This play tore me in two. As much as I loved it, it made me so uncomfortable. The theatre was so intimate I felt inappropriate laughing out loud, but I just couldn't help myself. It was shockingly funny. Especially because the character of Danny was played by my oh so talented friend Aleks Paunovic. http://www.alekspaunovic.com/ so seeing my buddy say some of these shocking hilarious lines amplified the funny.
The choking and spanking and such that goes on during this play was incredibly hot. Maybe my filthy mind got away on me... but It was hard to sit still.
This play is easy for anyone to relate to because it exposes the, 'at wits end' kind of crazy, dramatic, emotion that we've all either been on the giving or recieving end of. As gritty and icky as it is... we can all relate to the crazy.
The character of Danny was a big dude who fought. His co workers nic named him "the beast"
For me this struck home because I've dated my fair share of tough guys, former boxers, and manly men, who when tired, drunk, or.... get agitated and need to fight.
There's still an unsightly patch covering a hole on my wall that I haven't yet painted over from one of those frustrated moments.
I could understand how the female lead could love this messed up boy. I've kissed those bruised hands, I've told a man with black eyes he was beautiful. But to see it all over again from a third person's point of view was shocking.
I understood why and how the female character, "Roberta" was genuinely sweet to a broken man. (I'm ignoring the fact that she was bat shit crazy.) As a over nuturing chick myslef there's an uncontrolable draw to "fixer uppers" (as I like to call them.) Those men who have so much going on in their heads at once, they need to someone to hold their hand and bring them to a place of calm so they can sort their thoughts out. I remember the intimate times laying on the roof of my truck staring at the start as a conversation turns to tears. I was overwhelmed with the real, the raw, the honest babbling of a broken man as he pours out his most personal thoughts as he digs his way out of an emotional ditch. Bringing a mentaly exhausted man to a moment of clarity is like winning the ultimate prize for girls like me.
Girls like me are givers.
We like to be the hero.
We need to be needed.
Being there for others is as important to me as oxygen. Maybe it's not girls like me as much as it is the wanna-be-mommy in me coming out.
...or maybe after being in the spotlight for so long its rare that people let down their guard with me.
and for that moment in time I feel real.
But that's me going off on my shit
This play is funny and serious
Gritty and light
Honest and heart pounding
I loved it and hated it
It left me shaken and amazed
I was torn in two
GO SEE IT
I want to see this play again from the other side of the theater to see if it changes my experience. It would be interesting to explore a relation with Alek's character, Danny. Maybe the next time I see this play I can understand why and how he thinks and feels and behaves the way he does. Perhaps my mind locked in on what I know. What's easiest for me to relate to. Maybe I can't relate to a character who I feel I don't connect with in my real life... but what if I could. What would that experience teach me about myself?
DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
By John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Jason Goode. A Pacific Theatre presentation of an Annunciation Pictures production. On stage at the Pacific Theatre through February 4, 2012. Visit http://pacifictheatre.org/season/2011-2012/mainstage/danny-and-the-deep-blue-sea for tickets and information.
This play sounds great. i loved reading your thought process and your little ramblings about your connectivity to the characters and reliving past experiences.
ReplyDeleteI took an intense theater acting class that really changed the way i view and relate to characters on stage and on screen. if it was showing in my neck of the woods, i'd definitely go buy myself a ticket.
-@BzkMNSTR