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A Film as Controversial as the Play : Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a controversial play by Edward Albee which was

first performed in New York City in 1962. The play in a sence served as an insight into the

American life of those times. It was just after the 50s that the importance of a happy family

was emphasized, but in fact that myth was just a cover to hide the realities. Who is Afraid of

Virginia Woolf? in this sense is a kind of a revisionist play destructing the happy family myth

of those times and revealing the harsh realities from a different aspect. The film version did

not come that late – just after 4 years, in 1966. The film, with the same name was directed by

Mike Nichols and starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis.

The film version is quite faithfull to the play version, there are some differences because of

some commercial reasons to make the film more popular. Therefore, although there are a lot

of similarities, the differences between the film version and the play version of Who is Afraid

of Virginia Woolf? will be discussed in this essay in terms of music, dialogue and the setting.

Firstly, one of the differences between the film version and the play is music. The

musicality in the play is tried to be given by some stage directions. For instance, on page 12,

Martha starts singing a piece that she heard at a coctail :

MARTHA. Hey. (She sings) Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf,

Virginia Woolf,

Virginia Woolf. . . . (Albee 12).

In some other parts, Martha adds musicality to her speech sometimes to save the situation as

in the quotation above, sometimes to make fun as below:

MARTHA. [...] (Sings) “Just a gigolo, everywhere I go [...]” (195).

In addition to the musicality added through the speech of characters, the music itself is prevail

especially in act two. When all four characters were in the living room, the conversation was
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about dancing, so George picked a record, and the phonograph stated to play Beethoven’s 7th

Symphony. Just to stand against her husband, Martha changed the music into a “jazzy slow

pop tune” (131). As it can be seen, within the play itself there are two types of music, one

through the speech of characters and the other by phonograph. As for the film version, in

addition to those within-play musicality, the tension and the passage between the acts are

indicated by music. The film makes the music which is given in stage directions audible and it

also expresses the tension with music, giving something beyond the stage directions. For

example, in act one, when George leaves the living room and goes to the store room to take a

shotgun, which is off stage in the play, the tension is imposed second by second with the

music. The climactic atmosphere of this scene reached its peak with the scream of Honey.

Carrying this off-stage event into the screen with that music contributes to the film in terms of

adding more action. Very important actions are emphasized with music in the film, while

there is no music indicated in stage directions in the play. For example at the beginning of the

second act when George talks about a boy who killed his mother accidentally, there is no

music mentioned in the play, but the film adds music there, to draw more attantion and to rise

the tension. Another music used not in the play but in the film is between the end of one act

and the beginning of the next one. The curtain is replaced by music and the fading images in

the film version. While this creates a continuation between the acts adapted to the film, it also

adds taste to the action. Musicality is as important as the story itself in film adaptations. Film

without music would be like a meal without salt. As stated above, there are two types of

musical elements in the play – within the speech of characters and through some stage

directions. In addition to the music instructed in stage directions in the play, the film version

adapted music to give tension, emphasize the important points and to pass from one act to the

other in a smooth and continuous way.

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Secondly, dialogue is another difference to be discussed between the play and the film

version of Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. It is inevitable not to make reduction in dialogue

in a film adaptation not only because of a time problem but also that the play may have some

parts specific to the time it was written. Another reason for that is that the audience of a play

and a film is different, play’s audience being more intellectual. For those reasons, two types

of dialogue differences can be seen in play and the film: small cuts and word changes, and the

omission of a whole subtheme. First to mention, small cuts and some word changes can be

observed in the film adaptation of Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. For example at the

beginning of act one, there are slight differences between the words of Martha in the play and

in the film. The speech of Martha in the play is as it follows:

MARTHA. I dont know what their name is, George...You met them tonight...(Albee 9).

And the words of Martha of the same part in the film goes like that: “I dont know their name

George. We met them tonight”. Also in the play, it is repeatedly written as “Make me a

drink”, but in the film it is “Fix me a drink”. The long soliloquy of Martha at the beginning of

the third act is reduced almost to two sentences. As for why these reductions are made, it can

be said that it would be a longer film version if adapted word by word from the play. Another

dialogue difference to mention is the omission of a whole subtheme in the film adaptation. As

stated above, it can be said that the reason is because of the difference of the audience of the

play and the film. The audience of the play was more intellectual compared to the film

audience. The film was available for more people. Another reason for the omission of a long

part with a specific importance is because of the context. For example the conversation with a

referance to Berlin in act one is omitted in the film, because Berlin blockade was the issue of

’62 (play), not of ’66 (film). The words by George reflects well the zeitgeist when the tension

between The Soviet Union and The U.S. in Cold War period was at its peak: “I will not give

up Berlin!” (67). There is also one more part that almost 16 pages are omitted in the film
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adaptation. The section is between the pages 159-174. On those pages, there are a lot of

physical contact between Martha and Nick before the eye of George. The play’s use of then-

controversial themes of sexuality is what made this section omitted. In those times, the myth

of a happy family was prevail, Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was a kind of rebel against

this myth but it was still a taboo for the word “son of a bitch” to be pronounced on stage,

which did not happen before Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. So considering the

conservativity of the time that the play was adapted to a film version, it is quite

understandable that the scene is not adapted in the movie. As it is stated in the paragraph

above, we can mention two types of differences in dialogue between the film and the play,

one is the small cuts and word changes, and the other is the omission of a full subtheme.

