Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1962 play by Edward Albee. The play was controversial due to its profanity and sexual themes. It examines the breakdown of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening after a university faculty party, they receive an unwitting younger couple, Nick and Honey, as guests, and draw them into their bitter and frustrated relationship. The play is in three acts, normally taking a little less than three hours to perform, with two 10-minute intermissions. The title is a pun on the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" from Walt Disney's Three Little Pigs (1933), substituting the name of the celebrated English author Virginia Woolf. The title really translates to "Who's afraid of life without illusion?", as Woolf was famous for trying to show the emotional truths churning behind the eyes of her characters, and left nothing out. Martha and George repeatedly sing this version of the song throughout the play.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won both the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1962–'63 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. It is frequently revived on the modern stage. The film adaptation was released in 1966, written by Ernest Lehman, directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal and Sandy Dennis.
