Whos Afraid of

Virginia Woolf?
By Edward Albee
Directed by Ethan McSweeny
The Head Theater
2
0
0
8

0
9
Next Stage kcscurcc Gudc
Artistic Director Irene Lewis has always resisted being singled out as a Woman
Director, perhaps because of the ways in which that label had been thrust upon her
by others from the beginning of her career. I was the only female director in my
class at Yale, and one of my classmates remarked that I was taking up a mans space.
There were only two women artistic directors in the country back then. One didnt
hire other women very much, and the other was based in Texasso it was tricky
getting a break.
When breaks did happen, they were often late in coming and loaded down with
expectations. When I was hired at Hartford Stage Company in the 1970sI was
only the second woman to direct thereit took fve years before the artistic director
gave me a show to direct on the main stage. And I think that was only because Id
just directed a theater piece for the Hartford Symphony. The scale involved seemed
to convince him that maybe I had arrived. Even then, the managing director said to
mewithout any ironyOkay, you have one more chance; meaning women had
one more chance to get it right. I dont think I slept for the entire rehearsal period;
and when the show got a standing ovation, I thought just maybe I had a career in
this business.
The pressure did ultimately infuence her work. I started deliberately choosing
male-dominated bad boy plays to directto get away from being pegged as
sensitive. Early reviewswhich Ive since stopped readingkept talking about
my feminine touch. And while gender politics have certainly improved in the 30+
years since Hartford, as recently as the early 90swhen she was given the reins of
CENTERSTAGEthe comparisons to predecessor Stan Wojewodski gave her pause.
One New York paper described Stan as a dry director and me as a moist one. I
kid you not. But these days, having moved on from directing plays with exclusively
male themes, I choose works with a mixture of styles and emotions: funny, sad,
violenteven musicalsas long as theyre smart. I gravitate to the harder issues
and questions affecting both genders.
So does her personal experience with gender bias no longer infuence her as
a director? Being a woman informs my work, but doesnt defne it, she says
confdently. As a respected artist and the long-tenured leader of one of Americas
leading regional theaters, that may be as post-gender as anyone needs to be.
Barbara Watson, Director of Audience Development
A
WOmAN
DIRECTOR
Irene Lewis,
Artistic Director
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [ z
Ethan McSweeny
Director
Lee Savage
Scenic Designer
Murell Horton
Costume Designer
Robert Wierzel
Lighting Designer
Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen
Sound Designers
J. Allen Suddeth
Fight Choreographer
Karma Camp
Choreographer
Gavin Witt
Production Dramaturg
Gary Logan
Voice & Text
Janet Foster
Casting Director
SLTTNG:
The living room of a house on the
campus of a small New England college.
The hours before dawn. Autumn, 1962.
^CT : Fun and Games
intermission
^CT : Walpurgisnacht
intermission
^CT : The Exorcism
ContEntS
America,1962 4
AlbeesAlbee 6
Fun&Games 8
TheCriticsHowl 10
Glossary 12
Bibliography
&FurtherReading 13
the CEntERStAGE Program
is published by:
CENTERSTAGEAssociates
700NorthCalvertStreet
Baltimore,Maryland21202
Editor
HeatherC.Jackson
Contributors
HeatherC.Jackson,Drew
Lichtenberg,KathrynVanWinkle,
BarbaraWatson,GavinWitt
Art Direction/Design
BillGeenen
Design
JasonGembicki
Advertising Sales
ads@centerstage.org
ContACt InFoRMAtIon
Box office Phone 410.332.0033
Box office Fax 410.727.2522
Administration410.986.4000
www.centerstage.org
info@centerstage.org
In CASE oF EMERGEnCy
(duringperformancesonly)
410.986.4080
THL C^ST (inorderofappearance)
Andrew Weems*
George
Deborah Hedwall*
martha
Erik Heger*
Nick
Leah Curney*
Honey
Laura Smith*
Stage manager
Mike Schleifer*
Assistant Stage manager
*member of Actors Equity Association
Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
ByEdwardAlbee
TheHeadTheater
oct 22nov 30, 2008
Sponsored by Associate Production Sponsor
CENTERSTAGEisfundedbyanoperating
grantfromtheMarylandStateArts
Council,anagencydedicatedto
cultivatingavibrantculturalcommunity
wheretheartsthrive.
