One thing too often missed in productions of Edward Albee’s absurdist American masterpiece, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” is that it is hilariously funny. I don’t mean comic relief and chuckles between the dramatic moments; I mean outright belly laughs and guffaws.
The laughs are there when the words are performed, appropriately, at break neck speed, and Director Michael Socrates Moran has wisely urged his actors to do exactly that. The first act, especially, filled the theater with non stop laughter as Lisa Ramirez and Adrian Roberts tore into each with gusto.
I’d say that they chew up the scenery, but given Dina Zarif’s excellent set design, there is none. Instead, she has created a living room that is really more like an arena. It’s just a large white space bounded by a square that vaguely suggests the sort of conversation pit that was popular in modern American architecture of the 1960s. With no walls, no decoration, and no scenery, the actors are left to chew up each other which they accomplish with gusto. There is nothing but raw emotion to hold our interest.
And hold our interest it does, notwithstanding a nearly three hour running time that literally flies by, leaving the audience ready for more.
Edward Albee’s tongue tripping, rapid fire, impossibly clever dialogue is reminiscent of the screwball comedies of 1930s Hollywood and makes incredible physical demands on the actors who have to be sure that every word is clear as a bell and every joke understandable. And on stage, there are no second takes.
As George and Martha, Lisa Ramirez and Adrian Roberts have the skill to bring this off. On opening night, Mr. Roberts appeared to be a bit overcome by nerves and compensated by being a bit too loud and aggressive when George should be almost unnaturally calm and unruffled by Martha’s attacks. Nevertheless, he gave a brilliant performance and it is more than likely that he will settle into the part and become even better as the run continues.
The famous set pieces (such as Georgia’s perhaps biographical telling of the story of a boy who killed his parents and Martha’s confessions that she finds George’s persistent love to be unforgivable) are delivered with fresh insight and emotional truth.
But the play is not just about George and Martha. There is also Nick and Honey, their hapless guests. In many productions, these characters appear as after thoughts, but here they have been thoroughly developed by Were von Wulfen and William Hodgson. Mr. Hodgson is especially good. Unlike most actors, he never stops. His reactions to George and Martha and Honey are so full and genuine that sometimes you can’t take your eyes off him, even while other actors are speaking. His depth of concentration brings this Nick to life more successfully than any production I have previously viewed, and there’s been a lot of ’em. His growing understanding of the lay of the land is crystal clear, and his feelings for and about Honey are rich and complex. And speaking of Honey, Were von Wulfen plays her with a sharp intelligence which is muted by her avoidance of the truth. Her lack of understanding is a choice, helped along by drink. She is all-knowing, but her denial runs deep.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” is not an easy play to make sense of. It is, of course, absurd. But if you expect to really understand the full stories of George and Martha and Honey and Nick, you’ll be barking up the wrong tree. Confusion is the point. But I can safely say that it is something about the power of dreams, and what happens when they are denied, and the pain and sorrow of failure. And, given that Albee has named his battling protagonists George and Martha (as in the Washington’s, America’s first first family), there is something implied about the failure of America to fully give birth to the promise of the American Dream.
But don’t worry too much about all that.
Go, laugh a lot, be horrified, and go home satisfied.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” continues at Oakland Theater Project through June 18th, 2023. For further information click here.
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Rating: **** (For an explanation of Theatrestorm’s rating scale, click here.)
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“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” by Eward Albee. Director: Michael Socrates Moran. Set Designer: Dina Zariff. Costume Designer: Elton Bradman. Lighting Designer: Kevin Myrick. Projection Designer: Adam Elder. Props Designer: Mickey Creedon. Fight Choreographer: Dave Maier.
Cast:
Martha: Lisa Ramirez. George: Adrian Roberts. Honey: Wera von Wolfen. Nick: William Hodgson.
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