Playwright Edward Albee’s scorching indictment of middle-class marriage, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? comes to life on the Milwaukee stage this winter. Milwaukee Chamber Theatre has dedicated its intimate, “black box” space to one of best American plays of the 20th Century.
The play’s “prizefighters” (that’s what they are, really) are Laura Gordon and James Ridge. Both actors are longtime Milwaukee favorites, although James Ridge appears more frequently on the American Players Theatre stage in Spring Green, Wis. Both actors are ideally suited to play these famous characters. Gordon, who often works behind the scenes as a director, makes a rare stage appearance that is not to-be-missed.
Gordon and Ridge are immersed in their married characters, Martha and George, to a degree that viewers could hardly imagine one without the other. They are locked in an endless, living room battle of wits that leaves both of them exhausted yet unflinching until the end. Albee’s play shows the implosion of a longtime marriage that becomes strained over the pressures put on it.
As the play begins, George and Martha have just returned home at 2 a.m. from a faculty reception. George is an assistant professor of history at this New England college, and Martha is the president’s daughter. It seems that Martha has never forgiven George for not rising to the top of his profession.
She reminds him (probably for the umpteenth time) that her father originally was looking for a successor as well as a son-in-law. George, she surmises, has failed on both accounts. Martha makes no bones about her unhappiness. Then she announces abruptly that they are expecting guests. This doesn’t please George one bit. He notes that the hour is late and, judging by their behavior, they have imbibed more than a few drinks already. Nonetheless, he pours himself and his wife a nightcap and wait for their arrival.
Once the couple arrives, It doesn’t take long for the hosts to go on the attack. They puncture each other’s self-delusions in a way that can only put their marriage to its limits. The horrified younger couple (Casey Hoekstra and Kate Romond) sit in stunned silence. They make several attempts to slip away into the night, only to be reminded by Gordon that she’s “just getting started.” Nick is a brand-new faculty member, and he is unsure of how to behave in this setting. His wife, Honey, mostly giggles. She is dressed somewhat like a Barbie doll (costumes by Amy Horst).
The play is set in 1962, and some of it is dated. For instance, just after she walks in the door, Martha badgers her husband for the name of a particular Bette Davis film. She remembers the film’s details, but not the name. This goes back and forth for several minutes. Today, couples would only need to consult Alexa or Google to find their answer in less than 10 seconds.
But their conversation sets the tone for what’s to come. Martha wastes no time in tearing down her husband. She lets their guests know that he was never motivated enough to “move up” in his department. He even wrote a novel, which her father refused to let him publish. She makes a list of his inadequacies. George mostly lets her go on, but also reminds her that he’s six years younger than she. It becomes a familiar retort.
Another of the play’s outdated factors is its depiction of women. Each marriage follows a standard 1950s formula of working husband, stay-at-home wife. As a result, Martha needs a well-credentialed husband to feel good about herself – to give her status (aside from being the president’s daughter). Her worth is a reflection of her husband’s achievements. Ditto for the younger pair.
In the 1950s, women looked forward to raising a family as a way of becoming productive. (Okay, this is somewhat of a stretch.) This seems to have been a dead-end for the infertile Martha and George, despite Martha’s claim of having a son. The younger couple, too, admit to some unhappy experience with a pregnancy.
Since George and Martha are equally matched intellectually, their witty banter often delivers a rare moment of laughter. Sometimes, the way that Gordon and Ridge say their lines is also cause for chuckling.
But overall, this is a tension-filled situation that builds over the course of the play. Eventually, glass is shattered and a bouquet of flowers is strewn around the living room. At times, the guests disappear for a bit. Honey (Romond) heads to the bathroom when she gets sick from drinking too much brandy. Later, both Martha and Nick disappear for an inordinately long time.
But the drinking never stops, and soon it’s George’s turn to level some ammunition at Martha, as well as their guests. Albee’s dialogue is cutting to the extreme, and it exposes each couple’s soft underbelly.
As the long-married couple, Laura Gordon and James Ridge offer a master class in portraying these two indelible characters. Many readers will be familiar the 1966 film with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Seeing it onstage will dim these memories as one is drawn into a much more visceral experience. Gordon isn’t afraid to get loud (after all, who’s going to hear her?).
The couple’s expert movements, choreographed with ballet-like skill by director Keira Fromm, constantly bring them close together, only to have one of them suddenly spring away like a wild animal that’s under attack.
Finally, as dawn breaks, the younger couple has fled. This leaves George to (literally) pick up the pieces from the evening’s battles. Martha is finally resting on the floor, somewhat dazed and almost silent.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has rightly been called one of Albee’s best works, though he went on to write many others. The original Broadway production won the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play. The show has returned to Broadway for a number of revivals. The most recent revival was a 2020 production set to open during the pandemic. Like many theater projects, it closed permanently after a few previews.
The Milwaukee production is dominated by a meticulously detailed set (by Jason Fassl, who also contributed the lighting). Since this is a professor’s home, a prominent wall of books rests on one side. Everything from the furniture to the lighting fixtures and wall art expresses the “mid-century modern” aesthetic that has become popular again. The realistic set keeps the audience from straying too far into the world of fantasy, which George and Martha occasionally visit as they hurl insults at each other.
Congratulations to Milwaukee Chamber for taking on this nearly 3-hour show (with two intermissions). This play has some of the most sizzling conversation on the American stage, and “serious” theatergoers won’t want to miss it.
