Theater Review: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” at Yale Rep

By Nancy Sasso Janis

New Haven - Yale Repertory Theatre is presenting an impressive (and long) production of “Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The production begins the Yale Rep’s 2022-2023 season and is astutely directed by Dean of the David Geffen School of Drama and Artistic Director of Yale Rep James Bundy.

This play examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. It happens late one evening, after a university faculty party, when the couple receives Nick and Honey as guests, and draws the unwitting younger couple into their bitter and frustrated relationship.

The title is a pun on the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" from the 1933 Disney film “Three Little Pigs,” substituting the name of the celebrated English author Virginia Woolf. Martha and George repeatedly sing this version of the song throughout the play.

Bundy writes in his program note that the play “stands as a stinging critique of prevailing values of its day–and to a considerable extent, our own–even as it holds a mirror up to the ambiguities of intimate relationships.”

The director also notes that although this work about marital strife is one of the most famous plays in contemporary drama, the Yale Rep production is the first professional staging of Albee’s masterpiece in Connecticut in more than 30 years. This explains why it was the first time that I have ever seen the play. I found it to be riveting at times, comic at others, and more appreciated than enjoyed.

All of the actors in the production are members of Actor’s Equity Association.

René Augesen, who previously appeared at Yale Rep in “Good Faith,” “A Woman of No Importance” and others, portrays Martha, the daughter of the university president. This is the role made famous with the performance of Elizabeth Taylor in the 1966 film. Augesen, a graduate of the David Geffen School of Drama, give a achingly strong performance as the aggresive and tortured character.

Dan Donohue plays the role of Martha’s wimpish, passive aggressive husband George, played by Richard Burton in the film version. Donohue played Scar in “The Lion King on Broadway, as well as over 30 roles at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The actor gives a strong performance in this role that is demanding in its ups and downs.

Nate Janis, an actor, singer and writer based in New York, takes on the role of Nick, the new biology professor and husband of the younger couple in the script. Janis returns to his alma mater to perform in one of his favorite plays and gives a measured, professional performance.

Emma Pfitzer Price portrays the role of Honey, the wife of the younger couple, in her Yale Rep debut. She recently received her B.F.A in drama from The Juilliard School and does very well with the comic elements (as well as everything else) inherent in her character.

Scenic design by Miguel Urbino is a rich and detailed rendering of the living room of a house on the campus of a small New England college and effectively suggests the rooms in the rest of the professor’s home. Costume designer Kyle J. Artone, a fourth -year Yale student who will graduate in May, carefully selected outfits that fit the finely drawn characters and wig and hair design by Matthew Armentrout and makeup design by Earon Chew Nealy works well. Lighting by Jiahao (Neil) Qui illuminates the stage nicely and sound by Joe Krempetz helps set the scene.

The heavy three hour production is presented with two 10-minute intermissions. The content advisory paragraph includes profanity, misogynist and racist language and slurs, sexual situations, violence, and lots of herbal cigarettes are smoked. There is also a lot of yelling, so be prepared.

I have never heard so many cell phones ring during a single performance as I did at this (admittedly longer) matinee, even after a staff member reminded the audience to silence them during the second intermission. All patrons must wear masks at all times while inside the theater, except when eating or drinking.

On my first visit to this honored theater, I found parking to be an issue, despite the research I had done prior to the matinee. I remembered a column written by my predecessor Joanne Greco Rochman about this issue as I raced toward the Yale Rep to arrive just in time. It is unfortunate that the location of the venue in busy downtown New Haven may prevent those with mobility issues from attending performances.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” runs at Yale Rep through Oct. 29. The theater is located at 1120 Chapel Street (at York Street) in New Haven.

During Bundy’s tenure, nine of Yale Rep’s productions have been honored by the Connecticut Critics Circle as Best Production of the Year. The Yale Rep season will continue with the world premiere of “The Brightest Thing in the World,” and in the new year “Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles,” and “the ripple, the wave that carried my home.”

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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