Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
by Edward Albee

Broadway Off-Broadway West End
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Book Cover
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Cover

Highlights

120 mins 1960s Ensemble Cast Interior Set Period Costumes

Awards & Recognition

Drama Desk Award Drama League Award Outer Critics Circle Tony Award

Winner! Three 2013 Tony Awards, Including Best Revival of a Play Winner! 2013 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Revival of a Play Winner! 2013 Drama League Award, Outstanding Revival of a Play Winner! 2013 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Revival of a Play Winner! Five 1963 Tony Awards, including Best Play

Synopsis

George, a professor at a small college, and his wife, Martha, have just returned home, drunk from a Saturday night party.

Martha announces, amidst general profanity, that she has invited a young couple – an opportunistic new professor at the college and his naïve new bride – to stop by for a nightcap.

When they arrive the charade begins.

The drinks flow and inhibitions melt.

It becomes clear that Martha is determined to seduce the young professor, and George couldn’t care less.

But underneath the edgy banter which engulfs both couples lurks an undercurrent of tragedy and despair.

George and Martha’s inhuman bitterness toward one another is provoked by the enormous personal sadness that they have pledged to keep to themselves: a secret that has seemingly been the foundation for their relationship.

In the end, the mystery in which the distressed George and Martha have taken refuge is exposed, finally revealing the degrading mess they have made of their lives.

Press Reviews

"Edward Albee’s masterpiece... may be the most vicious portrait of a marriage this side of Strindberg, it is also – deeply and truly – a love story."

— The New York Times

"Scorching and exhilarating... this great play seems to have deepened over the years."

— The New York Post

"What a pleasure to luxuriate in Albee’s words."

— New York Newsday

"Towers over the common run of contemporary plays. It marks a further gain for a young writer becoming a major figure of our stage."

— The New York Times

"A brilliantly original work of art – an excoriating theatrical experience, surging with shocks of recognition and dramatic fire."

— Newsweek

Characters

Character
George

Her husband, 46; thin, hair going gray

Honey

26, a petite blond girl; rather plain

Nick

Late 20s, her husband; blond, well put-together, good-looking

Martha

A large boisterous woman, 52, looking somewhat younger; ample, but not fleshy

Videos

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf – 2012 Broadway Opening Night

Publication

ISBN-13 9780822212492
ISBN-10 0822212498

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play written by Edward Albee and published by Dramatists Play Service .

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Rating

4.1

251 ratings · 450 reviews

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Performance Rights

Available for Licensing
Amateur & Professional
Fee: Minimum Fee: $130 per performance
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