‘Virginia woolf’ captivates with power, passion

By MARILYN JOZWIK

Published Oct. 29, 2019

Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is one of the most powerful American plays.

Its pugilistic couple, Martha and George, are among literature’s most memorable. Who can forget Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton battle in the 1966 movie?

I’ve seen this stage show before, but never with the power and passion displayed at Milwaukee Entertainment Group’s version at the Brumder Mansion, directed by Mark Neufang.

The intimate basement theater of the gorgeous old mansion (which has been turned into a bed and breakfast) is the ideal venue for the show, putting you right in the living room of Martha and George, played brilliantly by Amy Hansmann and Bryant Mason. Their performances and that of their visiting couple, Nick and Honey (Matt Specht and Cara Johnston), are mesmerizing.

The play’s title is based on the English author Virginia Woolf and the children’s tune “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” The ditty is returned to on several occasions throughout the show as the main couple grapple with their deteriorating marriage that has been duct-taped together on an illusion.

The play is based on friends of Albee’s known for their epic fights and drinking orgies.

In the first of three acts, called “Fun and Games,” Martha and George have returned from a faculty party at the university where George is an associate professor in history and whose president is the father of Martha. Even though it is already early in the morning, Martha has invited a young couple – a biology professor and his wife—over for drinks. Martha and George’s verbal sparring continues after Nick and Honey arrive, causing much embarrassment for the young couple. I loved the way Johnston’s Honey played nervously with her hair and clung to her husband, as if for protection from these wild animals desperately seeking an escape from reality.

Martha criticizes George mercilessly for failing to move up the ladder at the university, calling him “Swampy” for getting “bogged down,” just one of dozens of Albee’s wordplays that Hansmann and Bryant deliver so well. Mason’s George, in turn, turns on young Nick as he deftly tells a story about chromosomes.

In Act II, “Walpurgisnacht,” Nick and George bond while Martha is tending to Honey, who got sick from drinking. In one of many marvelously played scenes, Nick and George sit at the edge of the stage after sharing confidences. Mason has an amazing talent with a quick quip; when he says, “The apple of our three eyes – Mother was a Cyclops” it is timed to a tee. But when the ladies return, the game turns to “humiliate the host” as Martha makes fun of George’s unpublished book and he tries to choke her. Then George again takes out his anger on Nick, cleverly retelling an intimate story to Honey’s delight, until she realizes it is about her. Another scene that just draws you into the characters’ desperation.

Martha comes on to Nick and they dance suggestively, ending up, unseen, upstairs to end Act II.

Hansmann’s Martha comes downstairs to an empty room to open Act III and piteously describes her relationship with George, saying that he’s been the only man in her life to make her happy, and that he made the “mistake of loving me and must be punished for it.” George, Nick and Honey return to the living room and George tells the story that he hopes might end the endless hurt.

This is a stellar cast of four, physically cast exceptionally well, as well as delivering exceptional performances. I especially enjoyed Mason’s George, who has just a wonderful way of wrapping his mouth around words, like when he tells Martha, who invited the other couple without telling him, that she’s “always springing things on me.” Only he puts extra emphasis on the “s” in “springing” to illuminate what could be a throwaway line. As George, Mason’s storytelling is spellbinding. In the final act, he solemnly reads part of the Catholic Mass for the Dead, in Latin, as Martha talks about their son.

Hansmann’s Martha is mostly on the attack, and she doesn’t let up until perhaps the final moments. Her physicality is marvelous as she rails, swinging a glass or cigarette or barbs like a pit viper.

As Honey, Johnston is incredibly emotive with body language as well, turning in to herself as Martha and George fight, opening up like a butterfly when drink gives her uninhibited wings. As Nick, Specht has a lot of territory to cover, and does it well, as he jockeys between polite guest and one who’s taken one too many verbal punches.

The handsome set has an old, comfortable, lived-in look, with two cases of weighty tomes befitting a college professor, a perfect backdrop for this marvelous production. Teresa Olson Alioto served as stage manager.

If you go

Who: Milwaukee Entertainment Group

What: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

When: Through Nov. 2

Where: Brumder Mansion, 3046 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee

Info/Tickets: milwaukeeentertainmentgroup.com