‘Virginia Woolf’s’ Harrowingly Dense Dramatic Intensity

×

Expand

Photo: Milwaukee Chamber Theatre - Facebook

James Ridge in Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's 'Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'

Behind the scenes shot of James Ridge in Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's 'Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'

Local theater veterans Laura Gordon and James Ridge render a relationship of stunning complexity as George and Martha in Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Truth, fiction, vice and ambition filter through a staggeringly intricate portrayal of a couple who have been married for a very long time. Scenic and lighting designer Jason Fassl has done a tremendous job of crafting a surprisingly detailed residence in 1962, but the real spectacle of the show rests in and within Gordon and Ridge. The harrowing intimacy of two characters who know each other as well as George and Martha can be quite difficult to bring across with any serious depth onstage. Gordon and Ridge deftly, cunningly slice their way through the love, resentment and restlessness of a pair of characters who gradually dissect each other over the course of a late night at home while entertaining a couple of guests.

Casey Hoekstra and Kate Romond mirror the drama of George and Martha as Nick and Honey—the much younger couple who have been invited to their home. Hoekstra fluidly follows the fluctuations in Nick’s personality that become apparent over the course of the evening. Romond has a sharp mastery of the physical end of a role that requires her to weave great emotional intricacy through various levels of inebriation. Edward Albee’s script covers tremendous thematic ground on a dizzying variety of themes. The arduous journey into the nature of truth has a tendency to conjure the kind of thematic density that generates a crushing dramatic gravity to the stage. Under the direction of Keira Fromm, the imposing three-hour odyssey moves swiftly through bewildering fluttering of intensity with impressively nimble energy.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? runs through Feb. 12 at the Broadway Theatre Center’s Studio Theatre. For more information, visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org.