BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: December 4, 2005

SEASCAPE

The Lincoln Center Theater folk brings to the stage of the Booth Theater a revival of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning play SEASCAPE. Starring George Grizzard, Elizabeth Marvel, Frances Sternhagen and Frederick Weller, this study in the evolution of relationships receives a first-class presentation under the direction of Mark Lamos.

As he did in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF—revived last season with stars Kathleen Turner and Bill Erwin— playwright Albee takes a look at the battle of the sexes within the arena of a marriage. In SEASCAPE, however, things are a lot less heated and far more philosophical.

SEASCAPE opened on Broadway in 1974 and starred the gracious Deborah Kerr and the stalwart Barry Nelson. The show was not a great commercial success, but did bring Albee his second of three Pulitzer Prizes. For this production, Mark Lamos has cast the human characters performers twenty years older than the original players , which throws the drive of the play into a different gear.

Set at the shore with an elaborately constructed rolling dunes designed by Michael Yeargan, Nancy (Sternhagen) and Charlie (Grizzard) reflect on their life together from the perspective of senior citizenship. These are their Golden Years and the prospect of a retiring life takes on a different meaning for man and wife. One sees it as the beginning of a new phase with unexplored roads to travel; the other regards it as the quiet closing of a final chapter.

During the better part of the first act, we take in Nancy and Charlie's opinions of one another, past and present. Nancy is the partner who looks upon these late years as an opportunity to do things that were left undone while Charlie is content to lounge on this familiar stretch of sand and look forward to an absence of surprise. Off in the distance, from time to time, they spot another couple having their day at the beach.

But, that other couple is far from any ordinary couple one might see strolling along the water's edge. Leslie (Weller) and Sarah (Marvel) are lizards who have emerged from their underwater sanctuary in search of spiritual and intellectual discovery. At first, the two couples square off against one and other which demonstrates that Charlie still has a bit of life in him. But, with both species speaking the same language, they soon tumble into discourse which ranges from fashions to Descartes.

With creatures posturing with broad, saurian grandeur—elaborately presented in Catherine Zuber's costumes— Albee's play is delivered in a naturalistic style that suspends disbelief and allow the audience access to the writer's engaging ideas. Performances by all four players are flawlessly rendered and Lamos's attentive direction brings out both comedic and dramatic elements. SEASCAPE does offer a day at the beach for those who are Albee inclined.