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Peer Reviews

The Necessary Theatre Presents
By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea

Reviewed by Julia Leist

Entire contents are copyright © 2007 Julia Leist. All rights reserved.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always ourselves we find in the sea
-- E.E. Cummings

If you've ever been to New England, and if you've ever been to the coastline, then you know what it's like to be haunted by the sea. From the shift of tectonic plates and hurricanes, to sailor's songs and human tragedies, the ubiquitous Atlantic has borne it all. She's a force of nature, a woman scorned, who, in her uncharted depths, catalogues all the years of our existence. Her waves creep on shore, morning, noon and night, to tickle and tempt us into indulging her with our wonders and woes, only to carry off our stories and hide them beneath her waves. She is a celebrated goddess, a majestic time-keeper, and the central character of Joe Pintauro, Lanford Wilson and Terrence McNally's collaborative work, By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea.

Produced by The Necessary Theatre and directed by Laurene Scalf, this quiet trilogy is the debris of modern existence poetized. On one stretch of beach, events happen in Dawn, Day, and Dusk that epitomize the ephemeral nature of life and land. Dawn, written by Joe Pintauro, is the portrait of a family who reunite to scatter their mother's ashes out to sea. It's what happens when love mixes with dysfunction, death and the depth of the ocean. The sea, for an adventurer, is the freedom of the great unknown, for the poet it is the breath of inspiration and desire, but for strung-out Billy in Lanford Wilson's Day, it is a cesspool of death and unapologetic destruction. In this play we discover that a respectable appearance is deceptive, and that perhaps "crazy" can be decent. In the final installment of By the Sea, Terrence McNally's Dusk, we meet three lonely people as the sun sets across the water's edge. On a deserted beach they attempt honesty and humility under the protection of the approaching night and through the comfort of strangers.

Scalf has a gift for chipping away fluff to find the rawness of a character. What you witness in By the Sea are real people, dealing with real issues, in a real setting. No need to dress the space with beach blankets and sunbathing paraphernalia -- Scalf uses the blank canvas of deserted sand to heighten the color of the human condition. The show begins as the sky drop breathes into morning, fading stars into day break; the audience is immediately awed by the infinite nature of the sky and the sea. It put us in our place. We are just people, beings that populate the wonders of this planet. Without us, the sea would still be the sea, but would it have any meaning?

For centuries, writers have used the seascape to juxtapose human relationships and folly, and the playwrights of By the Sea do not shy away from tradition. The story is nothing new, but it is still interesting. Perhaps what makes it watchable is that the depth of each individual (whether knowingly or not) is as deep as the ocean itself -- starting off shallow, but with the threat of slipping off the edge and sinking deep into the heart of the character. These people are relatable. Technically solid performances by the company give By the Sea legs. Occasionally, the audience is afforded something more, like the gut-busting performance of Amy Attaway in Day. Cast to perfection, with such smart choices, it's easy to see how The Necessary Theatre has been going strong for 16 years.

I've seen many shows at the Kentucky Center for the Arts MEX theatre, and the stage/audience arrangement is usually the same. Scenic designer Keith Kimmel made an interesting and surprising choice by tilting the thrust on an angle. At first I was in love with the idea, but unfortunately it created some serious sight-line issues. With the character pieces of By the Sea, it is necessary to see each actor's face in order to gauge reactions. Often I found myself unsatisfied after a build-up of tension and emotion due to the inability to properly see the release. This flaw, however, is far from fatal. The set itself was magnificent, a replication of the same feeling you have when you squish your feet deep into the sand and look out across the water -- sea sounds included. The only thing missing was a slight salty breeze.

When night fell and it was time to pack up the beach bag and return to our landlocked homes, I felt a sense of sad nostalgia. Summer is approaching and there is always the possibly of a trip to the sea, but you can never recreate the same beach experience twice -- it's a philosophical improbability. By the Sea successfully creates a melancholy mood that you will love to dwell in. The play is romantic and reminiscent, humorous and comforting; and perhaps most importantly, By the Sea is very, very beautiful.

The Necessary Theatre Presents
By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea
Written by Joe Pintauro, Lanford Wilson and Terrence McNally
Directed by Laurene Scalf

May 10 - 12, 8pm
Saturday May 12, 2pm
MeX Theatre, Kentucky Center for the Arts
http://www.tntky.org/

Posted May 14, 2007