Swimming With Whales at 1st Stage Theatre

Swimming With Whales

1st Stage Theatre
1524 Spring Hill Road Tysons

A powerful story about the healing powers of nature, Swimming With Whales follows a city teen as he reconnects the broken relationship with his fisherman father. Foulmouthed, sullen and afraid of nature, Owen visits his family's secluded cottage in Nantucket only to clash with his estranged parent. But an unlikely connection forms between Own and an injured whale, calling back his forgotten childhood and a communion with the ocean. See this compassionate world premiere play by Bob Bartlett at the 1st Stage Theater in Tysons, Virginia.

Thru - Jun 24, 2018

Thursdays: 7:30pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 2:00pm & 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm

Box Office: 703-854-1856

www.1ststagespringhill.org

Nearby Restaurants

Swimming With Whales Reviews

Average Rating based on 5 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Recommended

"...But Bartlett (a founding member of local playwrights collective the Welders) largely steers the drama away from undue sentimentality, and he does a great job teasing out the significance of the ocean and the whale (Nate Shelton as Ketos) without letting either of those saltwater presences become ponderous symbols."

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- Celia Wren

DC Theater Arts - Recommended

"...Owen is forced to deal with a sea of troubles; far more tragic than the standard gripes that teenage boys have against authority figures. Dramatic issues of abandonment, illness, loss, and grief are countered in the play by love, humor, support, and redemption. The play reestablishes to the characters, and to the audience, the comforting power of nature."

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- Chuck Leonard

MD Theatre Guide - Recommended

"...This is a gentle, and ultimately hopeful, play considering that death permeates it. The pacing seems to take its lead from the timelessness of sea and sand-it ebbs and flows and pushes and pulls and sparks up and subsides. Director Alex Levy wisely lets the susurration the sea, which is instinctive to human development, set the pace as these four people reaffirm their bonds and find other paths together and separately."

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- Mary Ann Johnsonon

DCTheatreScene - Recommended

"...As the blood family heals and the intentional family regrows its roots along the sands of Nantucket, we see a poignant, at times hilarious, journey of healing and reconciliation. Bartlett weaves a whale of tale; one that is worth sharing."

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- Jeffrey Walker

BroadwayWorld - Recommended

"...Bartlett has a light touch as a writer. His descriptions of loss are captivating and ring true to life because they are drawn from his own deeply personal experience of love and loss. Despite its preoccupation with death, Swimming with Whales is joyful, funny, and surprising in all the ways that life everyday can be. This is what makes Swimming with Whales so watchable, despite it's lengthy run time."

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- Jenny Minich

Swimming With Whales at 1st Stage Theatre