Steven Barkhimer and Paula Plum to Star in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? at the Lyric Stage; Cast, Creatives Set!

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston announces cast & creative team for Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, directed by Scott Edmiston, running January 13 - February 12, 2016. Press opening is set for Sunday, January 15 at 3pm.

Following his thrilling revivals of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and My Fair Lady at the Lyric Stage, director Scott Edmiston turns to Edward Albee's towering masterpiece, the fiercely funny and intensely painful Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. The play thrillingly examines the breakdown of a middle-aged couple, who mercilessly draw a naïve younger pair into the bitter psychological cage match of their frustrated marriage.

Cast: Steven Barkhimer*, Paula Plum*, Erica Spyres* and Dan Whelton*.

Creative Team: Scenic Design, Janie E. Howland**; Costume Design, Chip Schoonmaker**; Lighting Design, Karen Perlow**; and Sound Design, Dewey Dellay

*Member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA)
** United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829

IF YOU GO:

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

January 13 - February 12, 2017
Wednesdays, Thursdays - 7:30pm
Wednesday matinees - 2pm, January 18, February 1
Fridays - 8pm
Saturdays - 3pm & 8pm
Sundays - 3pm

Post-show Q&A with the artists: January 15, 29, after the 3pm performance

At The Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street, Copley Square, Boston, MA 02116

Tickets start at $25
Seniors - $10 off regular price
Student rush - $10
Group rates available

Box Office: 617-585-5678 | lyricstage.com

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Edward Albee (March 12, 1928 - September 16, 2016) began writing plays in 1958. His plays include The Zoo Story (1958), The American Dream (1960), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1961-62, Tony Award), Tiny Alice (1964), A Delicate Balance (1966, Pulitzer Prize; 1996, Tony Award), All Over (1971), Seascape (1974, Pulitzer Prize), The Lady From Dubuque (1977-78), The Man Who Had Three Arms (1981), Finding The Sun (1982), Marriage Play (1986-87), Three Tall Women (1991, Pulitzer Prize), Fragments (1993), The Play About The Baby (1997), The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2000, 2002 Tony Award), Occupant (2001), Peter and Jerry: Act1, Homelife; Act 2, The Zoo Story (2004), and Me, Myself and I (2007). He is a member of the Dramatists Guild Council and President of The Edward F. Albee Foundation. Mr. Albee was awarded the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980, and in 1996 received the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. In 2005 he was awarded the special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Scott Edmiston (Director) returns to the Lyric Stage where he directed their award-winning production of My Fair Lady, named among the "Best Theatre of 2015" by the Wall St. Journal. Other Lyric Stage credits: Light Up the Sky, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Water by the Spoonful, Time Stands Still, My Name Is Asher Lev, Miss Witherspoon, The Scene, Lobby Hero, and Private Lives. He has directed more than 60 Boston-area productions at SpeakEasy Stage, American Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Opera Boston, Underground Railway Theatre, and New Rep, among others. Highlights include Long Day's Journey into Night, The History Boys, Casa Valentina, The Light in the Piazza, Reckless, Other Desert Cities, Nixon in China, Five by Tenn, In the Next Room or the vibrator play, A Marvelous Party, and Betrayal. Five of his productions have received Elliot Norton Awards as Outstanding Production or Musical, and he has received four Norton Awards and three IRNE Awards for his direction. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State, the StageSource Theatre Hero Award, and the Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence in Theatre. Scott is a Professor of the Practice and Chair of the Department of Theatre at Northeastern University.

Steven Barkhimer* (George) has appeared at the Lyric Stage in Warrior Class, Superior Donuts, The Underpants, and Book of Days. He is a Resident Acting Company member of the Actors Shakespeare Project, and has recently portrayed several versions of himself in Kate Snodgrass' plays, Bark's Dream and The Last Bark, both produced by Sleeping Weazel. Steven wrote the music and lyrics for Stoneham Theatre's recent musical, Lobstergirl, and is currently working on an adaptation of the classic Indian epic, Sakuntala. A director and playwright, he adapted The School for Scandal for the Actors Shakespeare Project, directed by Ms. Plum, and is the author of Windowmen (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding New Script; IRNE Award, Best New Play; Kennedy Center Award, Best New Play).

Paula Plum* (Martha) first appeared at the Lyric Stage in 1975 in Dial M for Murder, and has since appeared here in 33 Variations, The Goat or Who is Sylvia, Private Lives, Death of a Salesman, (IRNE Award, Best Actress), and Three Tall Women Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Blithe Spirit, Sideman, The Heiress, Mercy Seat, Miss Witherspoon, Three Tall Women and Death of a Salesman (IRNE Award, Best Actress). She is the recipient of five IRNE awards, the 2007 Eliot Norton Award for Best Actress, the 2004 Eliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence, and the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University. In 2009 she was one of five actors nation-wide to receive the Fox Actor Fellowship in association with SpeakEasy Stage. As a founding member of Actors' Shakespeare Project, she has played Cleopatra, Beatrice, Lady Macbeth, and Phèdre. She has appeared regionally at the Gloucester Stage Company, The American Repertory Theatre, the New Repertory Theatre, the Huntington Theatre, and Elm Shakespeare. Film credits include: Mermaids, Malice, Next Stop Wonderland, and Irrational Man directed by Woody Allen. Television: Science Court (three seasons ABC) and co-creator and star of "The Dick & Paula Celebrity Special" for FX. Ms Plum is a cum laude graduate of Boston University and has studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, the Dell'Arte Institute, and École Phillipe Gaulier, Paris. She has been published in American Theatre magazine and is married to actor Richard Snee.

Erica Spyres* (Honey) just appeared at the Lyric Stage in Company and Peter and the Starcatcher, and previously in Into the Woods, Avenue Q (IRNE Award), Time Stands Still, The Mikado, Big River, and Nicholas Nickleby. Next, she will be soloing with the Boston Pops for their Gershwin tour. Recent credits include the French premiere of Passion (Théâtre du Châtelet) and Once (first National Tour), Tribes (Elliot Norton Award), The Light in the Piazza (IRNE Award) (SpeakEasy Stage), Camelot (IRNE Award), Marry Me a Little, Master Class (New Rep), and Pirates! (Huntington Theatre). Erica coaches for My College Audition and can be seen and heard on commercials and voiceovers across the nation. ericaspyres.com

Dan Whelton* (Nick) previously appeared at the Lyric Stage in One Man, Two Guvnors. Other theatre credits include Million Dollar Quartet and A Long Day's Journey into Night, (The Majestic Theater), I Hate Hamlet (Playhouse on Park), A Christmas Carol (Hanover Theatre), Operation Epsilon (Nora Theatre, IRNE Award for Best Ensemble), I Capture The Castle (Stoneham Theatre), The History Boys (IRNE Award) (SpeakEasy Stage, IRNE Award for Best Ensemble), Take Me Out (Hartford TheatreWorks), The Learned Ladies of Park Ave (Hartford Stage), and Arsenic and Old Lace (Ivoryton Playhouse). Film credits include Patriot's Day and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Special thanks to my amazing wife Isabelle, and to our beautiful children, Lydia and Liam. Merci pour tout mes amour!! Je vous aime!!