Theater Review: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

“Truth or illusion, doesn’t it make a difference? Truth or illusion, doesn’t it matter to you at all?”

Those are the lines spoken by Martha in the third act of Edward Albee’s "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

Her words come at the end of a long, boozy night of increasingly vitriolic domestic warfare, and by the time they are spoken, the audience, as well as the characters, are left to wonder if the fine line between truth and illusion does make a difference, if it does matter to us at all.

This question is at the core of Albee’s classic play, which begins in a cluttered apartment, home to George, an Associate Professor of History and Martha, the boozy, blowsy daughter of the college dean. George and Martha invite a new professor, Nick, and his wife, Honey, to their house after a party. One drink after the next is poured as George and Martha play increasingly hostile “games” with each other, to the simultaneous embarrassment and fascination of their younger guests. Any illusions about a quaint, New England married life are blown to pieces as rage and resentment between the two older spouses bubble past the confines of decorum and propriety, even as the younger couple tries desperately to hold onto the comforting illusion of societal conventions.

The Firehouse Theatre Project’s production, directed by Rusty Wilson, wisely lets the actors and Albee’s words take center stage. The set is lovingly crafted and full of period detail, and a liquor bar is so frequently visited that it might as well be the fifth lead. But Wilson is a smart enough director to know not to mess with a classic.

And what a classic it is. With crackling, witty, lightning paced dialogue and slow, building tension, it’s easy to see traces of Albee’s legacy in shows like "The West Wing" or "Mad Men." The four principal actors have a daunting task. They must inhabit iconic roles, ones that have been played by actors like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, while still making the characters their own. And they have to believably play drunk, drunker and completely smashed. For the most part they succeed beautifully.

Jonathan Conyers (Nick) and Amy Sproul (Honey) have the less showy roles, but both actors are strong. Conyers believably transitions from an upright, all-American gentleman to a nakedly ambitious schemer as the night descends into drunken chaos. Sproul as the continually upchucking Honey brings a quiet, desperate poignancy to a role that could in lesser hands be merely comic relief.

The true sparring partners of the production are of course, George and Martha. Larry Cook (George) grows stronger and more authoritative as the play goes on, but the real star of the production is Laine Satterfield (Martha). In a role that could be histrionic or melodramatic if played the wrong way, Satterfield is alternately funny, cruel and utterly devastating.

There’s an old adage that says that nothing good ever happens after midnight. "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is about those naked, predawn hours of the night, and what happens as convention and politeness fall away. There’s a lot of talk of rules and games in this play, and as the nights progresses the rules are discarded and the “games” become more and more cruel. Honey and Nick, at first the picture of the traditional American couple, let go of the illusion of their own perfect marriage in the face of the brutal combat between George and Martha. And somewhere between midnight and dawn, somewhere between the first and second bottles of brandy, honesty arrives. All four characters come face to face with truths they would just as soon forget in the light of day.

Ultimately the question of the play, the question referenced in the title, is one that is just as relevant to American society now as it was in the 1960s. Do we prefer truth or illusion? In the sober, harsh light of morning, do we return to the comforts of decorum and convention because we can’t face messy, sad honesty?

It’s a question that Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf will continually ask audiences, and as long as it’s staged as competently as the Firehouse Theatre Project’s current production, it’s a question worth asking.

"Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" runs until October 2 at the Firehouse Theatre Project. Check out the events calendar for more information.