the Next Stage Resource Guide
is sponsored by
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [
TheoriginalproductionofWhos Afraid
of Virginia Woolf?openedinOctober,
1962.JohnF.Kennedyhadjustbecome
PresidentoftheUnitedStatesin1961,
replacingDwightD.Eisenhowerinan
electionhailedasthepassingofatorch
toanewgeneration.Butforallthe
clarionappealofthatclaim,theworld
inhabitedbyAlbeescharactersthe
worldofashelteredNewEngland
collegewasatleastoutwardlylittle
distinguishablefromtheEisenhower
Americathatprecededit.Onlyafter
assassinations,riots,astymied
interventionabroad,andupheavals
inracialjusticeandpopular
culturewouldthatworldfnally
giveway.Albeesground-shaking,
groundbreakingplayprovidesanearly
salvointhattransformation.
,
AmericA
,
1962
World NeWs
Cuban Embargo begins,
followed shortly after by the
Cuban Missile Crisis
East German government builds
a Wall around West Berlin
Uganda and Tanganyika gain
independence
President Kennedy commits
US forces to vanquishing
Communism in Vietnam
Vatican II begins in Rome
3,000 soldiers suppress riots
when the frst Black student
attends University of Mississippi
Bus boycott in Macon, Georgia
Black churches burn across
the South
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [
,
AmericA
,
1962
PoPular Culture
Marilyn Monroe dies of a drug
overdose at 36
New Pop Art pieces by Roy
Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg,
and Andy Warhol
John Steinbeck wins Nobel Prize
for Literature
Ken Kesey publishes One Flew Over the
Cuckoos Nest
Popular songs:
Days of Wine and Roses,
Stubborn Kind of Fellow,
Blowin in the Wind
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones
make their debuts; Robert Zimmerman
becomes Bob Dylan
Martha (Reeves) and the Vandellas
debuts in Detroit, part of the growing
Motown sound
Bishop Burke bans Chubby Checkers
The Twist as impure; the next day,
17,000 fans attend a Twist Party in
San Francisco
Becketts Happy Days has London
premiere
West Side Story wins Best Picture
Academy Award; soundtrack album
begins 54 weeks at Number 1
Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens
in New York
sCieNCe
& teChNology
Thalidomide discovered to cause
birth defects
John Glenn orbits the moon, putting
the US back ahead in the space race
after the Soviet success with Sputnik
Venus probe, Mariner 2, launched
Rachel Carson publishes Silent
Spring, highlighting the perils of
DDT and other pesticides
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [
In

1958,havingspent
thepastdecade
ratheraimlessly
inpursuitofdirection,Edward
Albeegavehimselfanunusual
30
th
-birthdaypresent:he
wroteThe Zoo Story.Ayear
later,itpremieredinGermany
andbythesecondweek
of1960thedaringshort
playopened,alongwith
BeckettsKrapps Last Tape,in
GreenwichVillage.Nearly600
performanceslater,Albeewas
launchedasanewdarling
ofthealternativetheater
scene.Forthenextyear,a
fairlydizzyingstreamofworks
pouredforthincludingThe
Death of Bessie Smith, The
Sandbox, Fam and Yam,and
The American Dream.Then,
in1962,Albeemadethe
leapfromtheFringetothe
Boulevard,whenWhos Afraid
of Virginia Woolf?opened
attheBillyRoseTheateron
Broadway.
Withthealmostliteral
explosionofVirginia Woolf
ontothescene,thetrajectory
ofAlbeeslifeunderwentan
enormoustransformationa
transformationpartly
matchedbytheeffectofthe
playonAmericanplaywriting
Albees Albee
By Gavin Witt, Production Dramaturg
thatfollowed.Inthespaceof
onlyafewyears,Albeewent
fromdead-endjobsandcold-
waterfatstoaManhattan
loftandaMontaukretreat,
fromdowntowncoffee-house
haranguestobeingthetoast
ofinternationalcapitals.
Yet,forallthemetaphoric
distancetraveledinthismost
American,HoratioAlger-like
ofrises,Albeewasinsome
waysmerelyreturningtothe
sphereofhisyouth.Asphere
hehadstruggledwithand
ultimatelyfedoncebefore.
