WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Edward Albee is directed by Nancy Frick and stage managed by E. Ashley Izard and Pat Pelletreau. Show dates are June 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, & 26, 2016. Please note that Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 pm.
Truth or illusion? Illusion or truth? This is one of the predominant themes of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? — truly one of the greatest dramatic works of our time, and the show that closes the 93rd season at the Old Academy Players. The dialogue in the first act of the play has been hailed by critics as some of the greatest in all of the American theatre. And while it takes on heavy themes, the play is laced with a tremendous amount of wonderful humor.
At the time of is premier in 1962, the play was shocking to American audiences – not so much because of profane language, there is actually very little of that – but because of the no prisoners approach Edward Albee takes to critiquing life as we know it.
In 1963, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? won Best Play for the Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle. It was also selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Drama by that award’s drama jury. However, the award’s advisory board – the trustees of Columbia University who objected to the play’s then-controversial themes – overruled the drama jury, and awarded no Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1963.
So what does the title mean? According to Albee, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? means who’s afraid of the big bad wolf, or who’s afraid of living life without false illusions. Albee says he saw the words, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” scrawled in soap on a mirror in bar restroom. When writing the play, he thought of it again and it struck him as being a typical university, intellectual joke. For Albee, nothing is more important than seeing life in all its unglamorous reality. Only when we see ourselves clearly and honestly can we begin to live a meaningful life.
Come and join this stellar cast which includes Charlotte Higgins as Martha, John Barker as George, Jeffrey Barth as Nick, and Kate Graham as Honey, for a night of fun and games; cruelty and hilarity. When you leave this roller coaster of emotions, you will have plenty of food for thought and maybe a great appreciation for your own lives. Due to the subject theme and language, this play is for mature audiences only.
Old Academy Players, a member of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, is a non-profit community theater located at 3544 Indian Queen Lane in East Falls (Philadelphia), the urban village on the Schuylkill River. Constructed in 1819, the Old Academy building has been the OAP home since 1932. Old Academy Players has provided continuous community theater since 1923 and featured the acting debuts of both Grace Kelly and Robert Prosky.
Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets are $15. Old Academy welcomes groups! If you have 15 or more in your party, you can take advantage of group discount pricing. Parking for all performances is free. For information and reservations, call 215-843-1109 or visit the theatre’s website at www.oldacademyplayers.org. Free parking on site.
Theater/Organization OLD ACADEMY PLAYERS
Theater/Organization Website: http://www.oldacademyplayers.org/
Theater/Organization Address: 3544 Indian Queen Lane Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19129 (Map It)
Theater/Organization Phone: (215) 843-1109
