Martha is down for the count as George easily wins all three rounds/acts in Steppenwolf's new production of Albee's masterpiece Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? While I greatly admired Amy Morton's performance in Steppenwolf's definitive production of the modern masterpiece August: Osage County, she seems completely miscast here, especially in comparison to the bully of a George portrayed by Tracy Letts (yes, the same man who wrote the aforementioned August: Osage County!). My first exposure to this play came rather late, with the most recent Broadway revival featuring Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin. Repeat exposure to the work has enriched not only my appreciation of the play itself, but also as to how incredible Turner's and Irwin's performances truly were (if only I could go back in time and see it again!). This uneven production moves on from Steppenwolf's Chicago home base to DC's Arena Stage next month.
A note about taking the Megabus to Chicago from STL: I loved it!!! For $11.50 total, I enjoyed a comfortable bus ride (it was only half full each way!) to and from Chicago all on the same day (the return trip was an overnighter). Steppenwolf's Woolf was the only play I was interested in seeing in Chicago right now so driving myself and paying for a hotel room seemed illogical, but the Megabus was the perfect solution. So perfect I'll be doing it again in March to see the Druid Theatre Company's touring production of The Cripple of Inishmaan and Stephen Schwartz's new version of his musical Working.
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