Thedetailsofthisfascinating
biography,whichresonate
tantalizinglyagainstrecurring
narrativesandthemesinplay
afterplayofhis,areasmuch
partofthefctionalfabricof
Albeestheatricaluniverseas
theyarefoundedonactual
events.Theearlyexperiences
thatshapedhimwereceive,
atleastinpart,asaconstruct
ofAlbeesownretellingone
whichhetypicallyresists
linkingtotheplays.Perhaps,
then,itisbesttolethimtellit
inhisowninimitablefashion,
astheperceivedexperience
maycarryagreater(ormore
informative)truththanmere
documentaryfact.
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [ 6
In1961,onthecuspofunveilingVirginia Woolf,Albeechatted
withThe New YorkersLillianRoss,duringwhichinterviewhe
offeredalivelyversionofhisstory-so-far.
BorninWashington,DC,onMarch12,1928,andcametoNew
YorkwhenIwastwoweeksold.Ihavenoideawhomynatural
parentswere,althoughImsuremyfatherwasntaPresident,
oranythinglikethat.Iwasadoptedbymyfather,ReedA.
Albee,whoworkedforhisfather,EdwardFranklinAlbee[for
whomEdwardwasnamed],whostartedachainoftheaters
withB.F.KeithandthensoldouttoR.K.O.Mymotherisa
remarkablewoman.Anexcellenthorsewoman.Iwasriding
fromthetimeIwasabletowalk.Myparentshadastable
ofhorsesinLarchmontorScarsdaleoroneofthoseplaces.
[They]gavemeagoodhomeandagoodeducation,noneof
whichIappreciated.IattendedRyeCountryDaySchooluntilI
waseleven,andthenLawrenceville[boardingschool],where
Igotthrownoutforrefusingtogotoclasses.[I]nsteadof
goinghomeIwassenttoValleyForgeMilitaryAcademy
ValleyForgeConcentrationCamp.Ihadtheusualroutineof
discipline,institutionalfood,anddrearylivingquarters.[A]fter
ayearIwenttoChoate,anditwasmarvelous.Iwentonto
TrinityCollegeforayearandahalf,[but]didnthaveenough
interesttostickitoutIwouldntgotochapel,andIwouldnt
gotooneofthemathcourses.Afterayearandahalf,the
collegesuggestedthatInotcomeback,whichwasfne
withme.
Igotmyfrstjobwritingcontinuityforthemusicprograms
[atradiostationWNYC].Afterthat,Ihadanawfullotofjobs:
40-dollar-a-weekoffceboy;salesman[at]Bloomingdales;
luncheonettecountermanattheManhattanTowersHotel;
[and]IwasaWesternUnionmessengerforthreeyears,all
overthecity.Ilikedit.Itwasntajobthattiredyououtwith
mentalworkandImetallsortsofinterestingpeople.In
1949,Ihadcomeintoaverysmallincome[actuallythethen-
comfortableannualsumof$3,500]fromatrustfundsetup
bymygrandmother.[Ihad]triedtowriteanovel.Thenovel
wasawful.Ihadwrittenalotofpoetry.Then,inthespringof
1958,whenIhit30,akindofexplosiontookplaceinmylife.Id
beendrifting,andIgotfedupwithmyself.Idecidedtowritea
playandIquitwork.IwroteThe Zoo Story onawobblytable
inthekitcheninthreeweeks.
Thissketchofapastleadingsomewhatimprobablyto
thesudden,nearlyovernightsensationhasbecomethebirth-
mythforAlbeetheAuthor.Byselectivefocusandomissionit
createsanarrativeascraftedasanyversioninhisworkand
someofthesignifcantelementsitomitsactuallyappear
morefeshed-outintheplays,whichovertimehaveservedin
placeofajournalorautobiography.Someofthesedistinctive
elementsincludeAlbeesveryearlydiscovery(aroundagesix)
thathehadbeenabandonedbyhisbirthparentsandadopted;
theparadeofeccentricshowbusinesstypeswhoaccompanied
societyfxturesinhisearlylife;andthelayersofprivilege
andexpectationsurroundinghimasthedesignatedheirofthe
ancientAlbeefamilyincludinghisbriefengagementto
adebutante.
