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.
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, which debuted in 1984, was the second of John Patrick Shanley’s twenty-three plays to be produced and was the one that brought him to national attention. He is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, the Tony Award® and the Oscar®, and is included on the Bronx Walk of Fame.. His plays include Doubt, Savage In Limbo, Italian-American Reconciliation, Women of Manhattan, Psychopathia Sexualis, Beggars in the House of Plenty, much more.
Fidel Gomez directs Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. He is a founding member and co-creator of The Vault Ensemble, an interdisciplinary performance company which has performed at Los Angeles Theatre Center. He directed and wrote The Vault: Bankrupt and The Vault: Unlocked. He co-wrote and acted in the Los Angeles Theatre Center production of Melancholia, which toured internationally, and acted in the national tour of LATC’s Solitude. His training at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, American Academy of Dramatic Art and Stella Adler Conservatory (NYC) prepared him for his many acting roles on stage, screen and television.
Hugo Media plays Danny. An MFA recipient from University of California San Diego, his prolific stage work includes roles in Melancholia, Balm in Gilead, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Revenger’s Tragedy, Hedda Gabler, Camino Real, and much more. He’s appeared in several independent films and on the TV series, Orange Is the New Black, The Unit, The Bridge, Sons of Anarchy, True Blood and State of Affairs.
Sofia Yepes, a native of Colombia, trained at Long Island University and at T. Schreiber Studios in New York prior to moving to Los Angeles. Her stage credits include roles in Come Sundown; All My Sons; Ten Women, Twenty Experiences; and Sex, Relationships and Sometimes Love. She’ll soon star in the film nor thriller Raquel.
Stage manager: Julian Fernandez. Set and lighting designs: Francois Pierre Couture. Sound design: John Zalewski. Costume design/ assistant set design: Hye Sun Lee.
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea will appeal to men and women who like romance with an edge.
“…The play is the equivalent of sitting at ringside watching a prize fight that concludes in a loving embrace.”
-New York Times
WHAT: Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. A romance.
WHO: Written by John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Fidel Gomez. Produced by Fidel Gomez and Geoffrey Rivas for The Latino Theater Company. Starring Hugo Medina and Sofia Yepes
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WHERE: Los Angeles Theatre Center, in The Gallery, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013.
WHEN: Previews July 9. Opens Friday, July 10, 2015 at 8:00 p.m., runs through July 26. Show times: Thurs.- Sat. at 8:00, Sun. at 3:00.
ADMISSION: $30. Students, seniors, veterans $22. Groups of twelve or more, $20 per ticket.
RESERVATIONS: (213) 489-0994.
ONLINE TICKETING: www.thelatc.org