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    THEATRE

    Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf

    Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf Image gallery

    Presented by Publick Theatre Boston at BCA Plaza Theatre

    October 1-October 24, 2009

    Avg. Event Rating (4.1 Stars): 4 out of 5 stars rating
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    Edward Albee’s penetrating and harrowing exploration of marital strife and truth versus illusion Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? will feature Tina Packer and Nigel Gore as the iconic Martha and George. Directed by Diego Arciniegas, aging history professor George, and his razor-tongued wife Martha, have returned home from another tedious faculty event at a small New England college. But the night is far from over. Martha has invited a young new professor, Nick (Kevin Cain), and his mousey wife, Honey (Angie Jepson) for late-night cocktails and parlor conversation. Pleasantries dissolve as the liquor flows, and the party devolves into an escalating war of words between George and Martha. The young couple is soon drawn into the volcanic battle, exposing dark secrets within their own marriage. By dawn, no one remains unscathed.


    • At-a-
      Glance

      • Venue Info

        BCA Plaza Theatre

        527 Tremont Street
        Boston , MA 02118

        Full map and directions

      • Admission Info

        Tickets: Tickets: $37.50-$33.00.

        Info Phone: 617.933.8600

        Buy Tickets

      • Dates & Times

        Dates:
        October 1-October 24, 2009

        Times:
        Performances are Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00pm.

      • Accessibility Info
      • Member Reviews
        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          4 out of 5 stars rating "Kevin Smith fan?"
          Review posted by: DethWench from Boston, Oct 23, 2009

          I am a big Kevin Smith fan, and therefore, I really loved this production. Martha's soliloquies and George's rants, especially with that machine-fire dialogue exchange, was so emotionally raw at... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          4.5 out of 5 stars rating ""
          Review posted by: Mary Curtin from Charlestown, MA USA, Oct 20, 2009

          In this production, you do indeed get George and Martha at their feisty best, but you also become completely absorbed in their fragile moments, which are superbly revealed by this terrific cast. In... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          3 out of 5 stars rating "Lands with a thud instead of a crash"
          Review posted by: Andrew Broussard from Chestnut Hill, MA, USA, Oct 20, 2009

          This was by no means a bad production of Virginia Woolf, but it wasn't a good one either. Tina Packer was a poor Martha, screeching with no real focus. Nigel Gore was an interesting George, with a... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          3.5 out of 5 stars rating "Problematic, but skillfully acted"
          Review posted by: Lindsay Eagle from Boston, MA, Oct 17, 2009

          The Publick Theatre's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has several problems. The staging, intended to simulate movement in a real livingroom as opposed to onstage, cuts the audience out... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          4 out of 5 stars rating "Who's afraid of Liz Taylor?"
          Review posted by: Hapi Phace from Cambridge, MA, Oct 16, 2009

          The roles of George & Martha may be 2 of the most difficult roles -for multiple reasons- including the provenance of the great actors(LT & RB)who have performed them in Albee-sanctioned performances.... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          5 out of 5 stars rating "Paradoxically Entertaining and Horrifying"
          Review posted by: Lawrence Kessenich from Watertown, MA, Oct 13, 2009

          "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" is one of the most powerful plays in the English language, a kind of modern Shakespearean tragedy in its clever use of language and amazing insight into flawed human... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          5 out of 5 stars rating "An Amazing Show"
          Review posted by: John W Beck from Cambridge, MA, Oct 05, 2009

          I have heard of this play all my life, and finally got a chance to see a fine performance of it. It is a tricky and entertainingly dark view into the lives of 2 couples, and the lies and drama that... Expand

    • Member
      Reviews

      • Member Reviews
        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          4 out of 5 stars rating "Kevin Smith fan?"
          Review posted by: DethWench from Boston, Oct 23, 2009

          I am a big Kevin Smith fan, and therefore, I really loved this production. Martha's soliloquies and George's rants, especially with that machine-fire dialogue exchange, was so emotionally raw at... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          4.5 out of 5 stars rating ""
          Review posted by: Mary Curtin from Charlestown, MA USA, Oct 20, 2009

          In this production, you do indeed get George and Martha at their feisty best, but you also become completely absorbed in their fragile moments, which are superbly revealed by this terrific cast. In... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          3 out of 5 stars rating "Lands with a thud instead of a crash"
          Review posted by: Andrew Broussard from Chestnut Hill, MA, USA, Oct 20, 2009

          This was by no means a bad production of Virginia Woolf, but it wasn't a good one either. Tina Packer was a poor Martha, screeching with no real focus. Nigel Gore was an interesting George, with a... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          3.5 out of 5 stars rating "Problematic, but skillfully acted"
          Review posted by: Lindsay Eagle from Boston, MA, Oct 17, 2009

          The Publick Theatre's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has several problems. The staging, intended to simulate movement in a real livingroom as opposed to onstage, cuts the audience out... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          4 out of 5 stars rating "Who's afraid of Liz Taylor?"
          Review posted by: Hapi Phace from Cambridge, MA, Oct 16, 2009

          The roles of George & Martha may be 2 of the most difficult roles -for multiple reasons- including the provenance of the great actors(LT & RB)who have performed them in Albee-sanctioned performances.... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          5 out of 5 stars rating "Paradoxically Entertaining and Horrifying"
          Review posted by: Lawrence Kessenich from Watertown, MA, Oct 13, 2009

