Danny and the Deep Blue Sea: An Apache Dance

by John Patrick Shanley

The setting is a rundown bar in the Bronx, where two of society's rejects, Danny and Roberta, strike up a halting conversation over their beer. He is a brooding, self-loathing young man who resorts more to violence than reason; she is a divorced, guilt-ridden young woman whose troubled teenage son is now being cared for by her parents. Danny, whose fellow truck drivers call him "the animal," seems incapable of tender emotion, while Roberta, who is still haunted by the memory of an ugly sexual incident involving her father, is distrustful of men in general. And yet, as their initial reserve begins to melt, and they decide to spend the night together, the possibility of a genuine and meaningful relationship begins to emerge-the first for both of them. In the end there are no facile, easy answers, but thanks to the playwright's skill and compassion, both characters are able to probe within themselves to find an exorcism and forgiveness that, while painfully achieved, offers the hope of a future touched, at last, with more than the bitterness and loneliness that had been their lot before their fateful meeting.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, School

40 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

About the author

John Patrick Shanley was born in The Bronx, New York City, to a telephone operator mother and a meat-packer father. He is a graduate of New York University, and is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

For his script for the 1987 film, Moonstruck, Shanley won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.

In 1990, Shanley directed his script of Joe Versus the Volcano. Shanley also wrote two songs for the movie: "Marooned Without You" and "The Cowboy Song."

In 2004 Shanley was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame.

In 2005, Shanley's play Doubt: A Parable was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Drama Desk Award and Tony Award for Best Play. Doubt: A Parable, is featured in The Fourth Wall, a book of photographs by Amy Arbus in which Shanley also wrote the foreword.

In 2008, Shanley directed a film version of Doubt starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our son chose "Danny & the Deep Blue Sea" to direct for a class. My interest was piqued, so, I borrowed a copy from the Library & it sat lonely on the bookcase in our lounge for a couple of weeks. This evening, after a glass of wine, my husband & I decided to read the play out loud together rather than relax in front of some movie or other. We adapted very quickly to the dialogue which was culturally very different from our backgrounds & required us to curse at each other frequently! We immersed ourselves in our roles as broken, struggling human beings at rock bottom. Afterwards, we enjoyed lively discussion. It was a moving experience which we felt we would like to repeat.

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shanely sets us up with two monsters. They are truly hideous people...yet ten pages in, you'll love them. You'll love them-not because they're charming, rougish, or magnetic (they're none of these)- but because they are so human it hurts.

[Leland Goodman · Rating 2 out of 5]

My former-former-former-former-former boss commissioned an illustrated poster of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea from me, as he was set to perform the lead role. Thinking back on the whole endeavor-- from his impassioned monologue about how much the character moved him, to actually sitting down and reading the play itself, to pumping out some very strange and horrible art as a result, the entire memory is unpleasant. I came away from it quietly hating New York for some reason.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The play seemed a bit aimless but it worked.

[Fernanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romantic

[Jaden Urso · Rating 2 out of 5]

i know y’all love this… but not for me…

[chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

these people are insane

[keaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

lowk boring and seems like its trying to be deep

[Manon Scart · Rating 4 out of 5]

That one’s a wild ride…
The story seemed a bit aimless until the ending which I loved!

[FUEGOMAMIIII · Rating 3 out of 5]

im really confused yet i understand how these two characters are feeling. senior scenes incoming……

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea stands as a startling example of what John Patrick Shanley can accomplish with only a sparse setting and a couple of completely inarticulate individuals. Well, I shouldn't say inarticulate; they are articulate about the pain they've experienced in life, and they know how to pass it along to others. Whether or not they will give up their anguish and lean on each other is a major question of the play.

Shanley works magic with this man and woman, because he allows them to reach out to one another, and in doing so, to create a world of their own choosing--where a lamp becomes a moon and the orb allows them to let go of the things that pull on them and be kind to another person. Sure, the major changes both characters undergo would probably never happen anywhere but in a John Patrick Shanley play, but those shifts worked for me because he opens the play with a basic premise--these two people are hurting and need somebody. Maybe what they really need to get better is the person sitting next to them.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shanley, the guy who brought us the script of Moonstruck and Doubt, has written a zillion plays, mostly about tough working-class Irish and Italian New Yorkers. This is my favorite play of his, about two violent, terrified people, a man and a woman, who meet one night at a bar, go home together, and wind up pretending to be married. I fell in love with these two. Rarely have I watched a story unfold while wishing so hard for love and human connection to heal all bad things past, all the while knowing that it just won't. Great play.

