Cover Image

Copyright

Contents

By Edward Albee

Dedication

Act One

Act Two

CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that performance of SEASCAPE is subject to payment of a royalty. The Play is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright union (including the Dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth), and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention, the Universal Copyright Convention, the Berne Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including without limitation professional/amateur stage rights, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound recording, all other forms of mechanical, electronic and digital reproduction, transmission and distribution, such as CD, DVD, the Internet, private and file-sharing networks, information storage and retrieval systems, photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed upon the matter of readings, permission for which must be secured from the Author’s agent in writing.

The English language amateur stage performance rights in the United States, its territories, possessions and Canada for the Play is controlled exclusively by DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE, INC., 440 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016. No nonprofessional performance of the Play or either of its acts may be given without obtaining in advance the written permission of DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE, INC., and paying the requisite fee.

The English language stock and regional theatre stage performance rights in the United States, its territories, possessions and Canada and the English language amateur stage performance rights in for the Play in the British Commonwealth of Nations (excluding Canada), Ireland, and South Africa are controlled exclusively by Samuel French, Inc, 45 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. No stock or regional performance or nonprofessional performance, in the aforesaid countries, of the Play or either of its acts may be given without obtaining in advance the written permission of Samuel French, Inc., and paying the requisite fee.

Inquiries concerning all other rights should be addressed to William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. Attn: Jonathan Lomma.

For

Ella Winter

and

Donald Ogden Stewart

with love

The first performance of SEASCAPE was presented by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, and Clinton Wilder on Sunday, January 26, 1975, at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre, New York City.

DEBORAH KERR as NANCY

BARRY NELSON as CHARLIE

FRANK LANGELLA as LESLIE

MAUREEN ANDERMAN as SARAH

Directed by EDWARD ALBEE

Scenery and Lighting by JAMES TILTON

Costumes by FRED VOELPEL

General Manager, MICHAEL KASDAN

Production Stage Manager, MARK WRIGHT

Lincoln Center production at Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th Street, New York City 10/28/05 (preview); 11/21/05–12/31/05.

FRANCES STERNHAGEN as NANCY

GEORGE GRIZZARD as CHARLIE

FREDERICK WELLER as LESLIE

ELIZABETH as SARAH

Written by EDWARD ALBEE

Directed by MARK LAMOS

Scenic Design by MICHAEL YEARGEN

Lighting Design by PETER KACZOROWSKI

Sound Design by AURAL FIXATION

Costumes by FRED VOELPEL

LCT General Manager, ADAM SIEGEL

LCT Production Manager, MICHAEL MCGOFF

ACT ONE

The curtain rises. NANCY and CHARLIE on a sand dune. Bright sun. They are dressed informally. There is a blanket and a picnic basket. Lunch is done; NANCY is finishing putting things away. There is a pause and then a jet plane is heard from stage right to stage left—growing, becoming deafeningly loud, diminishing.

NANCY

Such noise they make.

CHARLIE

They’ll crash into the dunes one day. I don’t know what good they do.

NANCY

(Looks toward the ocean; sighs)

Still … Oh, Charlie, it’s so nice! Can’t we stay here forever? Please!

CHARLIE

Unh-unh.

NANCY

That is not why. That is merely no.

CHARLIE

Because.

NANCY

Nor is that.

CHARLIE

Because … because you don’t really mean it.

NANCY

I do!

CHARLIE

Here?

NANCY (Expansive)

Yes!

CHARLIE

Right here on the beach. Build a … a tent, or a lean-to.

NANCY (Laughs gaily)

No, silly, not this very spot! But here, by the shore.

CHARLIE

You wouldn’t like it.

NANCY

I would! I’d love it here! I’d love it right where we are, for that matter.

CHARLIE

Not after a while you wouldn’t.

NANCY

Yes, I would. I love the water, and I love the air, and the sand and the dunes and the beach grass, and the sunshine on all of it and the white clouds way off, and the sunsets and the noise the shells make in the waves and, oh, I love every bit of it, Charlie.

CHARLIE

You wouldn’t. Not after a while.

NANCY

Why wouldn’t I? I don’t even mind the flies and the little … sand fleas, I guess they are.

CHARLIE

It gets cold.

NANCY

When?

CHARLIE

In the winter. In the fall even. In spring.

NANCY (Laughs)

Well, I don’t mean this one, literally … not all the time. I mean go from beach to beach … live by the water. Seaside nomads, that’s what we’d be.

CHARLIE (Curiously hurt feelings)

For Christ’s sake, Nancy!

NANCY

I mean it! Lord above! There’s nothing binding us; you hate the city …

CHARLIE

No.

NANCY (Undaunted)

It would be so lovely. Think of all the beaches we could see.

CHARLIE

No, now …

NANCY

Southern California, and the Gulf, and Florida … and up to Maine, and what’s-her-name’s—Martha’s—Vineyard, and all those places that the fancy people go: the Riviera and that beach in Rio de Janeiro, what is that?

CHARLIE

The Copacabana.

NANCY

Yes, and Pago Pago, and … Hawaii! Think, Charlie! We could go around the world and never leave the beach, just move from one hot sand strip to another: all the birds and fish and seaside flowers, and all the wondrous people that we’d meet. Oh, say you’d like to do it, Charlie.

CHARLIE

No.

NANCY

Just say you’d like to.

CHARLIE

If I did you’d say I meant it; you’d hold me to it.

NANCY (Transparent)

No I wouldn’t. Besides, you have to be pushed into everything.

CHARLIE

Um-hum. But I’m not going to be pushed into … into this—this new business.

NANCY (Private rapture)

One great seashore after another; pounding waves and quiet coves; white sand, and red—and black, somewhere, I remember reading; palms, and pine trees, cliffs and reefs, and miles of jungle, sand dunes …

CHARLIE

No.

NANCY

… and all the people! Every … language … every … race.

CHARLIE

Unh-unh.

NANCY

Of course, I’d never push you.

CHARLIE

You? Never!

NANCY (Gay)

Well, maybe a hint here; hint there.

CHARLIE

Don’t even do that, hunh?

NANCY

That’s all it takes: figure out what you’d really like—what you want without knowing it, what would secretly please you, put it in your mind, then make all the plans. You do it; you like it.

CHARLIE (Final)

Nancy, I don’t want to travel from beach to beach, cliff to sand dune, see the races, count the flies. Anything. I don’t want to do … anything.

NANCY (Testy)

I see. Well.

CHARLIE

I’m happy … doing … nothing.

NANCY

(Makes to gather some of their things)

Well then, we’d best get started. Up! Let’s get back!

CHARLIE (Not moving)

I just … want … to … do … nothing.

NANCY (Gathering)

Well, you’re certainly not going to do that.

(Takes something from him, a pillow, perhaps)

Hurry now; let’s get things together.

CHARLIE (Aware)

What … Nancy, what on earth are you …

NANCY (Busy)

We are not going to be around forever, Charlie, and you may not do nothing. If you don’t want to do what I want to do—which doesn’t matter—then we will do what you want to do, but we will not do nothing. We will do something. So, tell me what it is you want to do and …

CHARLIE

I said. Now give me back my …

NANCY

You said, “I just want to do nothing; I’m happy doing nothing.” Yes? But is that what we’ve … come all this way for?

(Some wonder and chiding)