{"id":17457,"date":"2015-04-12T19:45:30","date_gmt":"2015-04-13T02:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=17457"},"modified":"2015-04-12T19:46:55","modified_gmt":"2015-04-13T02:46:55","slug":"new-s-f-troupe-morphs-tortured-souls-into-softer-beings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/new-s-f-troupe-morphs-tortured-souls-into-softer-beings\/","title":{"rendered":"New S.F. troupe morphs tortured souls into softer beings"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Woody’s [rating: 5]<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Paul Ulloa (Danny) and Kimberley Roberts (Roberta) star in \u201cDanny and the Deep Blue Sea.\u201d Photo by Sharon Rimando.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cDanny and the Deep Blue Sea\u201d would merit a rave review were the theatrical company decades old.<\/p>\n

But it deserves special acclaim because the two-character, two-act drama is Flynn Spirit Productions\u2019 first outing.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say, six stars out of five.<\/p>\n

Paul Ulloa and Charlotte Garwood, who named their new venture after their son, Flynn, have said they \u201cwant to bring risk-taking and [emotionally] moving theater to audiences and artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve fully met both prongs of that goal.<\/p>\n

From the git-go.<\/p>\n

Ulloa gets maximum credit because he effectively doubles as the play\u2019s star, assuming the violence-prone title role opposite Kimberley Roberts\u2019 power as Roberta, a divorced mother tormented by the ever-present image of an ugly sexual encounter with a family member.<\/p>\n

Both tattooed characters in their mid-30s are foul-mouthed, angry, father-hating, tortured souls \u2014 the epitome of self-loathing.<\/p>\n

Both seek compassion and forgiveness.<\/p>\n

And both shout a lot \u2014 almost eardrum-splittingly \u2014 in the 20-minute first act, which is as intense as anything I\u2019ve seen on a Bay Area stage in many a moon.<\/p>\n

Playwright John Patrick Shanley and director Estelle Piper turn down the decibel count a notch for Act 2, which is nearly twice as long \u2014 and soften the would-be lovers into something approximating likability.<\/p>\n

That let me breathe normally again.<\/p>\n

And be grateful for experiencing something fresh, crisp and improbably believable in the 48-seat Phoenix Theater, high up in a building just off Union Square in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

What had drawn me there was the playwright, John Patrick Shanley, who\u2019d written two other plays I admired, \u201cDoubt\u201d and \u201cMoonstruck.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the fact that Danny, a possible killer known to his fellow truck drivers as \u201cThe Beast,\u201d believes his inner pain (\u201ceverything hurts all the time\u201d) will lead to a heart attack, or that unemployed Roberta thinks she\u2019s nuts, desires punishment and fantasizes about being blissful in jail, and has relegated care of her 17-year-old son to her parents.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t that either\u2019s desperate craving for tenderness, for happiness, for love, may appear too rapidly.<\/p>\n

Or that they both are momentarily naked.<\/p>\n

And it certainly wasn\u2019t that the set reminded me of a seedy neighborhood bar in the Bronx where, on my first newspaper job, I\u2019d frequently guzzled tap beer with locals.<\/p>\n

In any case, I\u2019m glad I could watch two downtrodden theatrical caterpillars morph into butterflies.<\/p>\n

Despite Danny undoubtedly remaining, as Roberta labels him, \u201ca caveman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDanny and the Deep Blue Sea\u201d runs at the Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason St. (between Geary and Post), Suite 601, San Francisco, through May 3. Night performances, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Matinees, 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $30. Information: www.eventbrite.com<\/a>.<\/em> <\/strong>\u00a0or (510) 843-4822.<\/em><\/p>\n

Contact Woody Weingarten at voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a> or at www.vitalitypress.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Woody’s [rating: 5] \u201cDanny and the Deep Blue Sea\u201d would merit a rave review were the theatrical company decades old. But it deserves special acclaim because the two-character, two-act drama…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"