Sight Unseen (play)
Sight Unseen | |
---|---|
Written by | Donald Margulies |
Date premiered | September 1991 |
Place premiered | South Coast Repertory Costa Mesa, California |
Original language | English |
Subject | A celebrated American artist reunites with his former lover fifteen years after they parted ways |
Genre | Drama |
Setting | England |
Sight Unseen is a play by Donald Margulies. The play premiered at South Coast Repertory in 1991, and then was produced Off-Broadway in 1992 and on Broadway in 2004.
Overview
Jonathan Waxman is a
Jonathan, whose father has recently died, is struggling with self-doubt and seeking to regain his artistic inspiration. While in England, he meets Grete, a young German scholar-journalist.
The play unfolds in a non-linear progression, with forward and backward jumps in time that eventually lead to the beginning of the relationship between Patricia and Jonathan, which ended without satisfactory closure.
Productions
The play was commissioned and first staged by South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, California in September 1991. Directed by Micheal Bloom, the cast included Stephen Rowe (Jonathan Waxman), Randy Oglesby (Nick), Elizabeth Norment (Patricia) and Sabina Weber (Grete).[1][2][3][4]
The Off-Broadway production by the Manhattan Theatre Club opened on January 7, 1992 at the company's Stage II, where it ran for 103 performances. It transferred to the Orpheum Theatre, running for an additional 190 performances. Michael Bloom directed a cast that included Dennis Boutsikaris as Jonathan, Deborah Hedwall as Patricia, and Jon De Vries as Nick. Laura Linney appeared in the small supporting role of Grete, a young German journalist.[1] Lou Liberatore replaced Boutsikaris and Margaret Colin replaced Hedwall later in the run.[5]
Margulies won the 1991-92
The play was produced at the Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut, in November 1993, directed by John Tillinger.[6]
The play was revived on
Mr. Margulies, the author of The Loman Family Picnic and Dinner With Friends, has never been merely a satirist. His plays are usually about how time and memory transform feelings, relationships and the perception of the past. In scrambling chronology to consider the life and losses of Jonathan Waxman, Sight Unseen becomes a commentary on the sacrifices entailed in getting older and getting ahead.[8]
References
- ^ ISBN 0822213176, p. 5
- ISBN 1557831475, p. 163
- ^ "'Sight Unseen' 2012" scr.org, accessed November 4, 2015
- ^ Hodgins, Paul. "SCR revival of ‘Sight Unseen’ reveals a playwright’s path" Orange County Register, March 17, 2012
- ^ a b c "'Sight Unseen' 1992" Archived 2015-04-05 at the Wayback Machine lortel.org
- ^ Rizzo, Frank. "Play Is About Expensive Art Sold `Sight Unseen'" Hartford Courant, November 24, 1993
- ^ "'Sight Unseen' Broadway 2004" Archived 2015-10-24 at the Wayback Machine playbillvault.com, accessed November 4, 2015
- ^ Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review. A Fragile Victim of Love Long Past" The New York Times, May 26, 2004, retrieved February 8, 2017