South Coast Repertory’s theatrical event of the season is about to end, but there’s still time to experience two remarkable plays that share actors and a set.
Through March 21, South Coast Rep is presenting a rotating repertory of two Tony Award-winning plays: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” by Edward Albee and “God of Carnage” by Yasmina Reza.
Their eight-week run is the longest in the theatre’s 62-year history. Each play has alternate performances on weekdays, while on Saturdays and Sunday both plays are performed back-to-back.
Two of the actors, Kim Martin-Cotten and Brian Vaughn, have lead roles in both plays. The productions share a single set which is modified for each play.
Written nearly 50 years apart, the two masterpieces deal with marriage, children (real and imaginary), and the dynamics of relationships.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is considered Albee’s most famous work. Winner of the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play, it ran for more than a year and a half on Broadway and shocked audiences with its in-your-face dialogue and honest look at marriage, intimacy, ambition, naked self-interest and broken dreams.
In the play, George (a college professor) and his wife Martha invite young couple Nick (a new professorial hire) and his wife Honey to their home for a late-night cocktail. As the liquor flows both couples find themselves submerged in mind games and deep-seated resentments.
The play is both hilarious and harrowing, and long (three hours with two intermissions), but it’s a captivating theatrical ride as both couples bare their souls in surprising ways.
“God of Carnage” received the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play. In “God of Carnage,” which clocks in at under 90 minutes with no intermission, Reza satirizes parenting, marriage and upper-middle class dynamics in a play that, like “Woolf,” balances humor, marital tensions and conflicting personalities.
In the play, four parents discuss ways to resolve a conflict between their 11-year-old sons. They begin diplomatically, but the discussion quickly dissolves into a battle of wills that pits the parents against each other in both dramatic and hysterical ways.
The actors in both SCR productions are committed to their characters and bring them to life. As Bette Davis famously quipped in “All About Eve,” “Fasten your seat belt, it’s going to be a bumpy night.” That phrase certainly applies to “Woolf,” which pulls audiences’ emotions in multiple directions, but no need to be afraid of this “Virginia Woolf.” The play packs an emotional punch that’s worth the time investment.
So too with “God of Carnage.” While the setting is more modern (a cell phone has a prominent role), the play complements “Woolf” in how it examines relationships and the hidden truths that come to light.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and “God of Carnage” run through March 21. Visit www.SCR.org for tickets.
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