A chilling and dramatic opening score perfectly compliments the emotionally-charged jigsaw puzzle-type love story that is Sight Unseen,\ University Theatre's latest play, directed by Norma Saldivar.
""Sight Unseen,"" written by Donald Margulies, is a theatrical exploration of art, love, money and religion. It examines what happens when an artist who strikes it rich pays a visit to an inspirational former lover.
Jonathan Waxman, played by Josh McCabe, is the hottest new contemporary painter of his time, with each of his painted and unpainted creations being sold to art lovers for tens of thousands of dollars. At the pinnacle of his fame and success, he is invited to a gallery in London to do his first international exhibition. While in London, he pays a visit to an old college flame, Patricia, played by Sara Phillips. The reunion between the old pair launches into an emotional rollercoaster that rehashes all the euphoric highs and deep hurts of the past.
While the plot of the play centers on Jonathan and Patricia's relationship, there are subplots focusing on Patricia's relationship with her husband, Nick, played by Steve O'Connell, and Jonathan's relationship with his artwork, which is the topic of his interview with reporter Grete, played by Carrie Coon.
""Sight Unseen"" is a truly modern play in that it only requires two main and two secondary characters to bring it to life. Certainly, the parts in University Theatre's production are well chosen.
McCabe perfectly portrays Jonathan Waxman, an artist who seems to have everything an artist could want: international acclaim and financial security. Yet, on a deeper level, he is just as tortured and lacking as any ""starving artist."" Only in his case, he is lacking a genuine, emotional connection to most of his work.
Phillips is well matched to her role as Patricia. She is a woman struggling to reconcile her passionate self of the past and her current and future self as an archeologist, who is actually more of a housewife married to an archeologist.
O'Connell skillfully takes on the role of Nick, a man wrestling with issues of inferiority and jealousy hidden behind a cool exterior.
Finally, Coon is adept at her role as Grete, a sharp and probing reporter eager to get inside Waxman's head and find out what makes him tick.
Each interaction between characters has its own rhythm and dynamic. Yet, what makes all of them so similar is the hostility present in all of the relationships. From the awkwardness between Jonathan and Nick as well as McCabe and O'Connell, to the tension between Jonathan and Patricia, McCabe and Phillips and even the aggression between Jonathan and Grete, McCabe and Coon, there is a tone of antagonism that lies at the core of the play that gives it momentum.
Although the feelings of hurt and anger are used as building blocks, in an odd plot twist, ""Sight Unseen"" finishes on a romantic, yet sad, note. It is the end that connects all the scenes of the play together and hints at something deeper than just a bizarre love triangle involving an artist and his former muse.
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