Mountain Community Theater in Ben Lomond has tackled some heavy-hitting pieces of acting in its 40-plus year history: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Twelve Angry Jurors” and “August: Osage County.” This year is no exception as the community-based group adds “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” to its repertoire.
“Woolf,” written by Edward Albee, is widely considered to be one of the greatest American plays. It’s a dark comedy packed with sparkling wit and language that dissects and illuminates the complex marriage of George and Martha over the course of one long, searing, drunken night of dangerous fun and games into which they pull their guests, a young couple with secrets of their own. By dawn, the lines between reality and illusion have been stretched beyond recognition, and lives are changed forever.
A masterclass in psychological warfare, the production offers the perfect blend of explosive comedy and harrowing drama.
The cast consists of a talented group of MCT veterans: Ian Dyer as George, Manirose Bobisuthi as Martha, Isaac Ludington as Nick and Sarah Mitchler as Honey.
Dyer, who has leapt into the leading man and director’s role with both MCT and Santa Cruz Actors’ Theatre, is psyched to get this play in front of the community.
“It’s almost like a truly two-person show. George and Martha are the primary couple driving the drama, but there are no superfluous characters at all,” he said, admitting that he hasn’t yet seen the play or 1966 movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. “I don’t try to watch productions when I’m cast. I mean, you don’t want to end up failing at trying to be Richard Burton.”
Asked about the makeup of the play, Dyer said, “Drama doesn’t do it justice. Comedy feels incorrect. It’s sexy, violent, funny, devastating—it’s everything you want from great theater.”
The nature of George and Martha’s relationship is a difficult path to navigate, especially in front of an audience.
“To find someone I can trust to go down those roads with, that’s everything. I trust Manirose implicitly,” Dyer admitted.
For her part, Bobisuthi is amazed by the depth of psychological games played in the production.
“Martha is the local college president’s daughter. It’s the early ’60s, she’s in a marriage that has gone south in a lot of ways, but she is loud, and she’s got a voice. She’s a woman who more than likely would have done really, really well in the women’s movement—it was just a little before her time,” she explained.
Bobisuthi finds great pleasure in playing the very challenging role of Martha.
“She ends up reading more like a loudmouth, rather than a woman with a real voice and a real longing for joy and happiness. Love is at the core of her marriage to George. You can’t be with someone for 23 years and not have a seed of love to start with,” Bobisuthi said. “The barbs, the jibes and the boredom wear them down, but their wit—their games of words—hold them together. This entire play is about how do we rise above the salt… and into the love.”
Love is at the essence of Nick and Honey’s marriage, and the couple finds themselves in the middle of the toxicity between George and Martha. Mitchler’s portrayal of Honey brings a diffused sense of humor to the mix.
“She does bring some important comedy to the play, and she can be a very complicated character,” Mitchler said. “She’s definitely educated, but she’s used to taking a backseat and using her smarts to make sure that Nick looks like the smartest person in the room.”
The complicated relationship between the couple reaches a crescendo at George and Martha’s home.
“Honey’s really driven to make sure that Nick is going to succeed, and that’s probably one of the things driving a wedge in their marriage. Between the two, they’re almost crying out for each other, like ships in the night, not being heard the way they need to be. On its face, it’s a depressing ending, but there’s still some optimism. We wake up tomorrow, and we’re still together,” Mitchler opined.
Ludington’s Nick is a multi-faceted character that can be challenging to isolate within the play.
“Nick is this young, hotshot, egotistical, stiff and serious professor, and he very quickly determines that he is, at least in his mind, the smartest person in the room,” Ludington said. “He thinks very highly of himself, and whether that’s actually true remains to be seen through the play.”
Even with the dark comedic edge of the play, Ludington said that Nick doesn’t really have a sense of humor.
“When he does make jokes, he’s mostly repeating things George has already said at his expense, but there’s a real nastiness and rage underneath the surface that starts to seep out as the show goes on,” he said.
The play, Ludington added, is “very much about the lies that we tell ourselves, because if we stop, we have to face something really hard. Ultimately, at the end of the night, I hope people reflect on their own lives and the stories they might be telling themselves.”
Director Peter Gelblum is honored and humbled to be at the helm of this production.
“It’s one of the greatest plays of all time. It’s an amazing play—intense, and I like intense—but it’s actually very funny, too,” Gelblum said. “The brilliance of the dialogue, the wit and the humor are second to none. There are some really funny lines, but the intensity of the emotion is primarily it for me. These four actors are just amazing about how they get to it.”
Gelblum said the play has a reputation that he hopes audiences will see past.
“Most people think of it as just people yelling for two hours, and that’s not what it is. There’s so much variation, and wittiness and humor, and I hope what people will walk away with is the emotional intensity of the play. The characters are relatable; these are real people, and that’s how people act late at night, especially with a cocktail or two on board,” he said.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” runs at Park Hall in Ben Lomond (9400 Mill St.) from May 15 through June 7. Friday and Saturday night performances are at 7pm, with Sunday matinees at 2pm. Community Night is Saturday, May 16 with discounted tickets. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit mctshows.org.
