Edward Albee

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Edward Albee
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Basic Information on the Author

• The author of Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is
  Edward Franklin Albee III.
• Albee was born on March 12, 1928 in Washington,
  D.C.
• About two weeks after his birth, he was adopted
  by Reed Albee and his wife.
• He grew up in Westchester County, New York.

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Basic Information on the Author Cont.

• He also fell in love with theater at a very young
  age.
• Reed Albee was a multi-millionaire because he
  owned a chain a theaters, so therefore Edward
  Albee grew up in a mansion and the lap of luxury.
• He has openly expressed his homosexuality to the
  public.

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The Zoo Story (1959)

• His first major play
• One-act play, written in three weeks
• Branded as the birth of the American absurdist
  drama

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The Zoo Story (1959)
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Edward Albee

• Albee became perceived as a leader of a new
  theatrical movement in America.
• The critics described him as the successor to
  American playwrights Arthur Miller, Tennessee
  Williams, and Eugene O'Neill.
• Influenced by European playwrights like Samuel
  Beckett and Harold Pinter.

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Basic Information on Whose Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?

• The name of the play came from Whose Afraid of
  the Big Bad Woolf from the Three Little Pigs.
• It was Albees first smash hit.
• It premiered on Broadway on October 13, 1962.
• It was directed by Alan Schneider.
• It won a Tony for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize
  for Drama.

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Basic Information on Whose Afraid of Virginia
Woolf? Cont.

• George and Martha are the two main characters who
  instigate every thing that goes on in the play.
• Nick and Honey are the two unsuspecting
  characters in the play.
• The book is about a married couple, George and
  Martha, who invite the new faculty member at the
  local university and his wife to their house.
  When Nick and Honey, the new people on campus
  arrive Nick and Marthas, they start acting
  strangely. Thats when the book really gets going
  on its rollercoaster of events.

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Important Points in the Play

• A major point I saw in the play is that if you
  break the rules or laws you will be found out and
  you will suffer the consequences.
• Ex George found out Martha broke the rules and
  she had to suffer the consequences.
• Another major point the play conveys is that it
  is acceptable to have an affair with your spouse.
• Ex Martha and Nick had a sexual relation during
  the play.

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Important Points in the Play Cont.

• Another point I saw conveyed in the play is that
  you only look out for number one and run over
  anybody to get what you want.
• Ex George wanted to destroy Nick and Honeys
  relationship because his own relationship with
  Martha was going down the tube.

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Themes of Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

• The common theme in all of Albees works is
  death. Death always shadows in Albees works.
• Another theme in the play is that life is a game,
  because the George and Martha are always playing
  their games with the guests such as Humiliate the
  Host, Get the Guests, and Bringing Up Baby.

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Themes of Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Cont.

• One of the major themes in the play is that
  George and Martha try to exploit their marital
  problems by trying to run Martha and Honeys
  relationship into the ground.
• Another important theme in the book is the idea
  of phoniness. In the play George and Martha
  pretended to be something that their not in front
  of their guests and they were completely
  different in private.

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Motion Picture
(1966)
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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Motion Picture
(1966) Trivia

• Every credited member of the cast received an
  Academy Award nomination.
• The first film to use the word "Bugger" in its
  dialogue.
• The first movie to be given the MPAA tag "No one
  under 18 will be admitted unless accompanied by
  his parent."
• According to Edward Albee, the only thing he
  doesn't like about the film is the over-use of
  over-head shots.

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Motion Picture
(1966) Trivia

• The only film (so far) in Academy history to be
  nominated in every eligible category (13 eligable
  categories/13 nominations picture, actor,
  actress, supporting actor, supporting actress,
  director, adapted screenplay, art direction/set
  decoration (bw), cinematography (bw), sound,
  costume design (bw), music score, film editing).

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"I have been both overpraised and underpraised. I
assume by the time I finish writing - and I plan
to go on writing until I'm ninety or gaga - it
will all equal itself out. Edward
Albee