Two local productions take audiences on very different high-seas journeys

Two sea-faring tales that take audiences on very different voyages are currently showing in local theaters. The first is DNAWORKS’ world premiere production of “The Secret Sharer,” based on an enduring short story of the same name written by Joseph Conrad, presented by ArtsEmerson through May 3. First published in two parts in the August and September 1910 editions of Harper’s Magazine, the narrative centers on an inexperienced captain who rescues a man from the water, a fugitive named Leggatt, who killed a man on another ship. But keeping Leggatt a secret from his crew is more difficult than the young captain expected.

Onstage, DNAWORKS’ immersive version of Conrad’s tale, which is often cited as an early queer text, is anchored by joy. The show stars Alvon Reed, Kenneth Norris, Kwesi Johnson and DNAWORKS co-founder Daniel Banks. Banks read Conrad’s “The Secret Sharer” in high school and was struck by the connection between the two men in the story. He was inspired to someday bring it to the stage.

While Conrad was celebrated for his literary work, he was also a controversial figure, criticized by other writers and theorists for racism and anti-Semitism. The DNAWORKS team acknowledges Conrad’s troubled history while lifting up the themes of connection, trust and clandestine intimacy in “The Secret Sharer.”

Last Friday night at the Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre in the Paramount Center, the audience sat in the round beneath more than a dozen hanging green-glass orbs covered in rope and light fixtures that seemed to mimic netting descended from the ceiling, created by scenic designers Ant Ma and Yu-Hsuan Chen.

At the show’s start, Banks welcomed the crowd, encouraged selfies with the program, and narrated the show, where Reed and Johnson embodied the intimate relationship between the two men through gesture. Their slow, deliberate movement across the stage, interweaving arms, touching back to back, helped convey the closeness of the characters in Conrad’s story. Reed and Johnson’s interactions were complemented by music composed by Kenneth Norris, lighting design by Marika Kent, sound design by Ray Archie and costume design by Lia Wallfish and Mel Ng.

The show was punctuated by DNAWORKS’ signature story circles. The company is “dedicated to dialogue and healing through the arts,” and inviting showgoers to participate is one way it does that. Questions about coming out, queer joy and first queer crushes were some of the things Banks asked audience members to share. One person realized their queerness at a rollerskating rink while clad in cargo shorts, and another talked of getting the support needed from family after coming out. In addition to the story circle, there was a dance-off, with participants split into two teams, each led by one of the dancers.

While “The Secret Sharer” is not your standard theater production, it offers adventurous audience members a chance to do more than be a passive viewer and provides space for them to participate in the creation of storytelling in real time.

The second production is a darker one. Set in 1888, a shipwrecked whaling crew fights for their lives in SpeakEasy Stage Company’s “Swept Away” (showing through May 23). With a book by John Logan, music and lyrics by the Avett Brothers, and arrangements and orchestrations by Chris Miller and Brian Usifer, the musical has a fun and boisterous start as the audience gets to know a little about the shipmates before they set sail.

Peter DiMaggio (who was hilarious and engaging in SpeakEasy’s “Lizard Boy”), Max Connor, Bishop Levesque and Christopher Chew lead a wonderful ensemble of actors, singers and an aerialist in this show, directed by Jeremy Johnson with music direction by Paul S. Katz.

In “Swept Away,” DiMaggio’s Mate and Chew’s Captain have been at sea numerous times, but Little Brother (Connor), a farmer, is eager for an adventure and joins the crew despite his lack of experience. Big Brother (Levesque) tries to warn him to stay ashore, but ultimately joins him on board rather than leave him in the hands of Mate.

Levesque’s Big Brother rendered an impassioned, prayerful solo in “Lord Lay Your Hand on My Shoulder,” seeking God’s help while trying (without luck) to get the other crew members to join. Captain, who is at retirement age, laments the end of his ocean-bound career with the song “May It Last.” I wanted more of Chew’s roaring baritone.

The acting in the show was wonderful but the script lacks action, making this 90-minute journey feel a little flat at times. But there were stunning moments. When the storm hit, the work of scenic designer Janie Howland sound designer James Cannon was apparent. The exquisite lighting by designer Karen Perlow was one of my favorite elements of the show. Broken pieces of wood from the ship slowly descended from above, the light shifted to a deep purple, the orchestra sped up, and aerialist Ezra Quinlan writhed from the invisible wind. The stormy scene flashed by almost too quickly and transitioned to what happened to the crew on the lifeboat.

Lost at sea, the remaining members struggle without water and food and sing songs of hunger, despair and of the evil thoughts that creep into their hearts while they wonder if they will make it. The story takes a deeply disturbing turn that leaves the crew members grappling with the choices they made when pushed to the brink.

DNAWORKS’ “The Secret Sharer” presented by ArtsEmerson runs through May 3 at the Emerson Paramount Center. SpeakEasy Stage Company’s “Swept Away” shows through May 23 at the Calderwood Pavilion.