Stage Reviews : Edward Albee’s Droll ‘Seascape’ at Theatre 40

Edward Albee’s “Seascape” is in capable hands--and legs, in the case of two of the characters--at Theatre 40.

Two of the characters have no hands, for they are human-size, English-speaking green lizards (Michael Barak and Christina Carlisi) who have come up from the sea in an evolutionary move. On the beach they meet Nancy (Mary Gregory) and Charlie (Sid Conrad), a couple who have been arguing about whether to spend their reclining years in action (Nancy’s position) or in stasis (Charlie’s).

The conversation is droll and only occasionally pretentious at Theatre 40. Director Brian Nelson’s casting is completely appropriate and his blocking adroit.

Gregory makes a particularly spiky Nancy. Conrad captures Charlie’s repressed fears as well as his lassitude. Barak and Carlisi, costumed by Terry Anderson and made up by Sugano, look saurian and human at the same time. Carlisi speaks with a charming tone of wonderment, and Barak with a mixture of caution and hauteur.

The sound design (Mark Colin Henderson and Shun Suzuki) is too sparse, but John Hogg’s set strikes the proper balance between realism and artifice. The staging fails only in creating a genuine sense of awe about all the cosmic subjects being discussed, but this may be a characteristic of the play as much as the production.

At 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, Thursdays through Sundays at 8 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., through April 16. Tickets: $12-$15; (213) 465-0070.