          "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" is one of the most powerful plays in the English language, a kind of modern Shakespearean tragedy in its clever use of language and amazing insight into flawed human... Expand

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          5 out of 5 stars rating "An Amazing Show"
          Review posted by: John W Beck from Cambridge, MA, Oct 05, 2009

          I have heard of this play all my life, and finally got a chance to see a fine performance of it. It is a tricky and entertainingly dark view into the lives of 2 couples, and the lies and drama that... Expand

    • Media
      Reviews

      • Media Reviews
        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          Article: Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
          EDGE Boston - Oct 10, 2009
          By Kay Bourne

          Diego Arciniegas’s clarity of direction unleashes high voltage performances from a cast of four led by Tina Packer, whose Martha (to borrow from Dylan) makes love - and havoc - like a woman but breaks like a little girl. Fortuitously, Arciniegas als… Expand

          Diego Arciniegas’s clarity of direction unleashes high voltage performances from a cast of four led by Tina Packer, whose Martha (to borrow from Dylan) makes love - and havoc - like a woman but breaks like a little girl. Fortuitously, Arciniegas also assuredly reins in these same actors enough so they stay on track to deliver Edward Albee’s play with all its fierce intelligence and jabbing wit. Collapse

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          Article: This 'Woolf' has bite
          The Patriot Ledger - Oct 09, 2009
          By Iris Fanger

          No less lethal now than at its earlier incarnations, including the Broadway premiere in 1962, starring Uta Hagen and Arthur Hill, and the 1966 film with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as sparring partners, the Publick Theatre production at the B… Expand

          No less lethal now than at its earlier incarnations, including the Broadway premiere in 1962, starring Uta Hagen and Arthur Hill, and the 1966 film with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as sparring partners, the Publick Theatre production at the Boston Center for the Arts is a reminder that the play is now a classic because of its ability to plow deeply beneath a viewer’s skin. Collapse

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          Article: The Publick's 'Virginia Woolf' is a mesmerizing thrill ride
          Boston Theater Examiner - Oct 09, 2009
          By Donn Saylor

          Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is running a limited engagement through October 24. And the best advice I can give you is this: Go see it. After it dismantles you, it will move you in the most unexpected ways. This is theater at its best. Expand

          Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is running a limited engagement through October 24. And the best advice I can give you is this: Go see it. After it dismantles you, it will move you in the most unexpected ways. This is theater at its best. Collapse

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          Article: Tina Packer Headlines 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'
          Broadwayworld.com - Oct 08, 2009
          By Nancy Grossman

          After all the drama of whether or not the show would go on, go on it did… and in grand style. Faced with last-minute licensing issues, the Publick Theatre Boston production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? received permission to open on schedule wi… Expand

          After all the drama of whether or not the show would go on, go on it did… and in grand style. Faced with last-minute licensing issues, the Publick Theatre Boston production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? received permission to open on schedule with the proviso that a program insert state that it was not approved by the playwright Edward Albee. However, within moments of the actors taking the stage, the caliber of their performances and the intensity of the play under the direction of Diego Arciniegas swept away The Remains of the nasty business beyond the fourth wall. Collapse

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          Article: The games people play
          The Phoenix - Oct 07, 2009
          By Carolyn Clay

          "...Gore is a relaxed yet forceful George, nailing both his acerb and his bitterly reflective arias. Angie Jepson’s Honey is hilariously insolent when emboldened by brandy, yet piquantly pained when her secrets are betrayed. And square-shouldere… Expand

          "...Gore is a relaxed yet forceful George, nailing both his acerb and his bitterly reflective arias. Angie Jepson’s Honey is hilariously insolent when emboldened by brandy, yet piquantly pained when her secrets are betrayed. And square-shouldered, thick-haired Kevin Kaine is a near-perfect Nick Collapse

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          Article: 'Caretaker, 'Who's Afraid' master art of dark humor
          Boston Herald - Oct 06, 2009
          By Jenna Scherer

          What Diego Arciniegas’ production lacks in Elizabeth Taylor sexiness it more than makes up for in brains and bloodletting. Tina Packer and Nigel Gore are an absolutely explosive Martha and George, tearing into each other like hungry hounds. Kevin Kai… Expand

          What Diego Arciniegas’ production lacks in Elizabeth Taylor sexiness it more than makes up for in brains and bloodletting. Tina Packer and Nigel Gore are an absolutely explosive Martha and George, tearing into each other like hungry hounds. Kevin Kaine and Angie Jepson make a worthy pair of foils as the couple’s unwitting audience. Collapse

        • Event Name: Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
          Article: An Unnerving and edgy 'Virginia Woolf'
          The Boston Globe - Oct 06, 2009
          By Terry Byrne

          In Albee’s ode to dysfunction and codependence, director Diego Arciniegas never lets the audience off the hook. Arciniegas’s choices, and the layered performances he draws from his actors, give the Publick Theatre’s first-rate production, playing at… Expand

          In Albee’s ode to dysfunction and codependence, director Diego Arciniegas never lets the audience off the hook. Arciniegas’s choices, and the layered performances he draws from his actors, give the Publick Theatre’s first-rate production, playing at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Plaza Theatre, a refreshingly unnerving tone. Collapse