A Night of Booze and Banter

THEATER REVIEW

Whether it is something trivial about not calling on time or something more significant as a cheating spouse, almost every couple has a spat from time to time. In order to remedy such arguments, many couples turn towards couples counseling for help but for Martha and George in Edward Albee’s play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” their therapy is the liquor bar in their living room.

With a minimal set and the audience surrounding the stage, the focus is on the actors as Albee’s words become their own. This is the formula that makes this production work as every grimace or expression of pain is witnessed, every hurtful word echoing in the ears in their struggle of “illusion versus reality.”

Under the direction of Randy Wolfe and in the intimacy of the Whole Art Theater in downtown Kalamazoo, Albee’s play centers on the marital issues plaguing Martha (Martie Philpot) and George (Richard Philpot), only such issues are intensified by the mass consumption of alcohol.

The Latin phrase “in vino veritas” (“truth in wine”) becomes evident right from the first drink as the harsh truths between George and Martha come pouring out. After they just come home from her father’s dinner party at two in the morning, Martha announces to George that she has invited guests over. Into this already tense atmosphere come the young biology professor Nick (Trevor Maher) and his younger, “slim-hipped” wife Honey (Carol Zombro).

The course of the evening into the following morning takes place over three long acts. What transpires is basically a series of drunken mind games, in which George and Martha try to humiliate and hurt each other. For these games, the actors expertly exploit being in the round as they almost physically circle each other as much as their words do.

Because there is little outside action, it is the words and dialogues between the characters that create the movement and timing is key. For this quartet of actors, their timing is impeccable, catching every sarcastic note with a retort or even just a raise of an eyebrow, despite the occasional dropped line.

Mr. and Ms. Philpot shine in their leading roles as husband and wife on-stage. The casting is paramount with Mr. Philpot’s 35 years of acting experience accounting for his sharp wit, even with his astounding blood-alcohol content. His suffering, waning portrayal of George is spineless and crafty with a sense of nebbish sarcasm. While his wife is blatantly seducing Nick, George continues to simply sit and read his book and his response to Martha’s comment that she sees what he is up to is that he “is up to page a hundred and …” She tries to bait him but Mr. Philpot’s ability to remain nonchalant, even in his tone, is impressive only to show his repressed emotions as soon as she leaves with Nick by hurling the book at the door chimes. There is pain and there is anguish etched into the wrinkles of a man worn by 23 years of marriage.

Ms. Philpot’s Martha is cruel, vulgar and sexual, but she lacks vulnerability. Her eyes seem frighteningly hardened as she goads and torments her husband, exclaiming that he is a “big flop!” As a result, it is difficult to muster up the sympathy she might deserve at the end of the play. However, it is Maher’s Nick that makes for the most awkward performance as he hides behind his bourbon and the cloud of smoke he produces with his cigarettes. His words are forgettable as he lacks conviction and experience that his counterparts seem to possess.

Though no one in the audience was “busting a gut,” Wolfe creates an emotional balance between the illusion and the reality of marriage, as echoed in Albee’s script. The illusion is a hope to mend the dysfunctional marriage but the reality is that George and Martha need to seek counseling from something other than the bottom of an alcohol bottle.