In the final scene of Edward Albee’s tragi/comedy, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , George puts his hand gently on Martha’s shoulder, she puts her head back, and he sings to her very softly : “Whose afraid of Virginia Woolf, Virginia Woolf, Virginia Woolf’”, and she responds through teary eyes and sobs, “I… am George…I…am…”
(George nods slowly)
(Silence, Blackout!
Virginia Woolf is not just some old play written in 1962. It is more like a battlefield for George and Martha, who have been waging this mêlée since their marriage began. It’s the play that put Albee on the map and changed the tone of contemporary literature. In examining “Virginia Woolf” now, we have to look at it through 2026 eyes rather than 60’s eyes when some of the language was almost forbidden and frowned upon. Did that make it any less disturbing? I think not. It might make this production less shocking, but not any less troublesome.
Howard Taubman of The New York Times said of Virginia Woolf : “…towers over the common run of contemporary plays. It marks a further gain for a young writer becoming a major figure on stage.” And Newsweek said, “…a brilliantly original work of art- an excoriating theatrical experience, surging with shocks of recognition and dramatic fire.”
 |
| Francis Gercke and Megan Carmitchel |
You don’t have to trust these critics. These reviews were written after it was performed off-Broadway in 1962 and then went on to win the New York Drama Critics Circle and Tony Awards as the Best Play of the 1962-’63 season. And if you are still not convinced, take a trip to Backyard Renaissance Theatre Co. on 10th Ave. Downtown and decide for yourselves. Just be aware that the show is three house long with two intermissions and we the audience only get to breathe between acts.
 |
| Jessica John |
Jessica John and Francis Gercke real life husband and wife team are not averse to bringing hard- nosed theatre to their company: “August: Osage County”, “Waverly Gallery” , “Streetcar Named Desire” in which she played Stella, come to mind. Now she has taken on the juicy Elizabeth Taylor movie role of Martha in “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Before we even get to see the couple, we hear their laughter and animated chatter outside their front door, which sets the tone for Act One, subtitled “Fun & Games”. Martha and George have just returned home from partying with Martha’s father and other faculty members. Her father is president of the college, somewhere in Massachusetts, where George teaches History (two bones of contention; the president and the teacher as opposed to The Head of the Dept.).
 |
| Megan Carmitchel and Drew Bradford |
They are both three sheets to the wind, and instead of going to bed, they are awaiting the arrival of a new faculty member, Nick (Drew Bradford) and his wife Honey (Megan Carmitchel) who Martha had invited over for a few drinks and to get to know them better. It’s two o’clock in the morning and they are just warming up for the next round of blows to keep the adrenaline pumping. Their unsuspecting guests don’t have a clue as to what’s coming. Heaven help them.
At this time in their twenty something year marriage both Martha and George are fueled by disappointment in themselves and each other. They drink too much and hold a sick little secret over each other’s heads.
 |
| Drew Bradford and Jessica John |
John's Martha is a tigress ready to leap, criticize and rip apart her husband of twenty some years. It’s all in the game. Martha stalks, attacks, drinks and attacks again! She is caustic, funny, nasty, amusing and a tireless warrior. To say that her aim is the jugular would be an understatement. She hits him, both physically and mentally, on all fronts from being a failure as a teacher to failing as a husband and everything in between. Be aware, she is more than perfect at it.
He strikes back . As George, Gercke is the perfect foil and agitator: ‘bring it on!” He is more cerebral. The less he responds, the more she charges. The more she rides him the more he focuses his attentions on the younger couple while still managing to humiliate Martha in ways she never thought possible. Gercke's perfect portrayal of George is one for the books and almost has you rooting for him, as he circles the wagons and looks for his next big opening to strike- no attack, anyone in his line of fire.
 |
| Jessica John and Francis Gercke |
While Nick and Honey are the ideal couple to trample on for Martha and George, they look on with awe and amazement and are eventually and mercilessly drawn in to the fray. She by sheer cluelessness, but as she keeps the Brandy coming, she dances around like a wind force and he by his superior attitude thinking he can get the best of George.
Defenses down, liquor loosening the tongue and other boundaries put aside, they unwittingly become part of Martha and George’s war strategy. It starts out slowly and builds to a crescendo when Nick, his smart aleck face dropping to a concession of facing the truth about himself, his marriage and his own secrets, in Act ll, aptly called Walpurgisnacht” (a nod to a folkloric gathering of witches).
 |
| Jessica John and Francis Gercke |
The Carmitchel/Bradford choice is also a finely balanced duo as the couple/ adversary to occupy that young and innocent spot that was played by George Seigel and Sandy Dennis in the movie version. Both Carmitchel (who was also in “Streetcar”) and Bradford are excellent as the youth that has long passed the ageing and calloused Martha and George.
 |
| Francis Gercke, Megan Carmitchel and Drew Bradford |
Every move, every pouring of the liquor, every look and every step is choreographed perfectly by Hanna Meade and of course the co director’s Gercke and Chad Ryan who is also credited for the fussy, 60’s living room set with National Geographic’s spread out on a coffee table cluttered with full, half empty whisky glasses and an open cigarette case and an ashtray filled to the brim with half smoked cigarettes. (Jeffrey Neitzel props designer)
Evan Hart Marsh's mood music fits right in never getting in the way of the dialogue, but enhancing the tension. Brenna Maienchein designed the three costumes fit for each of John’s with Carmitchel's happy sunshine yellow crinoline dress and Nick’s blue suit. All in contrast to George’s academic tan shirt, tan pants and brownish sweater.
 |
| Jessica John and Drew Bradford |
At the end of an exhausting evening for both audience and players, Albee manages to rip the layers off of two marriages; one already on the rocks in desperate need of reconciliation, the other about to be exposed for the phony veneer it portrays. (Part 3; The Exorcism)
It’s riveting and worth every minute of it!
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays. Through March 21
Where: Backyard Renaissance Theatre at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center. 930 Tenth Avenue, San Diego
Photo: Michael Makie)
Tickets: $50
Online: backyardrenaissance.com
No comments:
Post a Comment