Aubrey Plaza to make New York stage debut in 'Danny and the Deep Blue Sea'

Christopher Abbott will also star in the latest revival of John Patrick Shanley's romantic drama, which will go up at the Lucille Lortel Theatre this fall.

They're diving into the Off-Broadway scene! Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott will star in John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea this fall. Performances run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre from October 30 to January 7 only. Opening night is on November 13.

Plaza makes her New York stage debut with Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. She is best known for her starring roles as April Ludgate in Parks & Recreation and Harper Spiller in The White Lotus; the latter earned her Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations. Her film credits include Ingrid Goes West, Happiest Season, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Life After Beth, and more.

Abbott is best known for playing Charlie Dattolo in Girls. He's a Golden Globe nominee for starring in the 2019 miniseries adaptation of the novel Catch-22, and his film credits include Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and First Man. Abbott made his Broadway debut in The House of Blue Leaves in 2011 and has starred in multiple Off-Broadway productions.

Plaza and Abbott respectively play Roberta and Danny, two strangers who meet at a Bronx bar. The violent, hardened Danny and divorced, trauma-ridden Roberta are slow to warm up to each other, but they eventually agree to spend a night together that offers them hope for a less lonely, bitter future.

Shanley's play premiered in 1984 at the Circle in the Square Theatre (then a downtown Off-Broadway venue), and Second Stage Theater revived the show in 2004.

The 2023 production precedes a Broadway revival of another Shanley play, Doubt, starring Liev Schreiber and Tyne Daly.

On the creative side, actor Jeff Ward (Hacks, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) makes his stage directorial debut with Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. The show also features movement by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, scenic design by Scott Pask, lighting design by John Torres, sound design by Kate Marvin, and costume design by Arianne Phillips.

Photo credit: Christopher Abbott and Aubrey Plaza. (Photos courtesy of production)