Mostnotablytheaccountglancesoverthewell-charted
terrainofhisadoptiveparents:hismother,Francesknown
asFrankiestatuesque,commanding,domineering,a
powerfulpersonality;hisfather,Reed,diminutive,retiring,
demureandsomewhatprecious,withaglass(ifnotoriously
roving)eyeandahabitofjinglingthechangeinhispockets
beforesidlingintoaroom.Theportraitmostoftenpainted
ofthemisofafamilywholavishedattentionandopportunity
ontheirsonwithoutactualaffectionorwarmth,inmuchthe
samemannerthattheycarriedontheirownparallellives,
detachedbutneverdivorced.
Albee in his own words:
Peoplewouldrathersleeptheirwaythroughlifethan
stayawakeforit.
Ideallyaplaywrightcangethisplayfromapage
ontothestageandbacktotheaudience,ratherlike
playingtennisagainstabackboard.Butthisvery
seldomhappens,becauseyouhavetodealwith
humanbeings.Youhavetodealwithactorsand
thedirector.
Idontthinkthatitistheresponsibilityofthe
playwrighttopresentadilemmaandthen
giveitssolution.
Subtleandintelligentpeopleplaysubtleand
intelligentgames.Everybodyplaysgames.Peopleplay
gameswithtruth;theyplaygameswithreality,with
illusionandsinceeverybodydoes,Idontseewhy
theyresosurprisedtoseeitturningupin[a]play.
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [ ,
yetstrangelychildlikegamesthatintensifyincrueltyand
sexualcharge,justasAlbeeappearstobeplayingagamewith
us,testingandteasingourabilitiesofperception.Thisinternal
theatricalstructureismorereminiscentoftheworkofSamuel
Beckettthanthefamilyconfictsofdomesticrealism.
Inparticular,AlbeeappearstoevokeWaiting for Godot,a
philosophicalclown-playsetonanalmostbarestageupon
whichtheprotagonistsflltheendlessvacuumoftimeand
spacewithaseriesofcomicgagsandgames.Whos Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?alsocallstomindtheworkofEugneIonesco,
acontemporaryofBeckettswhospecializedintracinga
deepveinofexistentialdreadunderneaththebanalsurface
utterancesandmaterialistictrappingsofthepettybourgeoisie.
InVirginia Woolf,AlbeesfrstBroadwayproductionafteran
avant-gardeapprenticeshipspentwritingone-actsfortheblack
boxesofGreenwichVillage,Albeehituponanewlysynthetic
wayofcloakingthemetaphoricalstructuresofcontinental
AbsurdismwithinthevisceralconfnesofAmericanNaturalism.
Theresultingplayoftenfeelslikeadizzying,physically
exhaustingbutspirituallyexaltingtennismatchthatshuttles
Fun &
Games:
Edward
Albees
Pop Art
Theater
ByDrewLichtenberg,
AssociateDramaturg
J

At

frstglance,
EdwardAlbees
seminal1962
drama,Whos Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?,ftssquarelyinthemiddle
oftheAmericannaturalistictradition.
AsinEugeneONeillsLong Days Journey
Into Night,Albeeconfnestheactionto
alivingroompopulatedbywealthyNew
Englanderswhoproceedtodrink,shout,and
carryonthroughthenight.(Indeed,dramacritic
ThomasP.Adler,glancingatONeill,onceinformally
re-titledtheplayLongNightsJourneyIntoDayina
review.)Butappearancescanbedeceptive.Intheworld
ofWhos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,realitygetslinkedto
itsowndistortedrefectioninaseriesofgames,puzzles,
andliesinotherwords,theater.Thisindissoluble
mixtureofrealityandillusionprovidesnotonlytheplays
humoranditsheartbreak,butalsomarksWhos Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?asacornerstoneof20
th
-centuryAmerican
playwriting,ahybridoftraditionalandnewformsinthe
serviceofvital,pressingconcerns.
Shortlyaftertheplayopens,welearnthatGeorgeand
Martha,aslightlygrayingcouplestagnatinginmarriage
andacademia,areawaitingthevisitofahotshotjunior
facultymember,Nick,andhisslim-hippedwifeHoney.
