When a violent storm sinks their whaling ship off the coast of New Bedford, Mass., the four survivors face a reckoning: how far will they go to stay alive? And can they live with the consequences? With music and lyrics from The Avett Brothers (“America’s Biggest Roots Band,” Rolling Stone), whose 2004 “Mignonette” was inspired by an 1884 shipwreck and the struggle of four men to survive, SWEPT AWAY is an electrifying, soul-stirring new musical exploring how facing tragedy can open the door to forgiveness… if only we’ll let it.
The good news is that Mayer is in top form with his latest Broadway entry. The new musical “Swept Away” opened Tuesday at the Longacre Theatre, and it helps immeasurably that this divisive director is working with great material here. In its first half, the musical recalls the grandeur of Benjamin Britten’s opera “Billy Budd.” Then Rachel Hauck’s set capsizes – the ship really flips over! – and the musical turns into an intimate chamber piece with its four survivors starving and slowly spinning around in the middle of the sea.
You may nevertheless want to ask yourself whether a show whose sound effects include amplified vomit is right for you. For all its hornpipes and full-throated song, its visual panache and masculine eye candy, “Swept Away,” is among the darkest, most unsparing musicals ever to anchor itself on Broadway. And despite the suggestion of rapture in its title, it is really about the gravest decisions humans can make, the depths of souls that are darker than the sea’s.
| 2020 | Regional (US) |
Berkeley Rep World Premiere Regional (US) |
| 2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Pl | Kevin Adams |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musi | Rachel Hauck |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musi | Rachel Hauck |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design | Kevin Adams |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design | Rachel Hauck |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Sound Design | John Shivers |
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