American Literature of the Sea and Great Lakes

THE SEA HORSE (first perf. 1974; pub. 1974). The title of this two-character play by Edward J. Moore (1935- ) refers to a dive in an unnamed central California seaport town, the scene for a pivotal encounter between the lonely tavern owner and the charming ne’er-do-well commercial seaman who drifts in and out of her life. This grittily realistic character study was an early success for the acclaimed off-Broadway Circle Repertory Theatre and won, for Moore, the Vernon Rice Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Playwright in 1974. [See also DRAMA OF THE SEA]

David R. Pellegrini