Red Twist Theatre is “suspended” during Covid, BUT they are still alive and well- written by Julia W. Rath

On Thursday night, January 28th, Redtwist Theatre performed Edward Albee’s classic drama “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” as an online fundraiser. The virtual reading was introduced by artistic director Charlie Marie McGrath and featured the show’s director Steve Scott. Staged on Zoom, the reading was put together in six days and was made up of twelve actors playing four roles, a combination of newer and older members of the company. The rotating cast of characters allowed each actor some reading time and the ability to spar with others. Johnny Garcia, Ted Hoerl, and Brian Parry took turns in the role of George; Jacqueline Grandt, KC Karen Hill, and Kathleen Ruhl each played Martha; Matt Edmonds, Devon Nimerfroh, Peter Oyloe, and Joshua Servantez played Nick; and Elizabeth Argus and Sarah Sapperstein played Honey. Because of the limitations of Zoom and the fact that we cannot see live interaction among the characters, the director made up for this by reading some stage directions and brief portions of the script.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is a reference to Virginia Woolf, an early 20th century English author, who advocated for equality between the sexes. Most notably, she felt that it was essential for women to earn their own money and be given the means and spare time to display their intelligence and creativity. She was also one of the pioneers of writing in a stream-of-consciousness fashion. Indeed, Albee’s script is written as a fluid conversation, often filled with seemingly mundane banter; yet it reveals great family secrets having to do with sex, money, and power relations within—and outside of—the confines of traditional marriage.

For those unfamiliar with Albee’s story: The setting is the early 1960s in a small college town called New Carthage, on the East Coast. Two married couples, one middle-aged and the other in their twenties, meet one evening in George and Martha’s home, ostensibly for a pleasant conversation and drinks. George and Nick are both faculty members at the local college where Martha’s father is president. As the evening devolves into drunkenness (if not outright psychological and physical abuse and debauchery), white middle-class boredom melds into contempt for strict gender norms and rules concerning faithfulness and propriety underlying 1950s morality.

The prestige inherent in being a faculty member at an elite academic institution provides the backdrop for an examination of the power differential between men and women in American society. “Musical beds is a faculty sport around here,” George says to Nick early in the performance. In George’s academic world, he sees himself as the Übermensch, one of the privileged few who either doesn’t see society’s rules—or doesn’t believe that they apply to him. Buoyed by the respect gained by being an integral part of the all-male faculty, George projects a dignified public persona while at the same time, he gleefully uses scholarly discussions of moral relativity and ambiguity in the privacy of his home as cover for his sexual exploits and fantasies that touch on violence.

That said, the use of sex as a powerplay and a means of psychological manipulation is better understood by some characters than others. George and Martha treat each other miserably—often with the intent of causing emotional harm—as a means of feeling powerful within their intimate relationship. This does not go unnoticed by Nick and Honey, who wonder why the older couple feels comfortable arguing in front of company, and yet they remain both to watch and become a part of the cruelty. Whether they fully comprehend what is happening or not, the men and women handle the dynamics very differently. The men generally get away with their illicit behavior and voyeurism with impunity while the women are punished unless their dalliances are sanctioned by the men in their lives.

Watching people behave badly is not easy to do. However, what’s sadder is to realize that for some people, being the object of bullying and abuse may be the only form of attention that they may have ever received. As a consequence, love may express itself by dominating others—or accepting domination—in lieu of actual affection. Abused people will often run back to their oppressors, confused, not knowing what love is all about. The psychological damage that can take place is tremendous, especially among unsuspecting sorts who don’t expect the backbiting “woolf” to come at them or for them. If there is any one takeaway from “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” it is this: Tragically flawed characters who mistreat people is an eternal theme that goes beyond locale, time period, or one’s place in the social order. The use of sex is only one means for establishing dominance or upending moral convention.

With today’s COVID crisis, Zoom opens up second-best possibilities for watching live entertainment. It keeps the performers’ minds, hearts, and emotions engaged during an era absent traditional stagecraft. The expectation is that there will soon be a day when performances will return to Redtwist Theatre’s intimate black box space on Bryn Mawr Avenue, in Chicago. But in the meantime, donations will allow the theatre to offset the profound financial impact of the pandemic on Chicago actors and will provide for the mentoring of new talent. “This vicious love story… has been a great distraction,” says director Steve Scott. From my perspective, it looked as if the actors enjoyed shredding each other to bits. Perhaps this is cathartic during these difficult and uncertain times, when people want to regain control over their lives and have no clue how to lash out at the current situation that they may find themselves in.

For more on how you can support Redtwist Theatre’s mission of bringing “searing hot drama” to its audience, please visit https://www.redtwisttheatre.org/support

Note that Redtwist Theatre is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Redtwist Theatre
(773) 728-7529
https://www.redtwisttheatre.org/