Acevedo (HBO's "Oz" and "Band of Brothers") was set to star in the title role of the John Patrick Shanley work opposite Rosemarie DeWitt. The actor has withdrawn from the production because he has been cast in the forthcoming "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" starring stage stalwarts Jerry Orbach and Bebe Neuwirth.
Leigh Silverman will direct Rothenberg and DeWitt (Small Tragedy) in the play about a tumultuous encounter between a man and woman who meet in a Bronx dive. The previously announced dates — previews beginning Oct. 21 and opening Nov. 10 — remain the same for the run slated through Dec. 5.
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea had its premiere at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in February 1984 then played Off-Broadway in June 1984 starring John Turturro and June Stein. The work is one of three Shanley plays to hit the stage this season — including the new works Sailor's Song (LAByrinth Theatre Company) and Doubt (Manhattan Theatre Club).
Rothenberg has also played on stage in Birdy (The Women's Project), Center of Gravity, The Beautiful One, and Close Encounters (Manhattan Theatre Source) as well as Mother of Invention (Williamstown Theatre Festival). He has appeared in the films "Coyote Beach" and "Modern Young Man" and on television in "A.U.S.A." and "Hack."
DeWitt recently earned an OBIE Award as the ensemble of Craig Lucas' Small Tragedy. Other stage appearances include Anonymous, Dead Reckoning and Plummet, The Group, A Lifetime of Reasons and Clash by Night. She will also appear in the upcoming films "The Cinderella Man" and "The Great New Wonderful." The design team for the production will feature Santo Loquasto (scenic), Jennifer von Mayrhauser (costume), Jeff Croiter (lighting) and John Gromada (sound).
Bronx scribe Shanley's plays include Cellini, Savage in Limbo, the dreamer examines his pillow, Beggars in the House of Plenty, Welcome to the Moon, Four Dogs and a Bone, Italian American Reconciliation, Missing/Kissing, The Big Funk, Where’s My Money? and Dirty Story. As a screenwriter, he is known for his "Five Corners" and "Moonstruck."
Director Silverman staged the acclaimed run of Lisa Kron's Well Off-Broadway last season. Other credits include Jump/Cut (Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Washington, D.C.), Wit (London's West End and L.A.'s Geffen Theatre), How I Learned to Drive (Actors Theatre of Louisville), The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (Theatre J, Washington, D.C.) and Blown Sideways Through Life (Adirondack Theatre Festival).
Second Stage — who will co-present the upcoming Broadway staging of Reckless — will present a 2004-05 season that includes the William Finn Rachel Sheinkin musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (starting Jan. 11, 2005), the world premiere of Paul Weitz's Privilege (starting March 29, 2005) and Cheryl L. West's Birdie Blue starring "Law & Order" actress S. Epatha Merkerson (from May 31, 2005).
For tickets to Danny and the Deep Blue Sea at Second Stage Theatre, 307 West 43rd Street, (off Eighth Avenue), call (212) 246-4422 or (800) 766-6048. For more information, visit www.SecondStageTheatre.com.
