to its ending. 
	Mr. Dismore portrays Danny with much menace and fury, and 
does a solid job of showing this character's conversion to 
tenderness by the wily Roberta. Ms. Wolf's portrayal of the warped 
Roberta manages to control the wild emotional swings and self-
deprecation while retaining the hard edge that makes this role a 
treat for actresses. Also, their unswerving portrayals of the 
script-required accents made this Bronx boy long for home.
	Mr. Basham's claustrophobic staging worked well, bringing 
these two characters ever closer in both acts, until the 
disappointing end. There were moments that the pacing seemed to be 
off in comparison with Shanley's staccato dialogue, though this 
may have been an attempt to build the conflict slower in each of 
the scenes. 
	St. George Productions new theatre is just as tiny as the 
old, and is extremely limited in its set and lighting 
capabilities, giving the productions more of an actor's workshop 
feel. The commitment to long rehearsal periods and long runs 
continues, and explains why the productions put up by this group 
tend to be polished and professional. With "Danny and the Deep 
Blue Sea," it seems that despite the craftsmanship and intense 
work put in by actors and director and the promise made by the 
audacious first act, by the finale, the material failed to sustain 
as much power as the performers were willing to give.

Production Details:
"Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" by John Patrick Shanley
St. George's Theatre Upstairs, Phoenix
274-8307 or 264-8488
September 19-October 19,1996

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