|
The Hunger Artists Theatre Company presents the
third production of their 13th season, entitled The Year Of Failed
Relationships, with Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
Directed by Brey Ann Barrett, the production runs from March 27th through
April 11th.
Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
is the first time that the Hunger Artists Theater Company has presented the
work of Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee. The play
was first presented on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater in 1962 starring
Uta Hagen, Arthur Hill, George Grizzard and Melinda Dillon. The production
was awarded the Tony Award for Best Play and was selected for the Pulitzer
Prize for Drama, although due to the play’s profanity and sexual themes, it
was overruled by the award’s advisory committee. The play was recently
revived in a 2004 production starring Bill Irwin and Kathleen Turner, which
won a Best Actor Tony for Irwin.
The play was also made into a film in 1967
directed by Mike Nichols and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton,
George Segal and Sandy Dennis. It was the only film to be nominated in
every eligible Academy Awards category, and it walked away with four Oscars,
including Best Actress for Taylor and Best Supporting Actress for Dennis.
In AFI’s 2007 100 Years...100 Movies list, the film was ranked at
number 67.
The production stars Mark
Coyan and Katie Chidester as legendary theatrical couple George and Martha.
Coyan, an OC Weekly Award-winning actor, is a founding member of the Hunger
Artists and has played the leads in such shows as re: Woyzeck,
Marat.Sade, The Importance of Being Earnest and The
Metamorphosis. Chidester, the Associate Managing Director of Hunger
Artists, has previously been seen in Hunger productions Top Girls,
The Vagina Monologues and Frozen, and directed the Flying
Spaghetti Monster plays and Neil LaBute’s bash: latter-day plays.
The production also features Jeremy Gable, who was last seen in The Shape
of Things at Hunger Artists, as Nick and Lauren Kushin - a member of the
Orange County Underground Burlesque Society who was previously seen in
Cabaret and Top Girls at Hunger Artists – as Honey.
Lighting design for Edward Albee’s Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is by Christina L. Munich, with set design by
Tony Viramontes. Costume design is by Kaitlyn Tice, and sound design is by
Jeremy Gable.
Edward Albee is the son of a famous theater owner and
grandson of a vaudeville magnate. Having been expelled from several
schools, he graduated Valley Forge Military Academy in 1945. His is known
for his promotion of American university theatre, having often spoken on
campuses and having served as a distinguished professor at the University of
Houston from 1989 to 2003. His other works in his 50-year history of
playwriting include The Zoo Story, Tiny Alice, A Delicate
Balance, Seascape, Three Tall Women and
The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?
“I wanted to direct this play because of its unflinching emotional honesty,
and its unique ability to put a mirror in front of its audience and ask them
to re-evaluate their meaning of love, marriage, empathy and sympathy,”
Barrett said. “It is one of the funniest and most heart-wrenching plays I
have experienced, and I wish to share that emotional experience with the
audience. It is particularly important for me to direct this production at
Hunger Artists because everything I know about theater is because of this
company, a fact that I am very proud of, and I wish to repay my respects to
the theater by showing what I have learned.”
Brey Ann Barrett has been a member of the Hunger Artists since 2003. Having
served in various capacities at the theater, she has previously directed for
the company’s Dead Letter Office, 24 Hour Theater and Beyond Convention
festivals, and has appeared in Romeo & Juliet, Careless Love,
Twelfth Night, Little Women and Guignol X. This is her
mainstage directorial debut.
"Brey
is one of our most dedicated and resourceful artists at the theater,” says
Artistic Director Jeremy Gable. “She’s grown up at this theater and
displayed a ferocious creativity. That, paired with the fact that we have
surprisingly never presented an Albee play in our 13 years of existence,
made Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? a perfect choice for our Year Of
Failed Relationships. It’s a legendary show, a fantastic crew and a great
cast. We’re all very excited about this one.”
Performances of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? will
take place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 7 pm,
with a special “$5” performance on Thursday, April 9th at 8 pm. General
admission tickets are $18; senior and students (with valid ID) may purchase
tickets for $15. Patrons may purchase tickets online by visiting our website
(www.hungerartists.com). To reserve tickets by phone, please call
714.680.6803.
For more information about Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
or the Hunger Artists Theatre Company’s 13th season, please visit
www.hungersartists.com. Programming, dates and times are subject to change. |
