Bozeman Actors Theatre Revives a Modern Classic
Local professional acting company and the MSU Department of English will present a staged reading of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” on Nov. 4–5.
Although the play is more than a half-century old, the poignancy of its story is as fresh as ever, said Minton, whose course introduces students to a range of plays that examine the damaged family, addiction, race and gender, the ethics of science, shattered love and more.
“As a genre that deals in illusion, drama does a better job than anything else of holding the mirror up to our own illusions, which we continually construct in order to survive,” Minton said. “Albee was one of the most powerful voices of 20th-century drama, and like many others of this period, he sought to expose the dangerous fictions that make up the fabric of the American Dream.”
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“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” won the Tony Award in 1963 for Best Play and has been revived on Broadway three times, most recently in 2012 with Tracy Letts and Amy Morton as George and Martha. The story may be best remembered from the 1966 film adaptation starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in the title roles. Both were nominated for Oscars that year; Taylor won for Best Actress. |
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Wilder notes that the play also was selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. But the award’s advisory board overruled the jury — citing objections to the play’s profanity and sexual themes, both tame by today’s standards — and chose not to issue an award that year. Some of the jurors resigned in protest. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” begins at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 and 5 at MSU’s Black Box Theatre, located on the corner of 11th Ave. and Grant St. Parking is free in the MSU lots adjacent to the theater. Admission is free for students, with a $10 suggested donation at the door for all others. Seating is not reserved. The play runs approximately three hours with an intermission and an optional discussion afterward. Please call Bozeman Actors Theatre at (406) 580-0374 for more information. |