Thesituationisbothintimatelyfamiliarandtantalizingly
ambiguous,lacedwiththeconfuenceofcharacter,
setting,andcircumstancethatdrovesocialdramas
oftheperiodandcontinuestodosotoday.Willwe
witnessaromanticquadrille,adanceofdeathinwhich
thetwocouplestradepartners;orwillwegetsparring
academicrivals,goosedonbytheirspouses?Perhaps
wewilllearnofsomelong-buriedsecretthatleadstoa
catharticemotionalrevelation?Whateverpromisesto
unfold,theash-traynaturalismoftheenvironmentan
imitationofobjectiverealitydowntothemicroscopic
levelsuggestsanexperienceofimmersiveintensity.
Weseemallsettosojournwiththesefourpeoplefor
anevening,observingtheirbehaviorandsurroundings
inanempirical,almostvoyeuristicmanner.Asinclassic
worksbyEugeneONeill,TennesseeWilliams,orArthur
Miller,thefactorsofheredityandenvironmentbeginto
resemblefate,asthefourcombatantsmoveinexorably
withintheirnaturalisticframetowardaclimactic
confrontation.
Andyet,thefourcharactersalsoresembleplayersin
anotherkindofdrama.Albee,whotitleshisfrstactFun
andGames,structurestheplaywithapeculiartwiston
conventionalplotting,thetried-and-truereversalsand
revelationsthatdrivemostnaturalisticplays.Thetwists
andturnsofactionarestillthere,butonecannever
besureofwhatisreallyhappening,orwhathasjust
happened.Thefourcharacters,particularlyGeorgeand
Martha,engageinsteadinaseriesofpotentiallyvicious
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [ 8
betweentwocarefullyinterwovenworlds:the
naturalisticimitationofrealityanditsabsurdist,
theatricalshadow.
Albeecametoartisticmaturityinaperiod
inwhichartandlifeappearedtooccupy
increasinglyseparaterealms.WithWestern
civilizationstillcomingtogripswiththe
philosophicalandmorallegacyoftheSecond
WorldWarincludingthebombingofHiroshima
andthehorrorsofAuschwitzartistsincreasingly
soughtsolaceinthecomfortsofaesthetics.
Intheartworld,thetonalextremesofcool
MinimalismandhotAbstractExpressionism
sharedasimilaraversiontorepresentation,atrait
notedironicallybyGeorgeasthetwocouples
regardanabstractartworkintheplaysfrstact.
Meanwhile,Absurdisminthetheaterdisplayed
acorrespondinghesitationtofallbackintothe
escapistrhythmsofnarrative,asifdepictinga
worldinwhichprogressunfoldedonstagewas
unfathomableinthewakeofanapocalyptic
event.MuchliketheirprecursorstheDadaists
inresponsetoWorldWarOne,forinstancethe
AbsurdistsquestionedTruth,andcreatedartto
refectaworldinwhichmeaningandmorality
hadapparentlyvanished.
Albeesapproach,givenitsfullestexpressionin
Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,constitutesone
possiblevisionofartisticandmoralprogress,
arepurposingofavant-gardecontentwithin
popularformsandviceversa.Suchaformal
juxtapositionbetweentheeverydayandthe
metaphysicalwasnotmerelyabreakthroughin
playwriting;itprecipitatedagenerationalshiftin
artanditssocialuses.Thoughhemaytechnically
belongtotheeraofEisenhowerandMcCarthy,
AlbeeisatheartaBabyBoomer,andthis,one
ofhisgreatestplays,containsthegloriousrange
ofcontradictionsthatwoulddefnethedecade
tocome.Bycourageouslycollapsingthehigh
andlow,AlbeehelpedtousherthePostmodern
eraontotheBroadwaystagemuchinthe
wayAndyWarholwouldmakeartoutofmass-
producediconsandmusiciansfromMotownto
Dylanwouldturnpopmusicintoasophisticated
realmofgenerationalprotest.Likehissimilarly
mindedcontemporaryHaroldPinterWhos
Afraid of Virginia Woolf?isperhapsasclose
asAmericandramacomestotheComedyof
MenaceAlbeeisamasterpoetoftheabsurdly
real.AndinWhos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,
heallowsasettingasfamiliarlydomesticasa
Campbellssoupcantoaccumulateapotential
dread,existentialuncertainty,andinternalized
abstractionasprovocativeasanyempty,post-
apocalypticlandscape.
1950La Cantatrice chauveopensatatinytheaterinParis,
introducingtheabsurdistanti-playsofEugneIonescoand
helpinglaunchanewavant-gardeinthetheater.By1958,when
theplayarrivesinNewYorkasThe Bald Soprano,Ionescos
satiricalgesturehadbecomede rigueurforwriterslikeJean
GenetandSamuelBeckett.
