Description

On a deserted stretch of beach, a middle-aged couple relaxes after a picnic lunch and converse idly about home, family, and their life together. She sketches; he naps. Then, suddenly, they are joined by two sea creatures, a pair of lizards from the depths of the ocean, with whom they engage in a fascinating dialogue.

Credits

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Reviews

At Black Box, Albee’s ’Seascape’ swims again
- Algernon D'Ammassa, Las Cruces Bulletin

The No Strings Theatre Company made its debut in 2000 with a production of Edward Albee’s “Seascape,” a play dear to artistic director Ceil Herman’s heart. On the opening night of her new revival, 24 years later, Herman told the audience, “Anyone in a relationship needs to see this play.”

Albee’s middle plays regularly explore the complex dynamics of erotic entanglement, power struggles, loneliness and disappointment in marriage and aging. This is not, however, reminiscent of the verbal bloodletting in Albee’s most famous play, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

“Seascape,” which opened on Broadway in 1975, netted the playwright’s second Pulitzer and stands up after nearly 50 years thanks to a timeless setting, an allegorical style suggestive of a fable for adults and psychological themes that remain poignant in a time of digital media and climate change. Only the lack of a Kindle or Instagram selfie dates the scene.

Nancy and Charlie are a couple sitting on a beach as they come to grips with retirement, senior citizenship and a new chapter in their marriage and individual lives. Charlie is doing his best to sink into the warm sand on the side of a dune, his feet clad in outdoor slippers, proclaiming his desire to do nothing; Nancy is barefoot, pacing the shore as she gazes over the horizon longing to explore more, even suggesting that they become nomads roaming from one seaside to the next.

Played by Conda Douglas and Bruce Demeree, a married couple new to Las Cruces, Nancy and Charlie sort through their past and contemplate their future and feelings for each other with conflicting drives. Yet Demeree’s Charlie comes to life, springing to his feet, when he recalls his more adventurous youth, when he would sink himself and explore life underwater.

These less-experienced actors carry a first act that lives in language, stories and ideas with little physical action and passages of dense text. There is more humor to be found in Charlie’s volatility and Nancy’s dual affections and grudges. The performance could benefit from a more brisk pace and fuller exploration of the characters’ contradictions; but the performers’ personal charm and Albee’s dexterity carry us along to the entrance, at the end of the act, of a second couple who turns things upside down: A pair of human-sized sea creatures venturing onto land for the first time.

In costumes and makeup designed by Robert “Bobcat” Young and Autumn Gieb, Bob Alvarez and Gieb portray a curious, naturally guarded migrant couple who no longer feel they belong in their old habitat, pushing their way into a new environment rather than settling. In a way, they are the true protagonists in a play about the necessity of living and evolving, and it is through their strange eyes we regard Nancy and Charlie’s sometimes confused explanations of human customs and what it means to love.

Since that first production in 2000, No Strings has offered amateur theatre unafraid to tackle unconventional scripts and plays tricky to stage, with simple set designs, adaptable seating and the richness of our local talent pool. This “Seascape” manages, at least, to open one of Albee’s funnier and more optimistic, yet overlooked plays for us at a time it can be seen in a new light, its pretty scales reflecting our time’s perplexity about adaptation, migration and the fate of the human.

“Seascape” runs through Sept. 15 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Main Street. Performance times include a 7 p.m. performance on Thursday, Sept. 12; 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday performances on Sept. 8 and 15. Admission prices range from $12-18. Ticketing and further information are available at 575-523-1223 or online at no-strings.org.

‘Seascape' is worth seeing again and again!
- By Cheryl Thornburg , Retired Las Cruces Sun News Reviewer

It has been 25 years since I first saw Edward Albee’s Pulitzer prize-winning play, “Seascape,” at the grand opening of the Black Box Theatre. Ceil and Peter Herman took a leap of faith and the No Strings Theatre Company em-barked on its goal of bringing unique and varied productions to Las Cruces Theatre fans.

“Seascape” was thought-provoking and entertaining at the same time. That combination is rare and memorable – and still is.

This time around unfortunately, I was out of state for the live production but thanks to a herculean ef-fort by Peter Herman, I was able to watch a video of this latest production – and it did not disappoint.

I did miss feeling the energy created by the actor-audience connection, but the play still speaks for itself. Albee has a way of exploring, sometimes dissecting relationships that is a hallmark of many of his plays.

The opening act features Conda Douglas as Nancy and Bruce Demeree as Charlie, a newly retired couple lounging on a beach, trying to figure out what to do with their new-found freedom. Charlie is all for just relaxing, but Nancy wants to try new things, see new places. That difference is the crux of the dialogue that defines their relationship.

Charlie’s movements are languid, the pace slow and the first act reflects retirement for some people until some unique visitors turn up at the end of act one. That’s when the play comes to life and is transported to a new level.
Enter Bob Alvarez as Lesley and Autumn Gieb as Sarah as a human-sized lizard couple who have just emerged from the ocean. Outfitted in fantastic costumes, on all-fours, the pair turn Charlie and Nan-cy’s life upside down literally.
The encounter energizes both couples as they try and figure out what to do. The dialogue, bickering between each couple seems similar -- and often familiar.

Now retired, some of the issues and dialogue resonated with me even more than in September 2000 when I first saw this play. It will make you think and make you laugh and it’s worth seeing again and again.

The show is lovingly directed by Ceil Herman, as it was back in 2000.

The costumes designed by Robert Bobcat Young and Autumn Gieb create the magic of this show, although I wonder how the actors survive under the lights.

“Seascape” continues at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Main Street. Remaining performances are Saturday Sept. 14 and Sunday Sept. 15 at 2:30 p.m. Admission prices range from $15-18. For tickets, call 575-523-1223 or go to no-strings.org online.

Seating