Who’s afraid of another show?
If you are a regular reader of this column, you probably are aware that “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” has appeared in this space already this season.
If you’re a regular theater attendee in this area, you’re probably aware that the same show repeating in the same season is a relatively new phenomenon.
However, it’s happened a lot lately, and the one theater group that seems to be at the center of most of the activity is the new kid on the block, Stage Center.
Jared Watson, the artistic director for Stage Center, seems to be taking the situation in stride. He said his group had been planning to produce “Virginia Woolf” since last October. He reported they were somewhat surprised that another troupe added it to its season. That prompted a series of discussions, resulting in their decision to move ahead with their plans to produce the Edward Albee classic.
He said more often than not, his group ends up presenting the repeated properties after they’ve been done by another company. So far, he’s not seen any financial consequences. “I have not noticed that doing a show that someone else had done within the same year has really affected sales. So maybe it really doesn’t matter,” he said.
Even though the audiences still show up, the situation is troubling, he admitted. “We had planned to do ‘The Sound of Music,’ but canceled that when someone else added it. We were also supposed to do ‘Lost in Yonkers,’ and canceled it. It’s like there are ten million shows out there, how does this keep happening?” Nevertheless, Watson said he was excited about this play. It will mark the rst production that is not a musical Stage Center has presented since the company debuted. And, he said, the size of the cast is a refreshing change. “I’m enjoying it for a lot of reasons. I haven’t directed a [non-musical] play since 2011, I think. So, that’s been nice. Most of the musicals I’ve been doing have either been with lots of children or 20 or more actors in the cast. I’ve been working with four people, and it’s been really great.”
Albee’s play tells the story of George and Martha, a couple whose relationship becomes a scathing, alcohol-laced battle of wits. After a university faculty party, the pair has a young couple over and, soon, the reworks begin.
“It’s one of the rare plays,” Watson said, “that’s so acutely puts on paper the dynamics of a married couple that have been married for 30 or more years. It’s a masterful play. I certainly want to bring my age and my age group to this play. There are ways in which to do that without changing the play, without picking away at the context or the time period of the play.”
Watson credits his cast for making the experience all the more pleasurable.
“I haven’t played a contemporary role like this in a long time,” admitted Jim Cowles who plays George across from Janin Pou as Martha. “While it appears realistic, Edward Albee was also very experimental. It borders on fantasy. It was written at the time of the Cold War, so there are a lot of those references buried in the play.”
Cowles said the married couple have been together for 23 years and are very happy, but they live in a world of their own making. His pairing with Pou is a good one, according to Cowles. “She is a fantastic actress and dedicated and a hard worker.”
Cowles described George and Martha’s relationship as very fluid, bordering on cruelty. He admitted the play has gained a reputation as bleak and sad; he said there is also a redemptive aspect at its conclusion. He recommends the show to audiences as “certainly one of the greatest American plays of the 20th century. It’s the definitive dysfunctional family play,” Cowles said, “on which almost all American theatre is based. It’s brilliant writing. Everyone can find something in it that relates to their own life. It’s extremely funny. That’s how these characters deal with each other. They use humor as a weapon.”
As for being second banana to other troupes when it comes to presenting plays, Watson waxes philosophical. “There will be people interested in seeing both and comparing and contrasting. It’s the nature of art, and who’s to say that’s wrong?”
WANT TO GO?
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” takes stage Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at East Bank Theatre in Bossier City. It runs through Sept. 15. Tickets are $18 and $15, with Student Rush ticketing available. For more information or reservations, call 218-9978.
Joe Todaro may be reached at joetodaro@scribio.com.
