Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
by Edward Albee
Directed & Designed by LON WINSTON
CAST
JEFF CARLSON...........GEORGE
VALERIE HAUGEN...........MARTHA
CHARLIE DEFORD...........NICK
HOLLY FREEMAN...........HONEY
JEFF CARLSON...........GEORGE
VALERIE HAUGEN...........MARTHA
CHARLIE DEFORD...........NICK
HOLLY FREEMAN...........HONEY
Lighting Designer BRAD MOORE
Props CINDY HINES
Stage Manager LANA KARP
REVIEW - CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE
Thunder River presents a raucous, tender,
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
by Terray Sylvester The Sopris Sun
Carbondale, Colorado The Thunder River Theatre Company joked, wept and tore its way into its 15th season last week with a satisfying rendition of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The production swings from companionship and comedy, to desperation, broken bottles and right on to would-be adultery.
The script might be interpreted more bleakly. “Woolf” could be, in the end, a harsh look at a climactic reckoning in a middle-aged couple’s marriage. But in the hands of the Carbondale-based company,
“Woolf” is also a romance – and at times, a darn funny one. After all, as the company’s executive artistic director, Lon Winston, sees it: “It really is a love story – it’s just that love/hate thing.”
But that may be a bit of an understatement.
“Woolf” is a tale of two climactic hours in the married life of George and Martha. At root, the two appear to love one another; but their love has warped under the pressure of decades of failed expectations, transforming over the years into its red-hot counterweight in frustration and – in moments when the cast successfully elicited cringes from Saturday night’s audience – outright rage.
Fueled by booze, and with two young guests to help them focus their attacks, George and Martha transform two late night hours into a no-holds barred attempt to shred the fantasies that have helped keep them together – and at each other’s throats – for at least the last 21 years.
With its violent range of emotions, the play is an undertaking. But that’s why TRTC chose it as an opener for its 15th season in the first place.
TRTC originally began rehearsing “Woolf” in February, but illnesses in the company prevented it from being staged in the spring.
By scheduling the play at the beginning of the season, the company is making a statement. “We did feel compelled to say we’re back and we’re back like gangbusters,” said Lon Winston.
“We’re coming back from a hellish year and want to do the tough stuff.”
And in large part, TRTC succeeds. Holly Freeman presents a sensitive, satisfying Honey, who comes across as innocent without being annoying, and a bit lost – intellectually – without ever appearing dull.
As George, Jeff Carlson faces a demanding role. He must evolve over the course of the play from the butt of the joke to the most aggressive and creative character of the production. Carlson’s smiles in the first half of the production might leave the audience wondering whether he can portray George at his most devilish and best, but his ferocity in the second half erases those doubts.
But Valerie Haugen delivers the most impressive performance of the play. As Martha, she flickers from cuddly to aggressive, jovial to desperate, all while subsiding,
through the course of the production, from the most forceful character to the most vulnerable.
Her performance is captivating and convincing and, much like the production as a whole, a pleasure.
TRTC Home Page
Thunder River presents a raucous, tender,
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
by Terray Sylvester The Sopris Sun
Carbondale, Colorado The Thunder River Theatre Company joked, wept and tore its way into its 15th season last week with a satisfying rendition of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The production swings from companionship and comedy, to desperation, broken bottles and right on to would-be adultery.
The script might be interpreted more bleakly. “Woolf” could be, in the end, a harsh look at a climactic reckoning in a middle-aged couple’s marriage. But in the hands of the Carbondale-based company,
“Woolf” is also a romance – and at times, a darn funny one. After all, as the company’s executive artistic director, Lon Winston, sees it: “It really is a love story – it’s just that love/hate thing.”
But that may be a bit of an understatement.
“Woolf” is a tale of two climactic hours in the married life of George and Martha. At root, the two appear to love one another; but their love has warped under the pressure of decades of failed expectations, transforming over the years into its red-hot counterweight in frustration and – in moments when the cast successfully elicited cringes from Saturday night’s audience – outright rage.
Fueled by booze, and with two young guests to help them focus their attacks, George and Martha transform two late night hours into a no-holds barred attempt to shred the fantasies that have helped keep them together – and at each other’s throats – for at least the last 21 years.
With its violent range of emotions, the play is an undertaking. But that’s why TRTC chose it as an opener for its 15th season in the first place.
TRTC originally began rehearsing “Woolf” in February, but illnesses in the company prevented it from being staged in the spring.
By scheduling the play at the beginning of the season, the company is making a statement. “We did feel compelled to say we’re back and we’re back like gangbusters,” said Lon Winston.
“We’re coming back from a hellish year and want to do the tough stuff.”
And in large part, TRTC succeeds. Holly Freeman presents a sensitive, satisfying Honey, who comes across as innocent without being annoying, and a bit lost – intellectually – without ever appearing dull.
As George, Jeff Carlson faces a demanding role. He must evolve over the course of the play from the butt of the joke to the most aggressive and creative character of the production. Carlson’s smiles in the first half of the production might leave the audience wondering whether he can portray George at his most devilish and best, but his ferocity in the second half erases those doubts.
But Valerie Haugen delivers the most impressive performance of the play. As Martha, she flickers from cuddly to aggressive, jovial to desperate, all while subsiding,
through the course of the production, from the most forceful character to the most vulnerable.
Her performance is captivating and convincing and, much like the production as a whole, a pleasure.