UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Centre Stage will present "Albatross," by Matthew Spangler and Benjamin Evett, directed and sound designed by Rick Lombardo, from July 10-13 and July 17-20 in the Penn State Downtown Theatre. Show time is 8 p.m.

This captivating one-man play inspired by "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, stars Benjamin Evett as the Mariner. 

In every sense, the Mariner is "everyman." He shows tenderness and cruelty, gets caught in disastrous situations that are partially of his own making, defiles nature and then gains appreciation for the natural world, and ultimately moves from random acts to accepting that there is a price associated with how we live our lives. Rough and uncouth, funny and harsh, the play is iconic and unforgettable.

Let's Talk Off Broadway reviewer Yvonne Korshak writes, "Benjamin Evett gives us a surpassing performance in a magnificent play, 'Albatross.' Alone on the stage, Evett contends with the wind and waves, the details of his ship’s rigging, loneliness, madness, thirst, hunger, loss, memories, yearnings, cruelty, and the guilt of having caused the arbitrary death of an innocent, friendly creature. His is an ultimate human voyage.  

"This play seeks to tell us the whole story of the Mariner, what it was really like — what Coleridge’s Romantic poem didn’t tell us. We learn how the Mariner came to go on the voyage in the first place, and what happened after. 'Albatross' conveys more fully and in specific detail the true brutality of life on an eighteenth-century ship and, going beyond Coleridge’s narrated events, it finds the words to convey the Mariner’s intense inner experiences."

"Albatross" premiered Off Broadway and is the winner of two Elliott Norton Awards: "Outstanding Production for a Small Theater" and "Outstanding Solo Performance" (Evett as the Mariner).

For additional show information, visit www.theatre.psu.edu. Tickets are available at Penn State Tickets Downtown, Eisenhower Box Office, Bryce Jordan Center, or by calling (814) 863-0255 or 1-(800)-ARTS-TIX.