Seascape
Written by Edward Albee
Directed by Nick Sandys
at Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln (map)
thru Oct 14 | tickets: $47-$52 | more info
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A thought-provoking, reptilian Albee
Remy Bumppo presents
Seascape
Review by Catey Sullivan
Scenes from a marriage – both human and reptilian – take center stage in Edward Albee’s Seascape. As in the far superior Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Seascape deals with two married couples, brought together for an evening of banter and revelation. Unlike Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, one of the couples in Seascape just so happens to be a husband and wife team of freakishly evolved lizards. They’ve crawled out of the ocean, vaguely but persistently dissatisfied with life among the fish they deem as stupid. Directed for Remy Bumppo Theatre by the company’s Artistic Director Nick Sandys, Seascape is entertaining and thought-provoking – perhaps more the latter than the former,
Albee is deftly skilled at painting the poignant differences between the still very-much-in-love husband and wife. And Sandys elicits moving performances from both Clear and Armour, making their differences both pointed and poignant. As for Albee, he is a master at crafting dialogue that is at once biting and emotionally effective. In Armour and Clear, Remy Bumppo has two actors up to the task of delivering that dialogue; in the wrong hands, it would come across as a series of one-liners. Here, it’s subtly steeped in just the right amount of pathos, disarming honesty and depth.
That said, the first act of Seascape is a prolonged set up for the appearance of the spectacularly rendered Rachel Laritz costume design – a perfectly anthropomorphic hybrid of human and reptile lizards. With the arrival of lizards Leslie (Sean Parris) and Sarah (Emjoy Gavino), Seascape starts being less about the state of an individual marriage and more about the universal state of humanity. And that’s when things start to get truly interesting.
Somewhat paralleling Nancy and Charlie’s debate over whether to keep moving or rest, Leslie and Sarah are grappling with the issues of evolution. They no longer belong with the mute, underwater creatures they’ve lived with for years but – especially after being exposed to the fears and difficulties Nancy and Charlie face in the vast, above ground world – they’re fearful of taking the next, big leap forward. (Or is it entirely forward?)
Playing out on Angela Weber Miller’s expansive set of dunes, sky and water (fully a third of the usual seating space in the Greenhouse’s upstairs theater has been covered to create a giant sand dune), Gavino and Parris completely inhabit their lizard-ness, from the wonder in Gavino’s eyes when exposed to the phenomenon of human breasts to Clear’s twitchy, aggressive protective stance in confronting the strange terrestrial creatures Nancy and Charlie represent.
But in the end, for all the laudable qualities of the production, Seascape is less story and more rumination on evolution in both its micro- and macro- forms. It’s interesting, and a showcase for costumes and set, but it lacks the relentless momentum to maintain its thin narrative.
Rating: ★★★
Seascape continues through October 14th at Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln (map), with performances Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Thursdays 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays 2:30pm. Tickets are $47-$52, and are available by phone (773-404-7336) or online through Tix.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at RemyBumppo.org. (Running time: 2 hours, includes an intermission)
Photos by Johnny Knight
artists
cast
Anabel Armour (Nancy), Patrick Clear (Charlie); Sean Parris (Leslie), Emjoy Gavino (Sarah)
behind the scenes
Nick Sandys (director);Angela Weber Miller (set); Rachel Laritz (costumes); Victoria Delorio (original music, sound design); Michael McNamara (lighting); Jenny Pinson (props); Samantha L. Symon (stage manager); Johnny Knight (photos)
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