Closed Broadway Show Swept Away to Have One-Night-Only Concert

Producers of Swept Away, the Avett Brothers musical about a 19th-century shipwreck, have announced that the Broadway cast will participate in a one-night-only concert at Bowery Ballroom on Monday, April 28, at 7pm.

Set aboard a New England whaling ship and, following a horrific accident, a lifeboat, Swept Away is about four desperate hungry men adrift, with a fateful decision before them.

While praising the score by Americana band the Avett Brothers as “lovely and haunting,” TheaterMania critic David Gordon also wrote, “I don’t know who Swept Away is geared toward. You can’t take your kids (unless you want to give them nightmares), it’s inappropriate for date night (unless you want an awkward ride home), and it’s too grim and weird for the tourist market. … I ultimately expect Swept Away will be pulled out to sea in the next tide.”

That prediction proved to be correct. After opening at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre on November 19, Swept Away quickly put up a closing notice for December 15. It was later granted a small reprieve and ended its run on December 29.

The April 28 concert will feature performances by John Gallagher Jr., Tony Award nominee Stark Sands, Adrian Blake Enscoe, Wayne Duvall, and the original Broadway ensemble. The book is by John Logan and direction is by Michael Mayer.