ISU Theatre is back with a Second Stage production that has messages deeper than the ocean.

“Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” opens tonight at Fisher Theater. The play is about two lonely strangers, Danny (played by Patrick Wolfe) and Roberta (played by Erin Baal), who meet late one night at a Bronx bar.

“The play is about two people with no hope, who find hope in each other,” said Cara Peterson, an ISU student who is directing the play. “It’s also about not being afraid of love. It’s about finding hope and finding the love in yourself.”

“Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” was written by John Patrick Shanley, who also wrote the screenplays for Moonstruck and Joe vs. the Volcano. Shanley is one of the most frequently produced playwrights in America.

Peterson said much of Shanley’s work is autobiographical and set in the Bronx, and while we in Iowa may not run across his characters in the Midwest, we can still benefit from seeing the play.

“A lot of what he’s written is gleaned from his own experiences and who he grew up with,” Peterson said. “That’s where he really comes from. These are real people who exist somewhere. Just because they don’t exist in our little sphere of knowledge doesn’t mean we shouldn’t listen to their stories. You can get something from that to help yourself.”

Peterson said Shanley’s talent really shines through in his characterizations and the superbly realistic writing.

“It’s a really well-written play,” she said. “It’s got awkward pauses in it; it’s got non-sequiturs in it. When I first read it, I thought, this is how people really talk.”

Peterson even said that sometimes she gets so caught up in watching the play during practice, thanks in large part to the wonderful actors on stage, that she forgets she is the director and not a member of the audience.

“Then I remember that I should be taking notes,” she laughed.

Peterson’s duties as director keep her busy. “Danny” is not the first production she has directed. She actually started directing on last year’s “A Christmas Carol.” Peterson said that the two plays could not be more different.

“[‘Danny and the Deep Blue Sea’] has been really great, especially coming off of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ which had a cast of 30 to 40 people,” she said. “I felt like a traffic director.

“[With ‘Danny’], we’ve been able to really get into the text, so that when people come to see the play, they see real people on stage,” Peterson said.

The stage will be a sort of new experience for Second Stage productions. When Peterson directed last spring’s “Keely and Du,” the shows were at the Maintenance Shop.

But “Danny” will run at Fisher Theater, which is a considerably larger venue. Peterson said the switch to Fisher was for practical reasons. ISU Theatre wanted to be able to sell tickets in advance, which it couldn’t do at the M-Shop.

Also, she said, there are some technical things, especially with lighting, that Fisher is better equipped to handle.

Peterson said that despite the larger venue, the intimacy of two characters utilizing only the front portion of the stage will make the audience feel close to what’s happening.

“Even though it’s in Fisher, it’s still pretty immediate,” she said.

Peterson said that while there are some intense moments, including physical violence and adult humor, people will walk away remembering the beauty of “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.”

“This is one of the most beautiful plays I’ve read, and it’s beautiful because it’s ugly,” she said. “That’s why it’s so much like life, because there are ugly moments and beautiful moments, and sometimes they happen at the same time. It’s not a pretty show, but it is a beautiful show.”

“Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” opens tonight at Fisher Theater. It also runs tomorrow evening and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

Ticket prices for students are $4.75 and are available at the Iowa State Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster outlets or at the door.