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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews Bunbury Theatre presents Reviewed by Cory Vaughn Entire contents are copyright © 2009 Cory Vaughn. All rights reserved.
I will say as little as possible about this one because you deserve to see it for yourself. Bunbury Theatre's fantastic revival of Edward Albee's Pulitzer-winning Seascape is one of the most stimulating evenings of theatre I've enjoyed in a long time. It is a hard play to describe, and always has been. Is it comedy? Drama? Fantasy? Farce? Theatre of the absurd? Well, it's all that and more, really. It is a novel and unorthodox approach by Albee to explore the meaning of life, using two couples – who barely have a clue of that meaning themselves – as his proxies. The first couple is Charlie (Matt Orme) and Nancy (Laurene Scalf), two retirees with polar outlooks on their golden years and on the cooling of their passions for each other. Nancy is an artist who wants to spend her remaining years traveling, moving from beach to beach as the whim strikes her. Charlie is an academic who feels that after forty years of working hard and raising kids, he's earned the right to a rest, and that's all he wants to do lately. He's happy with his life, she's not. At the end of the first act, their increasingly chilly relationship, and our expectations of where this play is going, are shaken up by the arrival of the second couple, two giant talking humanoid lizards – yes, you read that right – named Leslie (the always-reliable and very funny Ted Lesley) and Sarah (the exquisite Marcia Miller). What more of an introduction is necessary? It is also a feast for the eyes. The experience begins the moment you walk into the Henry Clay Theatre and are confronted by director/designer Steve Woodring and scenic artist Lily Bartenstein's FABULOUS, realistic recreation of an unidentified sandy beach, which stretches from the cyc into the wings and practically into the seating area itself! For once I am glad my far-sighted companion persuaded me not to sit in the front row, all the better to feast my eyes on this behemoth raked canyon of sand dunes, driftwood, stepping-stones, and even a patch of grass here and there. There are picnic baskets full of real food and accessories, an artist's sketch pad full of drawings, the sounds of SSTs overhead. Woodring and his fellow designers truly know how to paint in the corners. The lizards, too, are brought to vivid life through the collaborative efforts of Teresa Greer's costumes, Kerk Fisher's choreography, and Lesley and Miller's show-stealing performances. Finally, of course, it is a feast for the ears, courtesy of Mr. Albee's carefully-woven tapestry of words and silences. You may not entirely know what the writer is trying to say, but that doesn't make it any less rewarding to listen. In the dog days of summer, when most performing arts organizations take a break from their seasons, we need more plays like this to save us from the utter mind-numbing, soul-draining, jaw-dropping cacophony of reruns, reality, and summer blockbusters. Long live Edward Albee, and long live Bunbury! See it while you can.
Seascape Presented at the Henry Clay Theatre Wednesday-Sunday through June 18 - July 5, 2009 Tickets: Starring: Matt Orme, Laurene Scalf, Ted Lesley, and Marcia Miller.
Posted June 22, 2009
Posted May 12, 2009
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