#26
Posted: 9/29/26 at 10:11am
The “What a dump” segment is a fantastic opener for a play.
Why is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf so popular? — Page 2
#27
Posted: 9/29/26 at 9:20pm
I saw the Marianne Elliott / Gillian Anderson / Billy Crudup Virginia Woolf last week. It's a strong production with an excellent cast. I wondered if Ms. Elliott would put her characteristic directorial extra layers to the play. But beyond presenting the play in the round with an almost imperceptibly slowly turning circular stage, she directed the play straight and it was very effective. Gillian Anderson is given a strong accent and is very caustic and biting. I was not really a fan of the added accent. Billy Crudup rises to her level through the show. And the actor who plays Nick is very good. I'm not exactly sure why, but I had a stronger "why are we watching these people fight and tear each other apart?" than I had when I saw the Kathleen Turner/Bill Irwin production or the Tracy Letts/Amy Morton version. Maybe it was because the tension and fighting between George, Martha and Nick was so high. But by the end with Martha's breakdown the play was, as always, very moving. I think the play is so popular because the writing is excellent and bristling, the story turns are engaging, and we see ourselves (our broken dreams and ways of coping) in - and apart from - the characters even though they may be tragic, broken, flawed and horrible to each other.
Updated On: 10/1/26 at 09:20 PM
#28
Posted: 9/30/26 at 6:34am
The play takes place in New Hampshire, are you sure it wasn’t a New England accent? New Jersey, New York, and New England can sometimes blend together, at least for me who just has a standard American accent, they sound similar.
#29
Posted: 9/30/26 at 7:45am
They are completely different accents. Even if you are not from the northeast, there are plenty of examples on television of characters who speak each accent. As academics, they would likely not have regional accents. Then again, Gillian Anderson has a history of bad accents. Even her English accent sounds wrong to me, even though I understand she was raised in the UK.
#30
Posted: 9/30/26 at 10:18am
tomorrowBIGLITES said: "The “What a dump” segment is a fantastic opener for a play."
The play was a pre-Stonewall cultural gathering point for gay men… perhaps because it was attacked as such by straight male drama critics. So it has an iconic position in LGBT history. I think it’s an excellent play that balances Albee’s rather modish modernisms (the mass of the dead being intoned at end, “George and Martha” ) with some crackling good dialogue, characters, and melodramatic revelations. It will always be actor bait.
Updated On: 9/30/26 at 10:18 AM
#31
Posted: 9/30/26 at 10:54am
I also find the boys in the band to be mostly vile ( well the film at least ) I must admit that last London production was better than the film, but I have no desire to see it again
Well I didn't want to get into it, but he's a Satanist.
Every full moon he sacrifices 4 puppies to the Dark Lord and smears their blood on his paino.
This should help you understand the score for Wicked a little bit more.
Tazber's: Reply to
Is Stephen Schwartz a Practicing Christian
#32
Posted: 9/30/26 at 11:00am
Aside from the quality of the play itself, I believe audiences like roles that allow actors to go all out. Audiences feel they get their moneys worth when actors chew scenery. I thought Amy Morton was spectacular as Martha.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
#33
Posted: 10/1/26 at 6:10am
You’re right. The accent could be New England not New Jersey. Either way,it was strong and to me, stood out.
Updated On: 10/1/26 at 06:10 AM
#34
Posted: 10/1/26 at 7:09am
Gillian Anderson does not have a good stage voice. It's painfully shrill, as though she's afraid she won't be heard if she doesn't push. I wanted to leave at intermission when I saw her in A Streetcar Named Desire but somehow stuck it out.
StageDoor3 said something about Billy Crudup rising to her level. I find the accuracy of that statement hard to believe. She would have to rise up to his: he is an excellent stage actor.
Hopefully, though, their performances will be equally matched.
#35
Posted: 10/1/26 at 7:35am
sinister teashop said: "tomorrowBIGLITES said: "The “What a dump” segment is a fantastic opener for a play."
The play was a pre-Stonewall cultural gathering point for gay men… perhaps because it was attacked as such by straight male drama critics. So it has an iconic position in LGBT history.I think it’s an excellent play that balances Albee’s rather modishmodernisms (the mass of the dead being intoned at end, “George and Martha” ) with some crackling good dialogue, characters, and melodramatic revelations. It will always be actor bait."
Can you expand more on this? I'd never heard this and would love to know more. Why did critics think it was a gay cultural gathering?
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#36
Posted: 10/1/26 at 8:07am
I saw the production in the west end a few nights ago and really enjoyed it. I expected to like Gillian Anderson the most. Billy Crudup really stood out to me and I’d like to see his portrayal again when this inevitably transfers to Broadway.
#37
Posted: 10/1/26 at 9:37am
iluvtheatertrash said: "sinister teashop said: "tomorrowBIGLITES said: "The “What a dump” segment is a fantastic opener for a play."
The play was a pre-Stonewall cultural gathering point for gay men… perhaps because it was attacked as such by straight male drama critics. So it has an iconic position in LGBT history.I think it’s an excellent play that balances Albee’s rather modishmodernisms (the mass of the dead being intoned at end, “George and Martha” ) with some crackling good dialogue, characters, and melodramatic revelations. It will always be actor bait."
Can you expand more on this? I'd never heard this and would love to know more. Why did critics think it was a gay cultural gathering?"
A number of critics, one was Stanley Kauffmann in the NYTimes, wrote opinons accusing Albee and other gay playwrights of writing homosexual characters "disguised" as heterosexuals. Richard Schechner, a pioneer of the avant-garde (apparently heterosexual) theater had this to say about the play and its audience:
"its morbidity and sexual perversity which are there only to titillate an impotent and homosexual theater audience."
Updated On: 10/1/26 at 09:37 AM
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