1953BeckettsEn attendant GodotpremieresatPariss
Thtre Babylone,underthedirectionofRogerBlin.In1956,
Waiting for GodotpremieresinAmerica.
1959Albeesfrstplay,TheZoo Story,opensinWestBerlin.
ItpremieresinAmericathefollowingyearattheProvincetown
PlayhouseunderthedirectionofAlanSchneider,partofadouble
billwithaBeckettone-act,Krapps Last Tape.
1961EugneIonescosabsurdistsatire,Rhinoceros,opensat
theLongacreTheaterinNewYorkCity,inaproductionstarring
ZeroMostelandEliWallach.
1961The Blacks,byJeanGenet,opensatSt.MarksPlayhouse
afterpremieringinParisin1959.Runningfor1,408performances,
thisNewYorkproductionwouldbecomethelongest-running
Off-Broadwaynon-musicalofthedecade,withanoriginalcast
includingMayaAngelou,LouisGossett,Jr.,JamesEarlJones,and
CicelyTyson.
1961AlanSchneiderdirectstheworldpremiereofBecketts
Happy DaysattheCherryLaneTheatreintheWestVillage.
1962Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,underthedirection
ofSchneider,opensonOctober10
th
attheBillyRoseTheaterin
Manhattan.Theproduction,producedforanunheard-of$42,000
(lessthanhalftheamountthenspentonatypicalBroadway
show)runsfor664performances.
1964Dutchman,ametaphoricalone-actintheAlbee/
Beckettmold,premieresattheCherryLaneTheatre,eventually
winninganObieforBestPlay.Itisthelastplaywrittenunder
thenameofLeRoiJonesbeforetheauthorchangeshisnameto
AmiriBaraka.
1966Tom
StoppardsRosencrantz
& Guildenstern Are
Dead,aclassicisttake
ontheAbsurd,opens
attheEdinburgh
FringeFestivalbefore
transferringtoLondons
OldVicTheatre.
1966MikeNicholssfrstfeatureflm,anadaptationof
Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starringElizabethTaylorand
RichardBurtonasMarthaandGeorge,openstoconsiderable
controversyoveritsobscenecontent.Nicholssnextflm,1967s
The Graduate,helpstolaunchthecounterculturalrevolutionof
Hollywoodflmmaking.
1988MikeNicholsreturnstothetheatertodirecta
productionofWaiting for Godot atLincolnCenter,starringRobin
WilliamsandSteveMartin.BillIrwinarguablystealstheshow,
though,asLuckyandthengoesontoplayGeorgeinthehighly
regarded2005revivalofVirginia WoolfonBroadway.
K

michael Jean Dozier and Howard W. Overshown

in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (2007-08).
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [
Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
opened at Broadways Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962.
Reactions were mixed.
By Kathryn Van Winkle, The Micheal and Debbie Nagle Dramaturgy Fellow
On the one hand:
Fit for dirty-minded females only
Virginia Woolf is mere sensationalism. Ladies, you may have at
it. Whoop, holler, squeal, yip, shriek, and gasp deliciously to the
content of your dear little hearts. Albee, I fear you are a goner.
John Chapman, New York Daily News
A sick play about sick people. They are
neurotic, cruel, and nasty. They really belong in a sanitarium for
the mentally ill rather than on a stage. [A] sordid and cynical dip
into depravity.We do not enjoy watching the wings being torn
from human fies. Robert Coleman, New York Mirror One of the
most bitter plays ever penneda monstrous and clever charade
a foul and puerile nightmare. Richard A. Duprey
An exemplary failure. Richard Gilman, The
Commonweal I thought it was a flthy play. W.D. Maxwell,
Pulitzer Prize advisory board A loquacious, vulgar mishmash.
