Sight Unseen (play)
Encyclopedia
Sight Unseen is a play by Donald Margulies
. At its center is Jonathan Waxman, a Brooklyn
Jew who has become a very wealthy critically acclaimed artist. Happily married, with a baby on the way, he travels to London
for a retrospective of his work. While there, he impulsively decides to journey to the countryside to visit his former model and lover Patricia in the Norfolk
farmhouse where she lives and works with her archeologist husband Nick, an older man she married in order to remain in England when her student visa expired. The play unfolds in a non-linear progression, with forward and backward jumps in time that eventually lead to the beginning of a relationship that ended without satisfactory closure.
The play was commissioned and first staged by South Coast Repertory
in September 1991. 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 before transferring to the Orpheum Theatre, where it ran 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. Lou Liberatore
replaced Boutsikaris and Margaret Colin
replaced Hedwall later in the run.
Margulies won the Obie Award
for Best New American Play, and Boutsikaris and Headwall were honored for their performances. Linney won the Theatre World Award
. Margulies was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
, the Outer Critics Circle Award
for Best Off-Broadway Play, and the John Gassner Award, presented to a new American playwright.
After 21 previews, a Broadway
revival directed by Daniel J. Sullivan
and produced by Manhattan Theatre Club opened on May 25, 2004 at the Biltmore Theatre
. It closed after 70 performances. The cast included Ben Shenkman
as Jonathan, Laura Linney as Patricia, and Byron Jennings as Nick.
Ben Brantley
of the New York Times observed, "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."
Linney was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
, but in both instances lost to Cherry Jones
for Doubt: A Parable, another Manhattan Theatre Club production.
Donald Margulies
Donald Margulies is an American playwright and a professor of English and Theater Studies at Yale University...
. At its center is Jonathan Waxman, a Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
Jew who has become a very wealthy critically acclaimed artist. Happily married, with a baby on the way, he travels to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for a retrospective of his work. While there, he impulsively decides to journey to the countryside to visit his former model and lover Patricia in the Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
farmhouse where she lives and works with her archeologist husband Nick, an older man she married in order to remain in England when her student visa expired. The play unfolds in a non-linear progression, with forward and backward jumps in time that eventually lead to the beginning of a relationship that ended without satisfactory closure.
The play was commissioned and first staged by South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory
South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
in September 1991. The off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production by the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
opened on January 7, 1992 at the company's Stage II, where it ran for 103 performances before transferring to the Orpheum Theatre, where it ran for an additional 190 performances. Michael Bloom directed a cast that included Dennis Boutsikaris
Dennis Boutsikaris
Dennis Boutsikaris is an American two-time Obie-Award winning character actor. He is a Broadway Actor and frequent television guest star and leading man in made-for-TV movies...
as Jonathan, Deborah Hedwall as Patricia, and Jon De Vries as Nick. Laura Linney
Laura Linney
Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress of film, television, and theatre. Linney has won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been nominated for three times for an Academy Award and once for a BAFTA Award...
appeared in the small supporting role of Grete, a young German journalist. Lou Liberatore
Lou Liberatore
Lou Liberatore is an American actor.A graduate of Fordham University, Liberatore made his New York City stage debut in the 1982 Circle Repertory Company production of Richard II. As a permanent member of the company he appeared in The Great Grandson of Jebediah Kohler, Black Angel, and As Is and...
replaced Boutsikaris and Margaret Colin
Margaret Colin
Margaret Colin is an American actress. She is known for her role as Margo Montgomery Hughes # 1 on As the World Turns and for her role as Eleanor Waldorf-Rose on Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
replaced Hedwall later in the run.
Margulies won the Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for Best New American Play, and Boutsikaris and Headwall were honored for their performances. Linney won the Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
. Margulies was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
, the Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
for Best Off-Broadway Play, and the John Gassner Award, presented to a new American playwright.
After 21 previews, a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
revival directed by Daniel J. Sullivan
Daniel J. Sullivan
Daniel J. Sullivan is an American theatre and film director and playwright.-Life and career:Sullivan was born in Wray, Colorado, the son of Mary Catherine and John Martin Sullivan. He was raised in San Francisco, where he graduated from San Francisco State University...
and produced by Manhattan Theatre Club opened on May 25, 2004 at the Biltmore Theatre
Biltmore Theatre
The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 261 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:...
. It closed after 70 performances. The cast included Ben Shenkman
Ben Shenkman
Benjamin Shenkman is an American television, film and stage actor.-Life and career:Shenkman was born in New York City and raised in what he described as "the secular Eastern European Jewish tradition". He graduated from Brown University, and obtained a Masters of Fine Arts in 1993 from New York...
as Jonathan, Laura Linney as Patricia, and Byron Jennings as Nick.
Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
of the New York Times observed, "Mr. Margulies, the author of The Loman Family Picnic and Dinner With Friends
Dinner with Friends
Dinner with Friends is a 2000 play written by Donald Margulies. It premiered at the 1998 Humana Festival of New American Plays and opened Off-Broadway in New York on November 4, 1999.-Plot summary:...
, 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."
Linney was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
, but in both instances lost to Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones is an American actress and recipient of the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.-Career:...
for Doubt: A Parable, another Manhattan Theatre Club production.