When “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” opened on Broadway in
1962, it both captivated and polarized audiences. Edward Albee’s (then)
contemporary play about a frustrated middle-aged couple was cutting edge: the
plot had sexual tension, alcohol, and cursing, all live on stage. Though it was
vetoed for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1962, “Woolf” won the Tony Award for
best play in 1963, and the script was adapted for a film starring Elizabeth
Taylor and Richard Burton just a few years later.
MAD
Magazine, in a satirical 1967 cartoon spread about the film, perhaps best
summed it up: “Who in heck is Virginia Woolf?” Spoiler: it’s not a character in
the plot, but a play on the Disney song, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”,
that swaps in the name of author Virginia Woolf. The reason for the title is
quite simple: Albee was inspired at a New York bar where he saw the phrase
scrawled in soap on a bathroom mirror.
Wallbyrd
Theatre Co., led by Virginia Monte, departs from its usual Shakespearean-themed
offerings with this classic play (and will do so again in May 2019 with “The 39
Steps”). The turn to mid-20th century works is a refreshing one, coinciding
with the company’s move to The Avyarium, a new black box-style space tucked
away on the second floor of the Village Gate.
The plot of
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is a confusing one, but it begins simply
enough. After they leave a faculty party, Martha informs her professor husband,
George, that she’s invited the newest faculty member and his young wife over
for a nightcap. The greatest challenge within the next three hours is for the
director and actors, who must make sense of this dense and at times
heavy-handed play, but it’s clear Monte and the
four-person ensemble have spent countless hours crafting the show.
In the role
of history professor George, Kevin Sweeney leads the cast, rarely leaving the
stage at all. He leverages a hoarse stage voice to great effect, swelling to a
full-on bray at several points. It’s the voice of a character lugging a
lifetime of baggage. As his desperate, older wife (and daughter of the
college’s president) Martha, Dawn Sargent masterfully executes a character
who’s both heartbreaking and exasperating to watch.
Rounding out
the cast are Kiefer Schenk (Nick) and Sarah Kingsley (Honey), who play the
newest all-star faculty member and his naive, waifish wife. At first blush,
Schenk and Kingsley seem to portray two-dimensional characters, but the nuance
of each actor grows as the play progresses, and these younger ensemble members
prove an impressive match for their middle-aged counterparts.
Infidelity,
profanity, alcoholism, marital discord: Everything
hidden from the bridge and rotary clubs of the day is dragged out and strung
from the rafters. The plot toes the line between a chess match and a
championship bout, every disclosure and conversational misstep turning to
another player’s advantage minutes (or, in this case, hours) later. The
audience is seated flanking the stage, and the square, Mid-century living room
set (also designed by Virginia Monte) grows more like a boxing ring with each
passing act.
As is
typical of Monte’s shows, much conscientious effort has gone into the design of
the production, from the worn, period-style living room of George and Martha’s
home to the deliciously “Mad Men”-esque costumes by Linda Monte. There’s also a
good deal of fight choreography, by Alec Barbour and Cassie Buscemi, fluidly
worked into the production.
By the end
of the three-hour production (including two 10-minute intermissions), the
audience looks as worn out as the characters, emotionally and physically
exhausted from the suspense and toll of the play’s content. And what of the
plot twist at the end? As Sweeney’s character George says amidst gulps of
would-be Scotch: “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
This article appears in Nov 7-13, 2018.
