Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
MattDe
Understudy Joined: 11/7/12
#1Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 1:22amwhich one is better and will tony noms be for the current production
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#2Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 5:39am
The one in 2005 was better.
This one dragged. In light of the reviews, however, it seems likely it will receive Tony nominations.
ajh
Broadway Star Joined: 5/6/11
#2Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 7:44amI think it's a bit difficult to judge which is better; they are both superb productions. The '05 version was maybe nearer to the received perception of how the play is, particularly in the case of Kathleen Turner's magnificently loud and belligerent Martha. The current staging is like watching a new play, as though the Steppenwolf team had come to it afresh and devoid of preconceptions. I certainly don't remember being as moved by the '05 version as I was recently at the Booth, and nor have I ever been so convinced as currently that Martha and George really love each other. I feel blessed to have seen both stagings.
#3Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 8:05amTwo excellent productions of a difficult and rewarding play, both offering unique interpretations. I'd say for this current production that all four actors will be nominated, plus MacKinnon and for Best Revival. I wouldn't be surprised if it got a set design nomination, too.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
eperkins
Broadway Star Joined: 5/21/07
#4Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 1:58pmI enjoyed the current production more than the one in 2005.
#5Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 2:09pmThe current production is much better than the 2005 production.
#6Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 3:01pm
I didn't see the 2005 revival but thought this current revival was gobsmackingly brilliant and one of the great nights of theatre I've yet experienced.
But After Eight said the 2005 one was better, so it mustn't be true.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
rjm516
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/24/09
#7Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 3:08pmI found the 2 current leads just amazing. Riveting.
#8Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 3:39pmI had the opportunity to attend a Saturday matinee with a friend of mine a few weeks ago, and I must say that it was first rate all around, flawless, and kept us talking! Very provactive and we truly felt as if we were a fly on the wall in these character's living room, it was very difficult to see where the "acting" was in the production, it came across as so natural and the relationships between all were fully realized by the actors. Brilliant! The only down side, the theatre wasn't full, which is sad, because this needs to be seen! In the interest of full discretion, I did not see the 2005 production, but after seeing this one, I would imagine it would be hard to top!
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#9Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 4:25pmSaw them both, and while this has its merits, I prefer the 2005 Turner/Irwin production.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#10Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 4:59pm
We LOVED the newer version; the direction made it seem like it was the first time that he killed the kid off; the 2005 production (as with the film) you got the feeling that this was an game that they played every night. See our video like below!
Video Review of Virgina Woolf
#11Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 8:04pmI have the original 1962? LPs that I found at a flea market. If anyone's interested in it, lv me a msg. I have no idea what it's worth..only that I can't play it cause I don't have a turntable. It's Uta Hagen/Arthur Hill.
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#12Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 8:58pmI have to say that after seeing numerous, wonderful "Virginia Woolf's" I still don't understand Martha...but Amy Morton came as close to helping me out as I guess I'm ever gonna get..
#13Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 9:05pm
I think they are very different. I prefer Morton over Turner, but that's just a style and choice preference. Turner was a little too over the top for me.
Carrie Coon deserves the Tony. Hands down, the best Honey I've ever seen.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
Auggie27
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/03
#14Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 9:06pmLetts towers over Irwin, and Irwin brought much to George. As for Turner, I thought she nailed it, but would've brought more to the party with a temperamentally different George. Irwin wasn't persuasively that particular Martha's husband, not to me, and I never believed their marriage the way I buy the current one (and Burton and Taylor's).
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
#15Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/20/12 at 11:18pm
This is the one I have, if you're interested in buying.
The one on Ebay auction is for 4 more days, so I don't have any idea of price yet. Mine, however, looks like it's never been played, has the 15 pg booklet, however the box it comes in has fallen apart. The 4 LPs look to be in perfect condition.
Make me an offer I can't refuse. (Seriously I just want someone to have it who will appreciate it.)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Whos-Afraid-Of-Virginia-Woolf-Edward-Albee-original-Broadway-Cast-LP-recording-/190757163979?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item2c6a0353cb
bobs3
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/8/12
#16Is Virgina Woolf better now or in 2005 ?
Posted: 11/21/12 at 1:47amI saw it last week. I preferred Kathleen Turner in 2005 over Amy Morton in this production. I thought there was no way anyone could top Bill Irwin in 2005, boy was I wrong. I don't know what or how he did it but Tracy Letts took the role of George to a new level (even Richard Burton didn't go that far).
Videos