Edward Albee's Seascape
American Premiere of original 3 act version
Direction & Scenic Design:
David J. Miller
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Featuring:
Peter Brown
Claude Del
Michelle Dowd
Emma Goodman
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Lighting Design:
Jeff Adelberg
Sound Design:
Walter Eduardo
Costume Design:
Fabian Aguilar
Fight Direction/Movement Coordination:
Meron Langsner
Stage Manger:
Deirdre Benson
Production Supervisors:
Bob Stachel & David J. Miller
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Presented:
October 3rd to October 25th, 2009
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SPRING AWAKENING nominated for
2009 IRNE Awards
"Seascape stands out, even alone, in the Albee canon as a full-length play that finds hope in the shadow of death and tender loving care in the institution of marriage. It is, in a way, the anti-Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" –The New York Times
As a retired couple picnics on a seemingly deserted beach, they are joined by another couple coming in from the ocean - literally. The lizards proceed to take the humans on an amazing underwater adventure, while the humans reciprocate by introducing the lizards to life above the ocean floor. For Seascape's Broadway premiere, Albee eliminated the underwater scenes from the show resulting in the celebrated play which won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize. Zeitgeist Stage presents the playwright's original version, with the restored underwater scenes and a very different ending, resulting in an exciting new Seascape. While still a classic from the Albee oeuvre, this Seascape has never before been seen on the American stage.
In an interview with The New York Times in 1975, Albee said, "At one point, part of it took place at the bottom of the sea. It was... too fantastic and very hard to construct a set that could transform itself. It was turning into a play about set changes." Zeitgeist Stage is pleased to have received permission directly from the playwright to present Seascape in its original version for the first time for an American audience.
Seascape originally opened on Broadway on January 25, 1975 with Deborah Kerr, Barry Nelson, Maureen Anderman and Frank Langella, in his Broadway debut. The production was nominated for three Tony Awards including Best Play, with Frank Langella winning as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Leslie, the lizard. It was recently revived by Lincoln Center at the Booth Theater in 2005 with a cast that included the late George Gizzard, Frances Sternhagen, Frederick Weller, and Elizabeth Marvel. The production won a 2006 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Reviewing that production, Ben Brantley in The New York Times wrote, "Seascape stands out, even alone, in the Albee canon as a full-length play that finds hope in the shadow of death and tender loving care in the institution of marriage. It is, in a way, the anti-Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Clive Barnes of The New York Post put it succinctly, "Go and see Seascape - tell them God sent you!"