Lastly, and most importantly, the play and the film version of Who is Afraid of

Virginia Woolf? differ from each other in terms of their setting. Since the time is same both in

the film and the play, the place will be discussed here as a physical settting. While the play

Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf? follows the Aristotelian 3-unity rule (1 time, 1 place, 1

event), in the film, the setting is carried outside the house. However, this does not destroy the

meaning of the play, but opens up new scenes as many as possible to make the film version

more attractive for the audience. To begin with, we can say that the play ends where it begins.

The first act begins with Martha and George’s enrtance to the living room and the whole play

takes place inside the house. Contrary to this, the film vesion moves the characters from the

house out to garden and to a bar or carries the off-stage scenes to the screen. For example,

when all the characters are in the living room in act one (page 54), George exits as stated in

stage directions. It is not mentioned where he goes and the reader does not know where he has

been all the time until he comes back with a “short-barelled shotgun” (57). However in the

film as the camera moves, we follow George to a store room, take a shotgun and head for the

living room. Carrying this off-stage event to the screen in the film contributes a lot to the
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tension of the scene. In the play the first act begins with Martha and George in the living room

whereas in the film we see the characters leave a place, walk in a path and go to their house.

While the whole play takes place inside the house, the beginning of the second act scene in

the film is in the garden, not in the living room. Another important setting difference is in act

two where Matha asks George if he will apologize for making Honey sick or not. While this is

again in the living room in the play, in the film we hear this conversation in a car on the way

to go to a place to dance. The following events, like the game “Hump the Hostess”, all take

place in the bar. Lastly, the beginning scene of act three is also carried out, Martha with her

glass in her hand looking for the others in he garden. She meets Nick in the porch and they go

inside together, while they are already inside the house in the play. In spite of all those

changes in setting throughout the film, the ending is loyal to the play – they sit and talk in the

living room. The reason for opening up new scenes may be because that one place for a film

would be too limited and less effective, less interesting. Different setting creates more action

and movement in the film appealing to the eyes of the audience. As stated above, the setting

of the film and the play are quite different from each other, though converging at the end.

Opening up new scenes in the film version does not change the message that Who is Afraid of

Virginia Woolf? tries to give.

In conclusion, Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a controversial play of the year

1962 which discusses the happy family myth of the 50s. In those years not only the politicians

but also the popular culture cultivated this myth. The film version of the play did not come

that late, only 4 years after the play was performed. Although the screenplay version is quite

loyal to original text, some significant differences can be seen between the play and the film

version. Firstly, the music is used more effectively in the film not only to make the music in

stage directions audible, but also to emphasize tension and to indicate the passage between the

acts. Secondly, we can see differences in dialogues of the film and the play. There are two
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types of dialogue differences in film adaptation. One is small cuts and word changes, the other

is the omission of a whole subtheme. Thirdly, the setting is the last and the most important

difference between the play and the film adaptation. While the whole play takes place inside

the house, a lot of new scenes are opened up in the film version. No matter what differences

are made, it can be said that none of these differences changed the meaning and the impact of

the message that the play tries to give. It should be stated that some parts are omitted not only

because of limitations in film making but also because of the events that are important in that

time – the context. To sum up, it can be concluded that although slightly, some differences

can be observed in the film adaptation, the differences that does not destroy the message, the

theme of the play.

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Thesis Statement: Although the play version and the film version of Who is Afraid of

Virginia Woolf? is quite similar to each other, the differences between them will be

discussed in this essay in terms of music, dialogue and setting.

OUTLINE

I. INTRODUCTION

II. MUSIC

A. MUSIC IN THE PLAY

B. MUSIC IN THE FILM VERSION

III. DIALOGUE

A. SMALL CUTS AND WORD CHANGES IN FILM VERSION

B. OMISSION OF A WHOLE SUBTHEME IN FILM VERSION

IV. SETTING

A. SETTING OF THE PLAY

B. SETTING OF THE FILM VERSION

V. CONCLUSION
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ZEYNEP TOPKORU

07035509

AMERICAN DRAMA II

WHO IS AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

March 2007
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WORKS CITED

Albee, Edward. Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. New York : Penguin Books, 1962.

Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Film. Directed by Mike Nichols. Starring Elizabeth

Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis. Chenault Productions Inc.

1966 (downloaded from www.rapidshare.com)