REVIEW: Deep Blue Sound at Steamer No. 10 Theatre

Review by Amy Modesti

ALBANY – Abe Koogler’s Deep Blue Sound made its Capital Region debut at Steamer No. 10 Theatre this month. Directed by Harbinger co-founder, Chris Foster, viewers were allowed a deep glimpse into the lives of nine Puget Sound residents who spent time searching for orca whales that migrated away from the island while also diving deep into their own life’s triumphs and sorrows behind the scenes.  

In 2023, Chris Foster and Patrick White attended the Summer Works Festival of New Works on the Lower East Side of New York City, and it was at the festival where they first saw Deep Blue Sound. 

 Early this year, they returned to the Public Theatre to watch the production a second time. The play, according to Foster, was well received.  

“When we saw it the second time, we were like, ‘I think that’s a Harbinger show,’” Foster said.  

“To be on East Third Street and see this play and go, you know, we need to do this at Steamer 10.” White said. “It’s a great thrill, and it’s extraordinary that we would get the rights to it so quickly after a commercial run in New York City.”  

Deep Blue Sound made its official premiere June 5, 2023, at the Clubbed Thumb, an experimental theater company and organization based in New York City. The organization, founded in 1996, commissions, develops, and produces funny, odd, and provocative new plays written by American writers.  

According to Koogler in a March 28 interview with Eve Bromberg for her feature, In Interviews, it took him 25 years of filtering his experience on living on Vashon Island in Washington to write Deep Blue Sound.

For this play, Koogler “wanted to write something symphonic with a lot of voices working at the same time.” he said. 

Deep Blue Sound Review  

A look at the backs of all nine actors sitting in chairs facing their audience at Steamer No. 10 Theatre in Albany. Photo Credit: Andrew Elder of Best Frame Forward

The stage setup for Deep Blue Sound was minimalistic, and it worked for what the scenes called for. Upon the play’s start, nine wooden chairs were situated in the center of the stage and each cast member, gossiping amongst each other, helped set the tone for what the audience could expect to see. In another instance, a small table was used for the conversation that Joy Mead (Carol Charniga) and Ella (Christine Kenefick) had when Joy worked on Ella’s obituary.  

The stage lighting and sound effects in this production were fantastic in their use for the play’s most pivotal moments, as expressed by lighting director David Caso and sound designer, Stephen Wilson.  

in one scene, Leslie (Joyce Anderson), the island therapist, is underneath the pink light speaking in a monotone, robotic voice assessing her island neighbors on their life’s troubles. Within the play’s climatic ending, a recording of Ella’s voice was used on cue to signify herself and her soul looking down upon herself from the heavens as she slowly passes on from her terminal cancer while her daughter, Ali (Quinn Solace) and the islanders look on.  

More importantly, the entire cast of Deep Blue Sound took on and achieved the challenge of being true islanders and neighbors looking for some means to bring the orca whales back to the island while in the process going through their own triumphs, personal moves, and enduring loss.  

Tony Pallone delivered perfect comic timing when it came to him, portraying the young dancer, Alexander, as he practiced his dancing in front of his mother, Mo (Kathleen Carey), as well as flipping the switch for the seriousness when it came to him, portraying Chris, the divorced father, wanting to get back together with his ex-wife, Mary (Jessica Cordova) and their daughter.  

Christine Kenefick as Ella. Photo Credit: Andrew Elder of Best Frame Forward

Christine Kenefick also stood out to me in her role as Ella, a conflicted mother in denial of her terminal cancer’s spread, uninterested in needing her friend’s support within her last moments of life but is only willing to share what’s on her mind to Ali and Joy. Her prowess in portraying the seemingly strong, but flawed Ella was well done.

For Foster, it was a dream for him to work alongside this cast because the cast was great for him to work with, and they all knew their characters better than he did. 

Audience members who attended the Talkback Friday session, run by moderator, Lisa Bryk on Sept. 12 mentioned that Deep Blue Sound was a wave, “a very human play and very compassionately active”, and that each character felt genuine and sincere in their actions. 

Most importantly, the moral of Deep Blue Sound is that it wasn’t just about the search for whales, but about the journey, the transitions, and the self-finding of us, and that nothing should be taken for granted.   

Foster sums up the reality of Deep Blue Sound perfectly.

“This play is about endings. My point of view is that nothing lasts forever, even the good stuff.” Foster said. “You must grab onto the moments while you have them rather than waiting to create the perfect death or waiting to get back together with that person that has already moved on from you... We all want to control all that and it’s really not in our hands for the most part, we just need to do the best we can while we’re here.”