flicks
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
by Edward Albee
Centerstage, Head Theatre [amazing set design- square stage, with upstairs, and the walls are raised and lowered betw acts]
history:
opened Oct 1962, Billy Rose Theater on Broadway
setting:
sheltered New England college
George
Martha
Nick
Honey. "slim-hipped"
Act One. Fun and Games
Act Two. Walpurgisnacht
Act Three. The Exorcism
Walpurgis night.
derived from various Pagan spring customs.
In the Norse tradition, Walpurgisnacht is considered the "Enclosure of the Fallen". It commemorates the time when Odin died to retrieve the knowledge of the runes, and the night is said to be a time of weakness in the boundary between the living and the dead. Bonfires were built to keep away the dead and chaotic spirits that were said to walk among the living then. This is followed by the return of light and the sun as celebrated during May Day.
Saint Walpurga, born in Devon about 710, herself was a niece of Saint Boniface and, according to legend, a daughter of the Saxon prince St. Richard. Together with her brothers she travelled to Franconia, Germany, where she became a nun and lived in the convent of Heidenheim, which was founded by her brother Willibald. Walpurga died of an illness shortly after moving the mortal remains of her brother, Saint Winibald on 25 February 779. She is therefore listed in the Roman Martyrology under 25 February. Her relics were transferred on 1 May so that she might be buried beside Willibald, and that day carries her name in, for example, the Finnish and Swedish calendars.
a traditional religious holiday, celebrated by Pagans, Roman Catholics, and Satanists alike, on April 30 or May 1 in large parts of Central and Northern Europe.
themes:
reality and not
Edward Albee:
b in DC, 3/12/1928
to NY when 2 weeks old
pa: adopted by Reed A. Albee, whose father was Edward Franklin Albee who started a chain of theatres which sold out to R.K.O. diminutive, retiring, demure, with a glass and roving eye
ma: remarkable woman, horsewoman. Frances/Frankie. statuesque, commanding, domineering, powerful.
found out at age 6 that he was adopted
good home and good education which he didn't appreciate
lavished attention and opportunity but not affection or warmth
lived detached lives, but never divorced
in and out of different colleges, a lot of different jobs.
German?
made his break 30+yo
The Zoo Story, as 30th bday present. written in 3 weeks.
on the alternative theater scene
The Death of Bessie Smith
The Sandbox
Fam and Yam
The American Dream
leap from Fringe to the Boulevard with WAoVW
Albee quotes:
People would rather sleep their way through life than stay awake for it.
