Reviews of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Local Reviews
“...while plenty of companies take on the challenge, Portland Center Stage has mounted a production that puts even the 1966 Academy Award-winning film adaption—starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton—on the defense... Acting this good and directing this taut—by PCS artistic director Marissa Wolf—opens the depths to this winding play about marriage, illusion, trust, betrayal, and our continued struggles to not be alone.” - Portland Mercury
“...a powerful revival at Portland Center Stage. This darkly humorous and devastating exploration of relationships, illusion, and human fragility remains as relevant and impactful today as it was over 60 years ago... I recommend it very highly.” - Broadway World
“Walking into The Armory felt like stepping off the quiet downtown streets into the heart of the weekend—here’s where lively Portlanders were hiding... the all-local cast holds [the play] with strength and malleability, making the sometimes vicious material a pleasure for the audience, who moved to claim empty seats closer to the stage by the third act.” - Willamette Week
Audience Raves
“This was a tour de force of acting ability by both of these actors! Not only that but leaves the audience examining things that they might have known intellectually but may not have internalized.”
“PHENOMENAL cast and production! We were captivated from Act One to curtain call!”
“Strong acting. Compelling material. Artful set. Well done!”
“We enjoyed this thoroughly. The acting was phenomenal.”
“A real tour de force for the actors. All were quite committed and nuanced.”
“Great acting! It was a thrill to see such a classic play.”
“My partner and I were incredibly impressed with this performance. Such dense dialogue! I imagine it takes the actors to get in a groove with a show/run, and with the show only opening just last week and no flubs, we were in awe. The performance and production was so, so well done. Thank you for all you do for this community!”
National Reviews
“At its heart, it is a twisted living room comedy… both sharp and poisonously funny.” - Entertainment Weekly
“the toxic power games are potent” - The Guardian
“a wry and electric evening in the theater” - New York Times
“One of the landmarks of 20th century American drama, ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ doesn’t need an excuse to be dusted off.” - LA Times
“The show's greatest magic trick is its wicked sense of humor.” - Entertainment Weekly
More about Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?:
A Synopsis of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Beware spoilers! An act-by-act description of the play.
Edward Albee: An Abbreviated Biography
A brief biography of the celebrated playwright of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, including a list of career works.
Albee's Absurdity
PCS Literary Manager and Dramaturg Kamilah Bush touches on the Absurdist movement of the mid-twentieth century, and how its "confrontation of self" informs the existential reckonings in Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Reading List
Calling all readers! Multnomah County Library put together a reading list inspired by our production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
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Join Literary Manager and Dramaturg Kamilah Bush for an opportunity to explore the work of playwright Tarrell Alvin McCraney and his relationship to the southern aesthetic, masculinity and African cosmology, and how these elements come alive in PCS production of The Brothers Size.
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