DANNY BOY – The Other Space @ The Actors Company
Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
Watching this play, my thoughts got me to think about all the writers, and the challenges they go through to survive, especially the ones who write poetry. Life is truly just a game and Danny, portrayed by Kevin Kelly, crushed by rejection, and haunted by a troubled past, makes a living as a street clown entertaining children in the park to somehow survive. His challenging life combined with super sensitivity suppresses his waterfall of dreams, and only his struggles with addiction and the hope for redemption sustains him. When everything we ever loved has been taken away from us and we are on the edge of our perfect imperfection, there are tears, suffering and we are unable to find the way. And one day the redemption comes through the girl from downstairs who needs to make a phone call, since her phone is not functioning. She is blind, calm and beautiful. She sits for a while with him, and they talk. Danny and Christine, portrayed by Marie Broderick, strike a chord. They found each other in the rebels; she feels safe in his arms and a pure life happens. Everything is so easy with her. She brought back that innocent dream. Being in love made Danny feel alive again. They both just want to hold each other to the end of time.
I do think there is an incredible play we have here, unusual and intriguing, with very intense connections to the emotions, which have a deep impact on the audience. Set in 1980’s, Danny’s lower east side apartment & other worlds, with its slow tempo and heavy subject, showing us the scary side of life, it penetrates and brings out the meaning of survival, especially when your flesh and blood want to have fun and drowns you in your own suffering. His brother Francis, portrayed by Robert Kerbeck, always comes not to see him, but to put him down. Even though they sprung from the same tree, the fruit is quite different sometimes. Heavy subjects bring us a strong play, well written, directed and portrayed, that keeps audiences rapt until the end.
Kevin is totally inflamed with the role of Danny and lets his emotions fly wildly, Marie brings Christine’s character to such perfection, that until the very end I was wondering, ‘Is she really blind?’ And brother Francis makes you despise him. Everyone in this cast is riveting and deserves to be singled out for applause– Mr. Rosa (Daniel V. Graulau), Maddie (Lisa Richards), Nathanial – A Divine Messenger (Oscar Best), Raoul (Ralph Guzzo), Joe (Craig Barnett) and Peggy (Carla Barnett). Highly recommended!
Projected on three sides of the wall are great visuals of stars, heavy rain falling, an eight-pointed star symbolizing the end of our time here, when our departed loved ones come and greet us, and we are taken to our true home, into the God’s realm.
Presented by Lightning Horse Productions, the World Premiere of Danny Boy, written and directed by Michael J. Harney, makes us think about our own dreams and go over the events of our own life. As Michael points out, ‘Danny Boy’ was written to find out what I was writing about, and I am still finding that out. To say that the play is about love, time, Heaven and earth, Angels, Outcasts, destruction and the hoped for tenderness of God would all be true. But there is so much more between the lines where practical logic burns itself into surrender, finding the unnamable, unknowable and ever-present now where everything and nothing resides. Where those we thumb our noses at, our throwaways, are Kings and Queens running free through the fields of Eternity.’
The production manager is Tracey Silver, Scenic design by Joel Daavid, Projections are done by Fritz Davis, Sound by Chris Moscatiello, Lighting design by Tom Meleck, Costume & Make-up design by Dre Lamparello, Prop Mistress is Jenine MacDonald and Stage Manager is Jennifer Palumbo.
Danny Boy runs at The Other Space @ The Actors Company, 916 A North Formosa Ave. in West Hollywood, CA 90046, through October 25, 2025. Performances are on Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $30; students and seniors $25. This 3-hour play, including a 15-minute intermission, is really worth seeing.
*** I would strongly recommend coming earlier because the street parking is very challenging to find. Even if you are 5 minutes late, the gate to the property is closed and it becomes an active action to find someone to open the gate for you, if there are still some available parking spots on the lot.
You can make reservations at www.onstage411.com/DannyBoy