“Seascape”
Where: American Century Theatre, Theatre II, Gunston Arts Center, 2700 S. Lang St., Arlington
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; through Aug. 22
Info: 703-998-4555; americancentury.org
Considerable verbal territory is covered in the first act of Edward Albee’s “Seascape,” as a married couple on the verge of retirement considers what to do with the future. In an intriguing production at the American Century Theatre, Nancy (Annie Houston) is adventuresome and wants to extend the couple’s present visit to the shore into a perpetual beach-hop around the world. Charlie (Craig Miller) just wants to rest.
Nancy does almost all the talking, trying to get Charlie to appreciate life as she does. Houston is animated as she meanders through Nancy’s thoughts, imagining an optimistic future, hinting at some vague disappointments in the past.
Charlie, however, is infuriatingly content with his lot, unwilling to explore the ocean depths, as he used to love to do. It’s hard to imagine an Albee play without the analysis of a relationship — often acerbic or flamboyant — but “Seascape” offers an analysis of subtle, complicated emotions.
At the end of Act I, a second couple appears: two human-sized, scaly amphibians, who crawl up from beneath the sea. Leslie (Brian Crane) and Sarah (Mundy Spears) are intelligent and can speak English, but there are certain concepts they necessarily don’t understand — “birds” and “airplanes,” for instance — so Charlie and Nancy begin educating them.
Like Nancy, these sea-creatures feel a need to change, offering an amusing counterpoint to Nancy’s wanderlust. Leslie and Sarah had a “sense of not belonging” beneath the sea any longer, allowing “Seascape” to touch gently on evolution and adaptation.
“Seascape” looks deceptively simple; in fact it’s a difficult play. The first act is long and at the end of Act II Charlie has to make a sudden, apparently unmotivated psychological turnaround. But Steven Mazzola has steered his talented actors carefully around the shoals of “Seascape,” creating a solid production.
Melanie Clark’s costumes include imaginative blue-green bodysuits for the lizards. Hannah Crowell’s set is a huge stretch of sand with ocean in the distance, driftwood here and there. Bathed in golden light by Andrew Griffin, it’s a perfect open environment for this off-beat examination of trust and communication.
