Category: Edward Albee

From the 1999 biography: Edward Albee – Singular Journey, by Mel Gussow: (the scene is] the living room of a house on the campus of a small New England college.” Act One: the Fun and Games begin. “Set in darkness. Crash against front door. MARTHA’s laughter heard. Front door opens, lights are switched on. MARTHA enters, followed by GEORGE.” Martha is “a large, boisterous woman, 52, looking somewhat younger. Ample, but not fleshy.” George, “her husband, 46. Thin; hair going gray. Uta Hagen, as Martha, delivered the first words of the play, “Jesus H. Christ,” followed by laughter from the…

  THE ZOO STORY, by Edward Albee, is a one act play, written in 1959, and was first performed in Berlin. It was Mr Albee’s first, successful play. Since, it has become a staple in theatre repertoires around the world. Hearing it again, the other afternoon, at the Tap Gallery, was a pleasure, a treasure of the assurances that great writing can give to the dilemma of the existential question, that is often posed, whether, consciously or not, by all of us, “Is life worthwhile? To be, or not to be?” The exhilaration that I felt during, and after the…