John McCarten, The New Yorker Self-pity, drooling,
womb-seeking weaknesspersistent escape into morbid
fantasy.Albee makes dishonesty a virtue, perversion a joke,
adultery a simple party game.a ludicrous playmorbidity and
sexual perversity [that] are there only to titillate an impotent
and homosexual theatre and audiencean ineluctable urge to
escape reality and its concomitant responsibilities by crawling
back into the womb, or bathroom, or bothlikely to have
an infective and corrosive infuence on our theatre. Richard
Schechner, Tulane Drama ReviewAs cruel a play as I
remember. In writing of the play I am altogether unable
to conceal my dislike. J.C. Trewin, The Illustrated London News
Albeeis currentlywriting a two-act play that seems unlikely ever to appear on a midtown marquee. Its title is Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
TImE magazine, February 2, 1961
The criTics
howl
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [ :o
On Lhc cLhcr hand:
Brilliantly original work of artan
excoriating theatrical experience, surging with shocks of
recognition and dramatic fre. It will be igniting Broadway for
some time to come. Mel Gussow, Newsweek This play did
nothing less than reinvent the American theater. Matthew C.
Roudan Harrowing dramatic power Mr.
Albee has written a terrifying thingperhaps the negative play
to end all negative plays, yet also a curiously compassionate
playand an exhilarating oneand even a wryly affrmative
one because of the fghting spirit of the principals, whose
behavior breathes the fre of protest along with the stench of
corruption. John Gassner,EducationalTheatre Journal

A work of energy and distinction.
Walter Kerr, New
York Herald Tribune
A night of psychological
carnage[but] a night of electric entertainment.
Tom Prideaux, Life A wry and electric evening
in the theater.A palpable hit.Whether they
admire or detest the play, theatergoers cannot see it and shrug
it off. They burn with an urge to approve or differ.
They hail the plays electricity and condemn it as obscene.
The public is aroused. Wonderful.A volcanic eruption.
This is the way to dispel Broadway ennui.
Howard Taubman, The New York Times
Albeeis currentlywriting a two-act play that seems unlikely ever to appear on a midtown marquee. Its title is Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
TImE magazine, February 2, 1961
The criTics
howl
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [ ::
And the West, encumbered by crippling alliances, and
burdened with a morality too rigid to accommodate
itself to the swing of events, musteventuallyfall.
George reads from German historian Oswald Spenglers
1918 treatise The Decline of the West, which located modern
European history as the third and fnal phase of an inevitable
march towards doom.
Buried in cement, right up to your neck Perhaps a
reference to Winnie in Becketts enigmatic Happy Days,
successfully premiered under the direction of Alan Schneider
in New York in 1961.
Chromosomes Nicks feld of study leads George to imagine
a pseudo-Nazi future of genetic engineering and eugenics
harnessed to create a master race, with frequent intimations
of an Aryan bermenschthough the implications of Nicks
work might also hint at the perils of any totalitarian utopia.
more prosaically, in 1955 a Japanese scientist had determined
the number (46) of human chromosomes, and in 1961 the
relationship of RNA and DNA had been identifed.
Dies Irae (Latin) from the mass for the Dead; day of wrath.
Dylan thomas [-y quality] Welsh poet popular in the Forties
and Fifties. Well-known as a heavy drinker, Thomas died of
alcohol poisoning in 1953 on a reading tour of the U.S.
Flores; fores para los muertos. Flores. (Spanish) Flowers;
fowers for the dead. Flowers. Quoted from Tennessee
Williams A Streetcar Named Desire.
Gomorrah Biblical city destroyed by divine fre, along with
Sodom, for its legendary wickedness.
Great Experiment/Prohibition Period between 1920 and
1933 when the 18
th
Amendment made liquor production, sale,
or consumption illegal in the United States (producing a host
of unintended corollary consequences as a result, from the
culture of fappers and speakeasies to the rise of gangland
bosses like Al Capone).
Ice for the lamps of China A (somewhat dated) play on the
title of a once-popular novel and its flm adaptation, Oil for the
Lamps of China (1935), in which a young oil executive ultimately
fails to navigate the pitfalls of Chinas Nationalist Revolution of
the Twenties.
Illyria City on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea; home of
a contentious people, the city was destroyed by Rome during
the Punic Wars; also famous as the setting for Shakespeares
Twelfth Night, a more likely reference point here.
Just a gigolo martha sings a snatch of the Tin Pan Alley
standard, based on a Viennese original, that frst became
popular in 1931 as sung by Bing Crosby, then appeared in a flm
of the same name (and eventually went on to further life sung
by the likes of marlene Dietrich, Louis Prima, the Village People,
and David Lee Roth).
