“Swept Away” is as exciting as extraordinary
Depending on one’s understanding of the term “musical comedy”, “Swept Away” would not fit even though it features a broad range of songs and dancing by the members of the cast. It is labelled a “musical tale”, which seems more appropriate, even though it is not exactly a “tale” either since it was based on a real-life story, the sinking of an English ship, the Mignonette, that sank off the Cape of Good Hope in 1884. The event inspired the Avett Brothers, a folk-rock band from North Carolina, who released an album of songs built around it in 2004.
Playwright John Logan, best known for his book of the show “Moulin Rouge!”, adapted the story for the stage, with the most salient musical numbers from the album smartly inserted into the development of the action. As the unnamed ship is about to leave New Bedford, Massachusetts, a teenager, named “Little Brother”, jumps on board with the intent of discovering the rest of the world. Soon after, he is followed by “Big Brother” who wants to bring him back to the family farm, but after they argue he finds himself stranded as the ship has now left port. For a while the two brothers adjust to life on board, with the crewmen accepting their presence, though they obviously come from a different background and have different opinions and ideas, notably where religion is concerned, led by their Captain, an elderly man and his second-in-command, Mate.
When a storm, strikingly staged by Rachel Hauck with Kevin Adams (lighting) and John Shivers (sound), sinks the ship, only Little Brother, Big Brother, the Captain and Mate survive in a lifeboat, spending 21 days lost in the middle of the ocean. Mate, who displays little concern about others or concepts of cannibalism, suggests that Little Brother, already weakened and close to dying, be sacrificed. Big Brother ultimately kills himself rather than his brother to satisfy the other’s need for survival. Ultimately, the three specters of this adventure haunt Mate, asking him to reveal how the story ended.
Obviously, this is hardly what you might call a jovial theatrical entertainment, but this riveting story, superbly augmented with the many musical numbers from the Avett Brothers’ original album, keeps the audience totally absorbed for the entire length of its 90-minute scenic presentation.
As Mate, John Gallagher, Jr., already admired in many Broadway shows and musicals, uses the stage as a platform for his enormous talent, being all at once facetious, sturdy, lame, vibrant, as the story develops. Stark Sands, last seen in & Juliet and previously nominated for a Tony for his participation in Kinky Boots, is strongly austere and convincing as Big Brother. Adrian Blake Enscoe, making his Broadway debut as Little Brother, reveals a stage presence that should lead to other opportunities to shine on Broadway. As for Wayne Duvall, as Captain, he is utterly convincing as an elder seaman ready to abandon ship as it were.
David Neumann’s choreography keeps the first half of the show going with a solid display of manly folk dances, while Michael Mayer’s direction gives the ensemble the gratification it needs to keep everything going at a sensible step, notably in the scenes in which the ship is tanging back and forth before it sinks. Swept Away is the kind of memorable musical drama that is bound to enrich mature audiences in search of a spellbinding show and ready to discover folk-rock, country and bluegrass songs with a strong appeal to anchor it.
Musical Supervision: Brian Usifer • Music Director: Will Van Dyke • Choreography: David Neumann • Scenic Design: Rachel Hauck • Costume Design: Susan Hilferty • Lighting Design: Kevin Adams • Sound Design: John Shivers • With: Adrian Blake Enscoe (Little Brother), Stark Sands (Big Brother), John Gallagher, Jr. (Mate), Wayne Duvall (Captain) and others
Cover photo: Emilio Madrid