Accent
'Seascape' full of heady ideas – and lizards
By Kathleen Allen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.03.2009
It's a nice sunny day on the beach. You're kind of snipping at your spouse, but it's a lazy time and the sea is beautiful.
Then two big green lizards slither out of the water and into your universe.
Absurd? You bet. Good theater? Absolutely.
It's what happens in Edward Albee's 'Seascape,' which Beowulf Alley Theatre opened last weekend.
Opening night was dimmed when one of the stars, Roger Owen, had a crippling migraine. The show that night was slow and off-kilter. When we found that Owen had been ill (and he deserves big, big applause for braving bright lights and swift stage movements with a migraine), we decided to revisit the production Thursday.
We're glad we did. 'Seascape,' which won Albee a Pulitzer in 1975, is a strong, talky and provocative play. You need a good production to keep focused on Albee's wonderful dialogue and heady ideas.
'Seascape' is about an older couple on the cusp of retirement. Charlie (Owen) is passive and defensive, and he's not interested in his wife Nancy's (Roxanne Harley) longing for adventure in their golden years. When Nancy asks what he wants to do with their time now that it's abundant, he replies, 'Nothing.'
They are picnicking on the beach as their conversation unfolds. Suddenly, out of the water, creep two green lizardlike creatures (kudos to costume designer Kristen Wheeler for the sly costumes with big, fat tails).
These creatures no longer feel comfortable in the sea and, like the humans, are on the brink of big changes.
Alienation is a theme that recurs throughout the play, as does connection and evolution — from the sea creatures' changes to the humans' relationship.
It's a rich script, and director Michael Fenlason made Albee's story clear and kept it moving. But Fenlason also did an odd thing — the set was a beach with a sand dune on each side of the stage. He often had actors on opposite dunes, addressing each other across an expanse of empty centerstage. Perhaps that was to underscore the alienation. But it was a bit like watching a pingpong match, looking to one actor and then the other as they spoke. Plus, the center is the most powerful spot on stage; it's a tad strange that it wasn't used to its fullest potential.
Owen captured the easy frustration and passivity of Charlie, and he and Harley had a comfort with each other that rang true. It wasn't hard to believe they had been married many years.
Ericka Quintero's sea creature Sarah and Todd Fitzpatrick as her sea spouse, Leslie, oozed around the stage, speaking in a clipped manner and questioning Nancy and Charlie: 'What is love?' 'What are breasts?' 'Explain evolution.'
Quintero and Fitzpatrick nicely embodied the innocence and perplexity of the creatures.
The four actors worked well together to give justice to a play full of ideas — some exciting, some off-the-wall, but all interesting.
Migraines aside, 'Seascape' is a promising beginning to Beowulf's season.
Contact Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.
Review
"Seascape"
• Presented by: Beowulf Alley Theatre Company.
• By: Edward Albee.
• Director: Michael Fenlason.
• Where: 11 S. Sixth Ave.
• When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 1:30 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 11.
• Tickets: $20 at the door, $18 online.
• Reservations/information: 882-0555 or www.beowulfalley.org
