Shipwrecked: An Entertainment

by Donald Margulies

“The Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Donald Margulies scampers to the defense of good old-fashioned yarn spinning with SHIPWRECKED. The breathless story of a Victorian gentleman [and] seafaring wanderer springs to life like a theatrical pop-up book… [in a] kid-friendly comedy. The audience is left to judge whether he is an inspirational figure touched by imaginative genius or a mere con man. We can also consider the possibility that the hero of this true story based on an untrue story is a little of each.” (Charles Isherwood, NY Times)

Commissioned and first produced by South Coast Repertory.

“SHIPWRECKED! AN ENTERTAINMENT—THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF LOUIS DE ROUGEMONT (AS TOLD BY HIMSELF) is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.”

“Shipwrecked is first and foremost a tour-de-force opportunity for the actor who plays De Rougemont, an opportunity put to superb advantage by Chris Mixon in this production. Mixon narrates the astounding tale of De Rougemont’s life with complete conviction, conveying his own amazement with the unlikely turns his life took. He is tremendously aided by two actors, Michael Fitzpatrick and Maya Jackson, who play all the other roles—a host of characters, with Fitzpatrick especially hilarious as the frisky, face-licking dog Bruno and the aboriginal chief, and Jackson especially memorable as Louise’s mother, his aboriginal bride, and George Newness, The Wide World’s publisher. The acting trio work beautifully together, directed by Rick Barbour with precision as shifts from character to character, and scene to scene, are managed without missing a beat. A scene in which Fitzpatrick is a newsstand vendor hawking copies of The Wide World with Louis’ story to a crowd of customers—each member of that crowd played by Jackson—is a marvel of split-second timing and comic invention.”

-Arty Dorman, Talkin Broadway