If These Walls Could Talk

Enjoying a beer late one night, Edward Albee saw scrawled in graffiti the line “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” in a bathroom mirror. This stuck him as, “a rather typical, university intellectual joke.” Later Albee put these words of wit to use as the title to his now infamous play. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf was very edgy for its publication date in 1962, yet won multiple awards including a Tony Award for Best Play. The play centers on two university faculty couples and their masochistic drunken games. The Whole Art Theatre’s unique seating (theatre in the round) and George and Martha’s roles being flawlessly acted by a married couple, Martie and Richard Philpot, made for a conviction of emotion that led to a sensation on stage.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf revolves around an alcoholic night of torturous games played by the two couples. These games divulge intricate detail about the marital status of the two couples. George sarcastically titles the four games: “Humiliate the Host,” “Get the Guests,” “Hump the Hostess,” and “Bringing up Baby.” In the first game “Humiliate the Host,” George is crushed with humiliation as Martha describes him as a “FLOP.” Her claims that he will never amount to anything more than an Associate Professor of History are taken to heart. In “Get the Guests,” George turns his humiliation towards Nick and Honey by addressing their “hysterical pregnancy” and consequential marriage. “Hump the Hostess” is an act committed between Nick and Martha. However, it was found unbelievable in the play as Nick fails to fully roam the body of Martha. Instead, Nick keeps his hands and lips to himself. The final game leaves Martha utterly distraught as George relays information to her that their son has died.

The older couple George and Martha has a very angry and volatile relationship that finds them lashing out at one another verbally and often physically. One scene finds George strangling his wife in a fit of anger. Randy Wolfe decision as director to use the married actors Martie and Richard Philpot to play Martha and George was ingenious. They depict the chemistry and hatred of George and Martha’s long-standing marriage to near perfection. Slapping and spitting on one another in deep verbal arguments with gusto, their parts have impeccable believability. In comparison to Martie and Richard few could have lived up to the expectations set for the younger couple. A sub-par performance was witnessed from Trevor Maher as Nick and Carol Zombro as Honey.

The theater in the round setting makes for a spectacular viewing experience. Situated in seats that corresponded to the walls of George and Martha’s living room, the outlandish conversations are viewed from an insider perspective. This vantage point captures the full expression of the actors. As Martha taunts George over his failures, his bottom lip quivers and his face becomes bright red with frustration. The theatre in the round produces a conviction of feelings as antagonizing lines are shot from one actor to another. The emotion on the actor’s faces was as easy to read as the words on the program.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf enthralls the audience with its twisting plotline and voracious argumentative dialogue. The sensation of the play is attributed to the raw emotion that George and Martha wore on their faces with each line they spat at one another. The pair’s quality of acting was closely seconded by the effects of the theatre in the round. It was this seating that gave a real feel for being a part of the set, a wall to the room, a close observer to the madness at hand.