Lady Chatterley Title character of D.H. Lawrences erotic
novel Lady Chatterleys Lover (1928). She is an aristocrat who
has a rousing, arousing affair with her groundskeeper.
Moon is up/down George and martha debate the lunar
cycles in a moment that echoes Kate and Petruchios dispute
about the sun and the moon in Taming of the Shrew.
new Carthage Albees fctional New England college town
takes its name from the North African city and great rival to
Rome, which eventually succumbed to internal conficts and
was sacked by the Romans around 150 B.C.; in Virgils epic
Aeneid, the doomed love of Dido and Aeneas takes place
in Carthage.
nobodys houseboy now Another snatch of old Tin Pan
Alley martha adapts to the occasion, referencing the 1924 hit
Nobodys Sweetheart from the musical of the same name.
Parnassus In Greek mythology, a mountain whose twin
summits were devoted to Apollo and the muses; considered
to be the seat of poetry and music. Used ironically of the
faculty party.
Penguin Island From a satirical treatment of French history
by Anatol France (LIle de Pingouins, 1908); an island
proselytized by a near-blind French monk who baptizes the
islands inhabitants without realizing that they are all penguins.
The fctional society eventually destroys itself when capitalism
runs amok.
Punic Wars (see also new Carthage) A joke by George
about his age, by which he refers (historian that he is) to
the series of wars between Carthage, imperial power of the
mediterranean in the Second and Third Centuries B.C., and the
rising Roman republic. The Punic Wars (from the Latin name for
Carthage, formerly known as Phoenicia) ended the dominance
of North African Carthage and established Rome as the
preeminent power of the age.
Sacre du Printemps French title of Igor Stravinsky ballet,
The Rite of Spring (1913). Its dramatic, often violent, and
asymmetrical rhythms; polytonic dissonance; and erotic
evocation of pagan ritual were choreographed to shocking
effect by Vaslav Nijinsky, provoking a riot at its Paris premiere.
Walpurgisnacht The title of Act 2 comes from the German
word for may Day celebrations, a witches Sabbath celebrated
throughout much of Europe in one form or another (named for
Saint Walpurga but tied to ancient pagan rites); a long night
of orgiastic celebration during which evil spirits are exorcised
from cities and towns through topsy-turvy revelry and pranks.
What a dump Probably the single, or at any rate the most,
recognized and remembered line from the noir flm, Beyond
the Forest (1949)uttered by Bette Davis as quite the trashy,
trampy small-town femme fatale.
Glossary
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [ :z
Bi Bli oGraphy
& Further readi nG
If you have any trouble using this resource guide
or for more information on CENTERSTAGEs education
programscall us at 410.986.4050. Student group rates
start at just $15. Call Group Sales at 410.986.4008 for more
information, or visit centerstage.org.
material in our Next Stage resource guide is made available free of charge for
legitimate educational and research purposes only. Selective use has been made
of previously published information and images whose inclusion here does
not constitute license for any further re-use of any kind. All other material is
the property of CENTERSTAGE, and no copies or reproductions of this material
should be made for further distribution, other than for educational purposes,
without express permission from the authors and CENTERSTAGE.
Albee, Edward. The American Dream and Zoo Story.
Two of the plays that started all the fuss, both about Albees career and about American absurdism.
Albee, Edward. A Delicate Balance.
The domestic drama that followed Virginia Woolf and won Albee his frst Pulitzer Prize.
Gussow, mel. Edward Albee: A Singular Journey. New York: 1999.
In this dignifed, candid biography, Gussowveteran critic and long-time acquaintance of the playwright
links Albees life to his plays, and his plays to the life of the American theater.
Kolin, Philip C., ed. Conversations with Edward Albee. Jackson, mississippi: 1988.
This compilation of interviews covers 1961 to 1986, and allows a fascinating glimpse of the change
in Albees perspectives on his work and times.
Kolin, Philip C. and J. madison Davis, eds. Critical Essays on Edward Albee. Boston: 1986.
A stellar collection of reviews and criticism; they offer a wide range of opinion while situating
Albee within world and U.S. theater traditions and contemporary thought.
mcCarthy, mary. The Groves of Academe. New York: 1952.
The gold standard; the classic satire of campus life, published a decade before the premiere of Virginia Woolf,
brilliantly evokes and skewers the small-town, small-college world of Albees characters.
Next Stage: Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [ :