Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

March 6th, 2007
Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles
Play by Edward Albee

Starring Bill Irwin and Kathleen Turner

Both having won Best Actor (Tony Award) and Best Actress (London Evening Standard Award), we had high expectations. And we got to add another classic to our theatre-experiences.

We came into this fresh, not having seen the play or the movie, so we relied completely on the story to unfold through the performances. Albee's play contains a lot of emotional subtext so the audience can keep up with George and get some foreshadowing of the difficult decision he will have to make. Albee's dialogue will give you all the clues if you listen (and we did... the play holds your attention fast), but an equal importance falls on the emotional delivery of the lines that clues you into both the strength and love George has for Martha. That wasn't there for us, and we had to do the mental legwork by paying attention to the clues, instead of gleaning them from line delivery and characterization. So, we came out just a bit frustrated. I am sure none of this crossed the minds of people who saw the movie or play and knew the story. They were undoubtedly able to fill in the subtext.

That said, Kathleen especially was larger than life, and both she and Bill Irwin delivered the bitingly funny lines with perfection. They're two consummate actors, so that makes me wonder about direction.

The two supporting actors, David Furr and Kathleen Early, were both flawless. It was a fast 3 hours, and we were riveted by the story and performances.

~S