[Nick K · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story of two individuals, who are incapable of finding words to describe the whirlwind of hate, love and hope on the inside that spins them nauseous and threatens to destroy them. As they try desperately to find one last chance at connection, their darkest secrets and brightest dreams are revealed. It's up to the reader/audience to determine for themselves if it is too late for these hapless dreamers.It's beautifully barbaric and seductive. One of my dream plays.

[Tommy Harkness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great play from Shanley, it’s amazing that he wrote this and “The Dreamer Examines His Pillow” and then he wrote “Doubt”. His range as a writer is remarkable. The opening of this play might be his best opening of all his plays. It’s fireworks. I don’t know how he does it, but it makes me want to write a play.

[Jordan Muschler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shanley is great at dialogue and the story moves along quickly - however, these two characters never quite got to my heartstrings. Each was complicated and specific, but the stakes of the story were low enough that it never quite pulled me in entirely. However, I think this is an issue that could be rectified by seeing a great performance of it - which I certainly hope to do someday.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This play was an absolutely spiritual experience. Perhaps it just found me at the right moment in my life to be receptive to it, but I have never felt like something could be so honest and raw.

I started quoting lines in my own life. It just made sense.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Patrick Shanley has a rare gift; that gift being that he can take the hideous and show you its beauty, he can take the dark and show its light. If you think I'm being too romantic, or dramatic about the whole thing go read this play and find out for yourself.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is very interesting and the characters are both wounded and looking for love and acceptance in the harsh world that they live in.

I had to read this for class, but really enjoyed the characters more than I thought I would.

[Paige Beaudreault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did this play and loved it. The complex lives of the characters makes you love and hate them. You sympathize with their pain and their need to be loved and cared for. They’re been through hell and they deserve love.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

when i was like 14!

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have your thinking/Dr.Phil cap on for this one. It's a great ride!

[NYLon Carry On · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite play. It's great. A bit twisted!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love and Violence function as hairpin turns of intimacy. Some of the most big-hearted people in literature.

[Gypsysoul_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's one of those scripts that as much i would LOVE to direct or act in (age allowing) that the audience may not at all be into. Violent, sad, touching, a great actor's piece for sure.

[Allie · Rating 1 out of 5]

jps hit on a girl i know more than half his age and was really gross to her so booo

[IReadPlays · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a way to make it right if ya know enough!” 🐋
~
This sweet, 40 page play feels like staring at a giant painting for 40 minutes where you can see the whole picture but every time you get a closer look new details pop out at you thus changing the meaning. Or something.
~
Danny, a loudmouth truck driver with an horrible habit of fighting everyone who looks at him wrong, and Roberta a divorced mother of a troubled child, meet out at a bar one evening. They quickly strike up a conversation, both with thier guards piled high before them. Danny has just engaged in a fight (his hands are bruised and bleeding) and Roberts has fled the home she shares with her abusive father, mother and troubled teen. I normally don’t enjoy a two hander when the two characters have zero history together…dialogue can often feel like an interview with zero tension lol. This one, however, really captured my attention and the two characters dove deep into the *good stuff* really quickly.
~
The two feel drawn to each other and ultimately decide to spend their night together. Roberta, desperate for escape, mockingly (without true intention to carry it out) convinces Danny to plan a wedding with her. Danny with this tough emotional barrier, slowly agrees but by the end of the night *he* is the one who’s most excited about it. When they wake up the next morning, Danny assumes it was all true but Roberta is chalks it up to a one night stand…ready to keep living in her brokenness without him, just grateful for a night away from it all… 🫧
~
This one won’t take long to read but you’ll still be absorbing it long after you’re finished.

@ireadplays IG / @ireadplays TIKTOK

[Waël Ghandour · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just watched a Lebanese adaptation of this play, and it was so excellent and intriguing, that it compelled me to read the play. I came back home and read it immediately.
This play makes up for some very fine theater: it is cathartic, and it goes to psychological lengths in the simplest words or actions.
It is the story of two broken people, Danny and Roberto, who reunite on a night out, and it escalates very quickly from there. "The guys I work with, they call me the Beast", Danny tells Roberta. Little does he know that Roberto too is a beast, just a different kind.
It's daring, and it tackles so many social issues in simplistic, yet deep ways. Totally recommend.

[Aubry Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two broken and lonely souls that only know violence and pain try their very best to approximate this thing called "love". It's so heart wrenching and endearing. Ever f bomb in here is laden with old wounds of these two poor shmucks who have known nothing but abuse, yet still long for something. There are so many f bombs. I f***ing love it.

[readwithmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit my rating is likely conflated by my admiration of Aubrey Plaza and seeing her performance with Christopher Abbott. Despite the crass characters and their brash actions, the story is about love and the power of love.

[Darby Steeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored it. A simple want that can resonate with everyone from all walks of life.