Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?...or at least the play?

[wickedfan]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 3:23pm

I purchased the play by Edward Albee, strange man. I'm reading it and as much as it is long, it is rather disturbing. I don't mean as in I can't believe my ears but there is tons of name calling, booze drinking, yelling, I mean how much can one take? I'm sure it was different on stage, or on film, more entertaining maybe, but reading it is just so odd. Has anyone seen it live? What's your opinion because I need to be reassured that it's not as, well...you know...when my parents are intending to take me to the revival.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 3:40pm

It's one of the three or four greatest plays ever written by an American playwright. When well cast and well directed (as this upcoming revival promises to be) it makes for as powerful a theatrcal experience as you could ever have -- you and your parents are in for a treat. It is very intense and purposely elicits very strong emotions from its audience (it's impossible to observe it passively). All the name-calling is part of a grand scheme ... a game being played by George and Martha upon their unsuspecting guests. It's all there for a reason. If you want an idea of how it plays live, rent the classic Oscar-winning Nichols-Taylor-Burton film (which I imagine your parents must have seen at some point -- it was very popular). The film is the play nearly word-for-word (save for one short scene) and the acting is amazing. Good luck.

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 3:46pm

I saw a production of it at the Stratford Festival a few years ago (with Brian Bedford and Martha Henry).
It was absolutley phenomenal. To see it done live is an incredible, and incredibly draining, experience. The characters and situations are so intense that you feel physically tired when the play is over (and that has little to do with the fact that it is about three hours long!). It's a wonderful emotional journey you take with the characters, which doesn't often happen so powerfully while sitting in the audience.
GO SEE IT!

Posted: 6/13/04 at 4:00pm

It's encouraging to learn that a fan of WICKED is actually reading a play, and Albee at that.

VIRGNIA WOOLF is one of the great plays of the American stage. Be prepared however that no one is or turns green, except perhaps Honey from too much alcohol.

You should kiss the ground your parents walk on, for challenging you to expand your knowledge of theatre.

Jesting aside...It's a great play, a great film, and it you like it search out the OBC. Yes, Columbia records recorded the original cast and issued a multi-LP set. It is brilliant. As have been the revivals I've seen. Albee is a master dramatist.

Cheers! Jose'





Updated On: 6/13/04 at 04:00 PM

[StateOfJade]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 4:13pm

I nearly hit the ceiling when I read that it was being revived.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 4:15pm

I am with Jose on the "encouraging" note. Congratulations! Like my avatar gives away, I am a diehard Albee fanatic, and I stand firm to the belief that he is the greatest American playwright of all time...orrrr, at least a LONG time. anywho, Margo could not be any more correct (sorry, Jose...you too. kind of.) It really is one of the best American plays to date. and If not, it is one of the most RESPECTED. Read the whole thing, it pieces together.

"i swear, if you existed I'd divorce you!"

-d.b.j-
-d.b.j-

[wickedfan]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 5:53pm

Actually, I decided to purchase it, not my parents. they thought it might be too intense for me. I'm definately easing into it now though. And just because I'm a fan of WICKEd, doesn't mean I've never read a play before. My family has the scripts to ANGELS IN AMERICA, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, THE ICEMAN COMETH, THE ODD COUPLE, and a few others. That's not meaning I'm offended, it's just that i do read plays, and I enjoy a larger percent of them than I do with musicals.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 6:39pm

Woolf is my favorite play. It is a delicious, macabre world that George and Martha live in!

