"Twelve times a week," answered Uta Hagen, when asked how often she'd like to play Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Like her, neither audiences nor critics could get enough of Edward Albee's masterful play. A dark comedy, it portrays husband and wife George and Martha in a searing night of dangerous fun and games. By the evening's end, a stunning, almost unbearable revelation provides a climax that has shocked audiences for years. With the play's razor-sharp dialogue and the stripping away of social pretense, "Newsweek" rightly foresaw "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" as "a brilliantly original work of art-an excoriating theatrical experience, surging with shocks of recognition and dramatic fire Ythat will be igniting Broadway for some time to come."
Honestly, reading this play made me feel anxious. It was fast paced and verging on the edge of madness. They're all batshit crazy and very unlikeable. Apparently it's a classic for portraying a darker side of romantic relationships on stage and the inner secrets of a marriage - and at the time it undoubtedly would've been groundbreaking to confront the idea that marriages were more than the facade presented to the public. But while I can appreciate that it was scandalous at the time, it's hard to remember that when pretty much all you see these days are divorces, split families and mental breakdowns. 1.5 stars, rounded up to 2 for appreciating that it was radical and trailblazing at the time.
