Swept Away. Book by John Logan. Music and lyrics by The Avett Brothers. Directed by Michael Mayer. Music supervision by Brian Usifer. Choreography by David Neumann. Scenic design by Rachel Hauck. Costume design by Susan Hilferty. Lighting design by Kevin Adams. Sound design by John Shivers. Music direction by Will Van Dyke. Arrangements and orchestrations by Brian Usifer and Chris Miller. Music coordinator Michael Aarons Associate director Johanna McKeon. Assistant choreographer Brian Munn.
Cast: John Gallagher, Jr., Stark Sands, Adrian Blake Enscoe, Wayne Duvall, Josh Breckenridge, Hunter Brown, Matt DeAngelis, Cameron Johnson, Brandon Kalm, Rico LeBron, Michael J. Mainwaring, Orville Mendoza, Chase Peacock, Tyrone L. Robinson, David Rowen, and John Sygar.
Theater: Longacre Theatre
Tickets: Telecharge.com

Stark Sands and Adrian Blake Enscoe Photo by Emilio Madrid

Inspired by the 2004 album "Mignonette" by folk rock band The Avett Brothers, and containing songs from throughout their career, Swept Away is being masterfully directed by Michael Mayer, who has reached into the same creative well he drew from back in 2007 when he turned Green Day's rock album American Idiot into a thrilling musical about adolescent angst, sex and fury.

In Swept Away, the songs, performed by an all-male cast and an altogether terrific band, are also thrilling in their mix of styles, ranging from folk, to foot-stomping bluegrass, to gospel. But the overall impact is less what you'd find in a rock opera than it is of an actual opera as it takes the captain and his men on a journey to hell, a voyage in which few will live to tell the tale.

The 90-minute production (no intermission) is roughly divided in half. The first half is filled with exuberant singing and energetic, athletic choreography by David Neumann, who also did the honors for Hadestown. After a prefatory opening that sets an atmosphere of haunted memories, we jump aboard the ship and join the 16-man crew through the hustle and bustle of pre-sail preparation, followed by long days of hard work and long nights of drinking and camaraderie, but also of tedium and loneliness. Gradually, though, we learn that among the 16, there will be only four around whom the tale unfolds.

There is Captain (none of the characters is addressed by name), a no-nonsense leader and a man of few words, played with a great sense of consequence by Wayne Duvall as someone "who faces down God himself." Heed him when he speaks of ill omens of "witches above and tempests below." Joining him is Mate, brilliantly played by John Gallagher, Jr., who previously worked with the director in American Idiot and the 2006 rock musical Spring Awakening, for which he won a Tony Award for his performance as Moritz. Here, Gallagher plays a man whose soul is metaphorically, if not literally, on the block.

The Cast Photo by Emilio Madrid

All of this unfolds in the first 45 minutes or so. But then, without warning, Captain's premonitions come to pass as a massive storm (brilliantly conjured up by John Shivers' sound design and Kevin Adams' lighting design) hits the ship. Before you can blink, there is a great shift in Rachel Hauck's brilliantly conceived set, and when things settle down, we are left with a lifeboat and four survivors: Captain, Mate, Little Brother, and Big Brother.

As days and weeks go by, hope of rescue gives way to desperation and despair, and the story, as laid out in John Logan's book for the show, teeters between reality and morality play, a parable of Biblical weight with themes of self-recrimination, sacrifice and redemption. It's quite a change from the exuberant first half, but thanks to thoroughly committed performances, The Avett Brothers' wide-ranging songbook, the contributions of a highly creative design team, and Michael Mayer's clear-eyed direction, Swept Away is an original and adventurous foray along the darker edges of what musical theatre can accomplish.