[NEohioPAL]Virginia Woolf at Actors' Summit -- Final 4 performances

Wed Apr 17 08:22:37 PDT 2002

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will have its final four performances this 
weekend. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday afternoon at 
3:30 PM. Call 330-342-0800.

The show has received positive, glowing notices from five critics. Here are a 
few examples

"The Actors' Summit presentation of the Tony Award-winning play, which opened 
Friday night in Hudson, superbly draws out the meaty -- albeit sick -- humor 
that makes this play entertaining.
       In less talented hands, Virginia Woolf could be an exhausting downer. 
But though the characters are drained and broken at the play's end, the 
audience is not.
This dynamic cast takes us on a wild ride from a very funny first act through 
successively darker, more menacing second and third acts. No matter how ugly 
the insults and humiliation get, the nearly three-hour Who's Afraid of 
Virginia Woolf? keeps you in anticipation. One wonders how all this mess 
could possibly be resolved.
       At the heart of the play is actor Tom Fulton, who masterfully controls 
the show in the role of the verbally abused George. George could easily be 
portrayed as the impotent waste of a human being that Martha views him as.
Yet, through Fulton, we see that he is extremely intelligent, witty and 
detests hypocrisy. Fulton is captivating as he turns from mockery one moment 
to seething anger and violent outbursts the next.
       As the foul-mouthed, caustic Martha, Paula Duesing is much funnier 
than one would imagine. Her annoyingly scratchy voice is perfect for Martha's 
abusive character. This brilliantly written play focuses on unhealthy, 
abnormal relationships, both with older couple George and Martha, and the 
younger Nick and Honey. Albee shows us that in different ways, both couples 
are avoiding the truth."
Kerry Clawson, Beacon Journal

Director Neil Thackaberry, in a master stroke of interpretation, decided to 
pull away from the oft-used device of George and Martha constantly shouting 
at each other. Instead, using a clue from the script in which the characters 
comment on the fact that they are "numbed enough," he chose to have them 
underplay their lines. This is not to say the venom is not present. Much like 
snakes, the couple strikes quickly and often, subtly, with deadly results.

"Paula Duesing and Tom Fulton's performances are both astounding and 
outstanding. They totally understand the nuances of Albee's lines and live 
their roles. ... Actors' Summit should be justly proud of their mounting of 
WHO'S AFRAID OF  VIRGINIA WOOLF. If you like fine modern theatre at its best, 
see this production."
Roy Berko, Times Newspapers

"In most productions, Martha dominates the evening's ribald games. But Neil 
Thackaberry (director) moved the emphasis from Martha and made George her 
equal. The production works much better when the two leading roles have 
equally strong spirits. 
       Paula Duesing (Martha) seems to make any play come to life with her 
ability to act and live in the moment. She was remarkable as a dying cancer 
patient, Vivian Bearing, in "Wit." In this production, Duesing makes Albee's 
words cut as deep and as painfully as possible. Once again, she makes the 
stage shimmer with her honesty and her exquisite acting ability. 
       Tom Fulton (George) doesn't make the history professor a weak husband 
dominated by a shrill wife. Too often George's weakness becomes a structural 
problem. Fulton makes George strong and capable of being equal in any fight 
Martha might start. 
       Peter Voinovich (Nick) looks and struts like a new faculty member 
whose Ph.D. diploma still has wet ink on it. He may be new to the faculty, 
but this Nick knows what he has to do to climb the academic ladder to the 
administration building. Voinovich makes Nick a university athlete who plans 
to use his athletic prowess and his combative personality to become a campus 
presence. Scratch this faculty member, and you'll find a streetwise, tough 
guy. ...
       This is a first-rate production of the best play written by one of 
this country's best playwrights."
David Richie, West Side Leader  

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<HTML>Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will have its final four performances this weekend. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday afternoon at 3:30 PM. Call 330-342-0800.
 
 The show has received positive, glowing notices from five critics. Here are a few examples
 
 "The Actors' Summit presentation of the Tony Award-winning play, which opened Friday night in Hudson, superbly draws out the meaty -- albeit sick -- humor that makes this play entertaining.
       In less talented hands, Virginia Woolf could be an exhausting downer. But though the characters are drained and broken at the play's end, the audience is not.
 This dynamic cast takes us on a wild ride from a very funny first act through successively darker, more menacing second and third acts. No matter how ugly the insults and humiliation get, the nearly three-hour Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? keeps you in anticipation. One wonders how all this mess could possibly be resolved.
       At the heart of the play is actor Tom Fulton, who masterfully controls the show in the role of the verbally abused George. George could easily be portrayed as the impotent waste of a human being that Martha views him as.
 Yet, through Fulton, we see that he is extremely intelligent, witty and detests hypocrisy. Fulton is captivating as he turns from mockery one moment to seething anger and violent outbursts the next.
       As the foul-mouthed, caustic Martha, Paula Duesing is much funnier than one would imagine. Her annoyingly scratchy voice is perfect for Martha's abusive character. This brilliantly written play focuses on unhealthy, abnormal relationships, both with older couple George and Martha, and the younger Nick and Honey. Albee shows us that in different ways, both couples are avoiding the truth."
 Kerry Clawson, Beacon Journal
 
 Director Neil Thackaberry, in a master stroke of interpretation, decided to pull away from the oft-used device of George and Martha constantly shouting at each other. Instead, using a clue from the script in which the characters comment on the fact that they are "numbed enough," he chose to have them underplay their lines. This is not to say the venom is not present. Much like snakes, the couple strikes quickly and often, subtly, with deadly results.
 
 "Paula Duesing and Tom Fulton's performances are both astounding and outstanding. They totally understand the nuances of Albee's lines and live their roles. ... Actors' Summit should be justly proud of their mounting of WHO'S AFRAID OF  VIRGINIA WOOLF. If you like fine modern theatre at its best, see this production."
 Roy Berko, Times Newspapers
 
 "In most productions, Martha dominates the evening's ribald games. But Neil Thackaberry (director) moved the emphasis from Martha and made George her equal. The production works much better when the two leading roles have equally strong spirits. 
       Paula Duesing (Martha) seems to make any play come to life with her ability to act and live in the moment. She was remarkable as a dying cancer patient, Vivian Bearing, in "Wit." In this production, Duesing makes Albee's words cut as deep and as painfully as possible. Once again, she makes the stage shimmer with her honesty and her exquisite acting ability. 
       Tom Fulton (George) doesn't make the history professor a weak husband dominated by a shrill wife. Too often George's weakness becomes a structural problem. Fulton makes George strong and capable of being equal in any fight Martha might start. 
       Peter Voinovich (Nick) looks and struts like a new faculty member whose Ph.D. diploma still has wet ink on it. He may be new to the faculty, but this Nick knows what he has to do to climb the academic ladder to the administration building. Voinovich makes Nick a university athlete who plans to use his athletic prowess and his combative personality to become a campus presence. Scratch this faculty member, and you'll find a streetwise, tough guy. ...
       This is a first-rate production of the best play written by one of this country's best playwrights."
 David Richie, West Side Leader  </HTML>

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