David Selby in ECHOES, 1973

From left: Melvin Bernhardt, author N. Richard Nash, Lynn Milgrim and David Selby.

I'm entirely unaware of ECHOES, a play written by N. Richard Nash. That's not a judgement on the standing of the play: I'm part of the STAR WARS generation, and we like our drama with lots of explosions and aliens. The idea of sitting still in a theater feet away from performers who can both see and hear you didn't appeal to me much as a child. Things just got worse after discovering punk. If you wanted me to see LES MISERABLE at age 21, you'd have to have promised me a mosh pit.

Goodreads has been a big help in tracking down a plot summary of the production, though:

David Selby and Lynn Milgrim.

"A young man and woman build a low keyed paradise of happiness within an asylum, only to have it shattered by the intrusion of the outside world. The two characters search, at times agonizingly, to determine the difference between illusion and reality. The effort is lightened by moments of shared love and "pretend" games, like decorating Christmas trees that are not really there. The theme of love, vulnerable to the surveillances of the asylum, and the ministrations of the psychiatrist, a nonspeaking part seems as fragile in the constrained setting as it often is in the outside world."

Our own David Selby appeared in a production of ECHOES at the Bijou in New York City in 1973. Previews for the play began March 16, with the formal opening following on March 26.