The film is must see--some of the best acting ever put on film.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 6:51pm

let's talk to Craig and Rob about making an Albee Guild...hm. i get to be the Guild master! I called it!
:)
-d.b.j-

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 7:34pm

I love Albee, too. In addition to "Virginia Woolf," this season promises a production of "The Lady From Dubuque" starring the legendary Rosemary Harris at Second Stage and perhaps NY will see "Peter and Jerry" (Albee's full-length re-working or "The Zoo Story" with his newly penned first act prequel, "Homelife") once it finishes up at Hartford Stage. I can't wait.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 7:37pm

Seriously, Zoo Story is the best One-Act Play ever written. I love Jerry with a passion and I hope the full-length-icizing does not kill the original feeling in the one-act.
-d.b.j-

[MusicMan]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 10:38pm

According to reviewers, it apparently has.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/13/04 at 11:30pm

Here's a nice review it from the Hartford Advocate:
Peter & Jerry

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 2:29am

I had to analyze this play last semester.
It's brilliant.
I don't understand it in the least.

In the end, my analysis for it was something pathetic.
My root-conflict statement was something like:
Martha, wanting to keep George's interest in their marriage, tries to keep George's interest in the games. However George, wanting his marriage to be based on more than games, tries to win/end the games. Resulting in George finding ending the games and Martha being left confused and vulnerable.

[MusicMan]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 3:17am

Interesting how your knee-jerk reaction to WAOVW was that it was 'brilliant' without understanding it 'in the least.'

[sabrelady]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 11:55am

I once did a paper arguing "virigina Wolfe" "Long Days Journey" & "Streetcar" were the pinicle of American playwriting. ( yes I know some would include "Salesman" but I didn't)

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 12:04pm

To give Wickedfan some credit, Albee's plays aren't terribly good reads, they must be performed. Beckett and Pinter are the same way.....SO excited about LADY FROM DUBUQUE!!!

[guwumpki]

Posted: 11/13/04 at 3:18am

I heard there will be an open casting call for understudies for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Does anyone know where and when?! Updated On: 11/13/04 at 03:18 AM

[guwumpki]

Posted: 11/13/04 at 3:25am

Why does it say Swing under my name? I don't swing. I barely slide.

[Adoannie925]

Posted: 11/13/04 at 1:57pm

It's an amazing play. I read it when I was a sophomore in high school and wrote a paper on it, so it's been a while, but it's very draining. It sparked my interest in plays though, and I realized, from it, that plays can be pretty powerful!

If you like it, you should check out "The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?" by Albee also. It's really good, but a bit up front and draining, too. However, I highly reccomend it! "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (in my opinion) is the greatest American drama and work of literature, and you should check that out, too. If you think "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is intense, wait until you read "Long Days Journey..."!

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 11/13/04 at 5:20pm

HOORAY for LONG DAY'S !
As well as Virginia Woolf, but HUZZAH to Long Day's!
The . best .
-d.b.j-

[Adoannie925]

Posted: 11/13/04 at 10:33pm

Awww, yeah. NuggetMonkeys, you have great taste! Long day's=the best. It simply cannot be beat. Was anyone fortunate to see the broadway revival a year or two ago? If only I knew about Long Day's then...*sigh*

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 11/13/04 at 10:48pm

Henry Fonda often stated that his agent (or manager) was sent the script for the original Broadway mounting and returned it without giving it to the actor, calling it smut. When Fonda found out he fired the guy!

The very best live Martha I've ever seen (and I've seen a half-dozen I can remember) was in Phoenix in a production directed by Albee - Rondi Reed, a Steppenwolf Ensemble member who was on Broadway in The Grapes of Wrath and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.

Like many of the great theatre texts, this can be a difficult read, requiring the emotional layering of a performance to enlighten the depth of the piece. And know this - it is darn funny when done right!

What a great opportunity, though . . . coming to a text like this completely unawares.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/13/04 at 11:10pm

Try to view the play as an allegory. Remember, George and Martha were the "First Family" in American History. I don't know whether you've finished reading the play, so I won't go into it any further.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 11/14/04 at 1:08am

Did anyone see The Kennedy Center's production of VIRGINIA WOOLF a few years ago?
I would love to know what you thought of that Martha...
Adoannie, I think you are beautiful...now how do you feel about my taste?
Hehe.
:)
-d.b.j-