INTERVIEW: In ‘Swept Away,’ a captain tries to go down with the ship
Photo: Wayne Duvall plays Captain in the new musical Swept Away. Photo courtesy of Emilio Madrid / Provided by DKC O&M with permission.
There are too many metaphors that could be written about how the on-stage theatrics of the new musical Swept Away mirror the topsy-turvy nature of the Broadway business. This show, which features songs by The Avett Brothers, tells the maritime tale of a whaling ship that faces trials and tribulations of both the natural and human kind. The musical was lifted up on buoyant waves thanks to an enthusiastic critical response for the 90-minute material, but ticket sales unfortunately were not strong enough for a long, healthy run. So the company crashed down with an early closing notice and a final performance set for Sunday, Dec. 15.
Then, fate intervened, and theatergoers started showing up in droves to the Longacre Theatre. Now, Swept Away is enjoying a brief dream-come-true, a theatrical gift that rarely comes to productions on Broadway: Their original closing notice was trashed, and they were granted two more weeks of performances. The new closing is Sunday, Dec. 29. That’s when this ship and its sailors will sail off into the distance for good.
“We’re mixed right now, but we’re just so grateful to get another two weeks to do it,” said Wayne Duvall, who plays the captain of the ship in the show. He’s joined on stage by Adrian Blake Enscoe as Little Brother, Stark Sands as Big Brother and John Gallagher, Jr. as Mate. These four actors are part of a larger ensemble of performers who authentically and convincingly bring an entire whaling ship and its crew to life on stage.
“It’s like a little tornado that we’ve been in,” Duvall admitted. “Then audiences just flocked to the show and sold out the first week back before we were closing. They were like, boom, it was sold out, and then we got the extension. So, it’s made for a soft landing and a nicer disposition among all parties.”
The four main actors have been with this production, which is directed by Michael Mayer and features a book by John Logan, since its run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in the Bay Area. In fact, Gallagher has been developing the piece even longer, going back almost a decade.
“I came in to sing for it as the first step, and the thing that was great for me was that Stark Sands was doing it,” Duvall said. “And I had worked with Stark before, and I have always wanted to work with Michael Mayer. So I can’t even remember if I read the script prior to, honestly. I just knew John Logan wrote it, and I thought, geez. But they wanted to hear my singing voice before they went any further to see if I could do the part, and then after I sang ‘May It Last,’ I got the offer to do the part. So that was awesome.”
Duvall has had a varied career. He previously appeared on Broadway in 1984 and has several off-Broadway credits to his name. His film appearances are just as impressive: O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Lincoln, A Quiet Place 2 and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
“I have a whole cadre of assholes that I play in film,” Duvall said with a laugh. “In theater, I’ve actually gotten to play some nicer guys, but once we started rehearsals, you just knew this is so special. And the music I had been vaguely familiar with, but now I’m an avid Avett fan and listen to it all the time. But it was definitely a special piece. It’s definitely the best thing I’ve ever been a part of in my career, and I’ve had some pretty good stuff film- and TV-wise and theater actually. But this is the best by far, cherry on top of a really lucky career.”
Growing up, Duvall would listen to Johnny Cash and other country stars, thanks to his father, who was a big fan of the genre. Those early memories helped him understand and master The Avett Brothers’ tunes, which stray more toward Americana and folk.
“Obviously there’s a strong country roots to it as well in their sound, but it’s definitely Americana and rock and country and everything put together,” he said. “To me, it’s right in my wheelhouse. I think that’s why I got the part, too, because I can sing this song because it just felt like going home.”
Duvall added: “Like the character, I’m on the backside of a career. As the captain, at the end, he basically said, ‘This is it. I’m too old to get another ship.’ And all he’s done since he was 8 was be in the whaling business, in the whaling industry. It’s that struggle of, was it worth it? I left my family behind. I leave for months at a time. I leave them behind. They’re not a priority, and was it worth it? I think the captain thinks, no, it wasn’t, and what the f— am I going to do now with my life? What am I going to do? They’re just ending me, and I’m still breathing. So, it’s very conflicting because I think of the same thing as an actor, too. I think, God, this is the best thing I’ve ever done and probably will ever be associated with, and what do I do now? I haven’t left my wife behind, that’s for sure, but I mean it’s still that same choice. Wow, this is really a dilemma. I’ve got to start thinking, what is it I want to do? Am I just going to travel and enjoy life? I don’t know. That’s the big ‘I don’t know’ that the captain has to deal with.”
Duvall said the experience of acting in Swept Away has been enriching and exhausting at the same time. It’s not easy heading into the dark places that he and the others have to travel to each night.
“It’s exhausting being traumatized eight nights a week with your own inner-turmoil,” he said. “The aspects of shame you have to deal with every night, complicity in what’s happened with other people’s lives and that kind of thing — it’s very hard. It’s exhausting, but it’s also as an actor very rewarding to try to plumb those depths every night. You’re not always successful, but you get as close as you can.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Swept Away, featuring Wayne Duvall, continues through Sunday, Dec. 29, at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
