REVIEW: Jobsite Theater’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is a Brutal, Beautiful Triumph

by Maggie Duffy

Trigger warning: John Patrick Shanley’s combative drama “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” has themes of incest and violence, with offensive language. It’s not suitable for children. 

However, Jobsite Theater’s production of the play is terrific, marked by incredible performances by the two-person drama’s actors: Alex Teicheira as Danny and Georgia Mallory Guy as Roberta. 

Shanley also wrote the screenplay of the 1987 film “Moonstruck,” which follows another intense couple, but this one is far edgier.

Danny and Roberta are basically broken people, who meet at a bar in the Bronx. Danny is all bruised up with knuckles bloodied from fighting, which he does often. Roberta keeps to herself, but when Danny engages her, she’s as aggressive as he is, quickly finding which of his buttons to push.

And so begins their emotional tug of war — and a physical one that illustrates the arc of the narrative, thanks to director Summer Bohnenkamp’s choreographic approach. 

Some  pretty shocking revelations come to light, so be prepared. 

Danny is 39, a truck driver who is unsure if the man he beat up the night before is alive or not. He somewhat breezily announces that he plans to die by suicide when he turns 40, except he uses way more graphic language. The play was first produced in 1983 and the dialogue is as gritty as Times Square was back in that era. 

Roberta is 41 and divorced, and lives with her parents, who take care of her teenage son. She’s paralyzed with guilt because of a sexual encounter with her father. This information is delivered in a brutally frank manner, prompting one audience member to say, “what kind of play is this?” and another couple exited the theater. 

That kind of reaction was a risk Jobsite was willing to take when they planned to do the show, said artistic director David Jenkins, because they believe in the power of the play. 

“I know people who talk like both of those people and use those words, and for me, I think it kind of adds to the thing that happens in the audience where we're really demanding that they pay attention to and maybe almost even care about these people. I think that's part of the allure of the show,” Jenkins said.

Once the initial shock wears off, what’s striking is the idea that this chance encounter could lead to a great love between two people who don’t consider themselves worthy of it. There are also some bitingly funny lines, and the audience seemed relieved to laugh loudly at them. 

When first produced in 1983, the play starred John Turturro and June Stein, with a 2004 revival and most recently, another in 2023 starring Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott. In a New York Times review of the 2023 production, it’s pointed out that the play is attractive to actors “looking for audition monologues or mettle-testing exercises.”

Mettle-testing indeed, and Teicheira and Guy rise to the occasion. Not only are the themes intense, but the dialogue has the rapid fire of a machine gun, which they deliver with razor sharp accuracy. 

Their chemistry is intense, and the depiction of their characters is so believable that some folks in the back row were reacting as if this was real life. The intimacy of the tiny Shimberg Playhouse makes the experience feel even more voyeuristic. 

The writing has many achingly beautiful moments, especially when the titular “deep blue sea” reference is revealed. Danny and Roberta long to be happy and when they dare to dream of it, the dialogue turns poetic. 

Danny and Roberta’s future is uncertain in the end, leaving the audience to ponder whether they’ll make it or not. Whatever outcome you imagine, “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” will stick with you for a while. 

“Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” runs through May 31 at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts.

1010 N Macinnes Pl, Tampa. 813-229-7827. jobsitetheater.org.