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By Bondo Wyszpolski
22 Oct 2009 |
Theater review:
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” |
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photo alysa brennan
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The years pass, but Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” – a gritty, grueling drama with marital discord at its left, right and center – just never gets old. First staged in 1962 and acknowledged as a masterpiece, it’s considered a classic of mid-century American theater, right up there with “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Death of a Salesman.”
Perceptively directed by Stephanie A. Coltrin, the Hermosa Beach Playhouse has tackled this complex, demanding, very long but very stimulating work, letting it ride on the backs of four commendable actors. And, simply put, this is a production I’d recommend in a heartbeat. If you snooze, you lose – get your tickets for tonight or this weekend.
The story is set in the cluttered, cottage-like home of George (Matthew Brenher) and Martha (Suzanne Dean), which is apparently near the campus of a small New England college. George is ready to call it a day, but Martha informs him that she’s invited a young couple, Nick (Dane Biren) and Honey (Meredith Rensa), to stop by for a nightcap.
The year is 1960. George is in his 40s and Martha, the daughter of the school’s president, is six years older. By way of contrast, Nick, the new hire in the biology department, is 28 and Honey is 26. Unlike opera, where the slim princess in “Turandot” can weigh in at 300 pounds, the four actors are entirely believable in their roles.
When George and Martha return home they begin to argue, to verbally fence, and they’re still arguing as dawn approaches. Nick and Honey of course have no idea of what they’re walking into, which is not only a miserable older couple airing their personal grievances with increasing sarcasm and bitterness, but a long and hellish night of booze-filled parlor games like “Get the Guests” and “Hump the Hostess.” Nick and Honey, sucked into the fray, cannot remain impartial or uninvolved observers.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” drifts between reality and illusion, truth and lies, in ways that perplex and challenge the viewer. The play is open to interpretation on many levels, but I’m not leading a seminar here, am I? Suffice it to say that the repartee between George and Martha – was the Alonquin Round Table ever this good? – is shrewd and brilliant, and their captive audience members, Nick and Honey, are in over their heads.
Brenher, who has been steeped in Shakespeare, comes off best. Sure, every actor who’s taken on this role gives it his own stamp, but – even after having seen other productions – I can’t imagine anyone actually doing it better, only differently.
With Suzanne Dean’s performance I’m a tad less certain, because I think she edges into the attack mode when the sparring mode would be more effective. Dean comes out swinging from the start but what that does is to deny the viewer a chance to see or to understand why George and Martha have remained a couple. They’re combative, sure, and all that comes out again and again, but at the same time they are allies of a sort, even co-conspirators (most famously, the “bit about the baby”), and we need to feel something of this early on.
That’s not to take anything away from Dean’s range as an actress. You’ll see some of that in evidence during the final act when she’s telling Nick to answer the door.
Biren and Rensa are also quite effective, but they are limited by the characters they play, who are constantly being offended and therefore are mostly on the defensive or in a state of disbelief. Even so, the role of Honey can’t be easy, because as the night wears on and she drinks one brandy after another, she has to convey the accumulative impact of too much alcohol. True, everybody drinks in this play, and there’s heavy smoking as well, but Honey can’t hold her liquor.
Rensa manages her part well, although she mugs just a bit much. Reactions don’t have to be confined to the eyes and the mouth but can be distributed along the entire body. There are times when Biren’s Nick wears a stone-cold expression, but it’s then that his body language telegraphs his discomfort so that what we perceive is a multitude of reactions.
The set design by Christopher Beyries is entirely serviceable and enhanced by Ric Zimmerman’s lighting. However, I’m not sold on the disarray of the books. While I’m not sure what the script calls for, exactly, I think they’d be better arranged – after all, George is a college professor and not a college student. Also, one of the LPs looked like it was sporting a Sire Records label. Big deal, I know, but that’s like spotting an extra in “Ben-Hur” wearing a wristwatch. At least no one on stage had a cell phone that went off.
But you know what? They’re doing a fine job with this play, and it’s a real joy to see a work of such intelligence and depth on a local stage. The company has often fallen back on fluffy crowd pleasers, but this season – “Wait Until Dark” opens Nov. 3 – looks to be one of their strongest yet. So get started now, with a winner.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is onstage through Sunday at the Hermosa Playhouse, 710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. Performances, tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets, $45 ($40 in advance). Weekend valet parking, $5. Call (310) 372-4477 or go to hermosabeachplayhouse.com. ER
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