Edward Albee’s ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ Ends HTC's 40th Season

One of the most celebrated works in contemporary theater will cap off the Hampton Theatre Company’s 40th season, when Edward Albee’s monumental drama “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” arrives in Quogue for a three-week run from May 22 through June 8.

The production will be the 136th in the history of the HTC, which has delivered a wide variety of acclaimed comedies, dramas and musicals to East End audiences since its founding in 1984.

Directed by longtime HTC contributor George Loizides, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” features a cast headed by Andrew Botsford and Rosemary Cline, founding members of the Hampton Theatre Company four decades ago, who have appeared in dozens of the company’s productions over the years.

An inspired combination of caustic comedy and gut-wrenching drama, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” focuses on the festering conflicts and shared traumas connecting George, a brilliant but brooding professor of history, and Martha, his disillusioned wife and the daughter of the president of the college where George works. Following a late-night faculty party, Martha and George return home, where they’re soon joined by Nick and Honey, a young couple newly arrived on the campus.

Over cocktails, Nick and Honey find that they’re uncomfortable bystanders and then unwilling participants in an alcohol-fueled battle royale of wits, insults and insinuations involving Martha, who feels her husband has never achieved the academic heights his talents augured, and George, whose passive-aggressive personality boils over into rage as he parries, then counters, his wife’s attacks on his stalled career and diminishing manhood. Both Nick and Honey get pulled into the fray, resulting in revelations from both couples that lay bare the decaying foundations of their marriages, as well as the long-held secrets that each must purge if their relationships are to survive.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is generally considered to be the crowning achievement of playwright Edward Albee’s distinguished career, as well as one of the seminal works in the history of American theater. First staged in 1962, the play won both the 1963 Tony Award as Best Play and the 1962-63 New York Drama Critics’ Circle award for Best Play. The play has been revived on Broadway four times, in 1976, 2005, 2012 and 2020. A 1966 film adaptation, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, received 13 Oscar nominations, winning five, and is one of only two films to be nominated in every eligible category at the Academy Awards.

Albee, the winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards and a Grammy, was also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.

Presented in three acts, with two 10-minute intermissions, the HTC production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” features a versatile cast of four seasoned actors. In addition to Botsford and Cline, who have appeared in dozens of HTC productions since 1985, rounding out the cast are Amanda Griemsmann (Honey), whose HTC credits include “Sylvia,” “A Comedy of Tenors” and “Don’t Dress for Dinner,” and Cameron Eastland (Nick) who is making his HTC debut in this production.

Performances of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” will run May 22 through June 8, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. An additional matinee performance will be offered on Saturday, June 7, at 2:30 p.m. Talkbacks with the cast will be offered following the May 30 and June 6 evening performances. Tickets are $40 ($36 for seniors, $25 for students and $30 for veterans and Native Americans). Tickets are available at hamptontheatre.org or by calling 631-653-8955. Quogue Community Hall is at 125 Jessup Avenue in Quogue.