All About Books discussion

Our group play for the autumn season is by the Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright, Edward Albee. Albee's best known work is probably Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (made into an excellent film with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in 1966).

The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? is one of Albee's latest plays, first performed in 2002. That year it won the Tony for Best Play. Because it is a newer play, there are no free public domain ebook editions -- sorry!

Not available for my Kindle, but the paperback copies are cheap. I've sent for one, time to use a good light and a magnifier for this one!

Be prepared for some very dark humor/satire as well as some disturbing content. Parts of this on stage were drop dead hilarious though, and for me quite funny on paper too.

I have not read any Albee before so I hope to read more than one of his plays during this seasonal read.

Great Leslie!

I've just reserved a copy at my library

I read it yesterday & still don't know what to think about it! It's such a bizarre subject. I can't imagine watching it as a play.

I agree! I just read this in the sunshine of my garden and I'm not quite sure what to say about it! Very strange.

I do want to try Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? too, I've only seen clips of the film, but always meant to watch it.

Now I have to read it! I guess that's what I'll be doing tonight.

It seems I won't get hold of a copy of this in my library, but they do have Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, so I'll be going for that instead I think, as it'll still give me an introduction to the playwright.

I've just received my copy, but I won't be reading it for a couple of weeks yet.

Pink wrote: "I agree! I just read this in the sunshine of my garden and I'm not quite sure what to say about it! Very strange.

I do want to try Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? too, I've only seen ..."

The film is excellent, captures the claustrophobic atmosphere very well. Well worth watching.

I've reserved Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the library now, so I can watch the film afterwards.

Pam wrote: "I read it yesterday & still don't know what to think about it! It's such a bizarre subject. I can't imagine watching it as a play."

Yes Pam and Pink, extremely, extremely weird play! Did the humor come across on paper? It's hard for me to tell because I saw it performed before I read it so my reading experience must've been colored by that. When I saw it performed, the first half was very funny in an extremely inappropriate dark humor way. People were almost falling out of their seats laughing if you can believe it. The second half veers into the uncomfortable & (more) disturbing.

Come to think of it, on stage, there's an awful lot of dark humor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as well. Not sure if that comes across on paper well either? There are certain parts that always elicit a lot of laughter when performed because it's all so absurd and over the top. I think the movie came across as more dramatic, or am I mis-remembering?

My take: Albee's plays are very strange but not completely absurdist like Ubu Roi or the like. Albee's plays have a lot of biting human satire as well as dark human comedy, despite their absurdly heightened scenarios. I think there's a lot of true human darkness that comes across, a feeling of revelation. I suspect that's why The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? won the Tony and Critic's Circle awards. In some ways, Albee's plays work almost like good fables perhaps, along the lines of the Ugly Duckling story saying more about human behavior than actual ducks? The goat isn't really only a goat.

The Zoo Story is another really weird play by Albee that functions almost like a fable - absolutely brilliant in my opinion.

I loved this play. It is shocking and uncomfortable and a little sick but in some ways incredibly touching when you understand that the goat is a symbol. I thought it asked great questions...how do we love and forgive those who are different?

Katy wrote: "I loved this play. It is shocking and uncomfortable and a little sick but in some ways incredibly touching when you understand that the goat is a symbol. I thought it asked great questions...how ..."

I agree completely Katy, and with the over the top content he restores the difficulty of it .. not all difference is so easy to reconcile! It definitely was shocking, uncomfortable, and a little sick but also oddly touching as you say.

When I saw it performed, I really felt for both Martin and Stevie. The performances (view spoiler)[were heartbreaking toward the end. In the first half, the actor playing Martin delivered his lines in a mostly matter of fact way that the bizarre content made funny. In the second half, he played it in such a tortured/conflicted way that despite all good sense, it was hard not to feel sorry for him. And the very end was just shattering. (hide spoiler)]

I have just read this. Not entirely sure I understand it or what the goat really stands for.

I didn't really laugh but I want to try watch it if I can find a YouTube performance as I could see it being funnier performed.

I don't read enough plays to do a star rating.

Having just finished this, I now understand the "it's strange" comments much better!! I did find it funny in places & sad as well. I have some thoughts about what Albee was trying to say but need to mull it over some first.

I'm just starting this. On page 11. I'm amused by Martin correcting Ross for saying who instead of whom. It's taken me most of my life to decide that the content of what people say is more important than the grammar of it, and I now see how irritating and controlling it can be to correct grammar in general conversation!

I'm not reading the previous comments yet, because I want to come to this fresh, but just posting the quote from Shakespeare, which may or may not be significant:

http://www.poemtree.com/poems/WhoIsSy...

Just finished this. I thought it was very witty. It has good points to make about bigotry, acceptance, difference, love, families etc etc. My only concern is that it's not a play that would be seen or accepted by the people who most 'need' to understand re difference and acceptance.

I like the way that 'whom' reappears later in the play as a significant word.

Gill wrote: "I'm not reading the previous comments yet, because I want to come to this fresh, but just posting the quote from Shakespeare, which may or may not be significant:

http://www.poemtree.com/poems/Who..."

I know Albee must have been familiar with this sonnet so his choosing the name Sylvia (either as the playwright or through the character of Martin) is wonderfully ironic! Thanks for the link Gill.

Gill wrote: "I'm not reading the previous comments yet, because I want to come to this fresh, but just posting the quote from Shakespeare, which may or may not be significant:

http://www.poemtree.com/poems/Who..."

This is great Gill! I didn't catch this reference myself, but I do think as Leslie said that it's highly probable Albee was thinking of this. Thanks so much!

Gill wrote: "Just finished this. I thought it was very witty. It has good points to make about bigotry, acceptance, difference, love, families etc etc. My only concern is that it's not a play that would be seen..."

I agree Gill! And yes, as you say, the audience is quite limited - I think the vast majority would be put off by the content. The play was so funny and affecting on stage, but I was afraid even to recommend it to my close friends because it was impossible to know how they'd take it.

A couple interesting things from the staging I saw at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles several years ago:

It's interesting how Stevie in the final act actually (view spoiler)[destroys the set (hide spoiler)] throughout the act. The kickknacks in the living room (view spoiler)[were made of pottery, and the actress actually smashed them one by one. It made me flinch the first couple she smashed (hide spoiler)], such a primal feeling in that act.

And the final moment which really made me fearful to recommend it to most of my friends: (view spoiler)[the dead goat she brought out at the end was dripping blood and looked so disturbingly real. The anguish Martin expressed at that point, the poor dumb beast over her shoulders that must've had no idea what it had done, the raw justified fury in Stevie as she brought it out, so, so disturbing & affecting. It was almost hard to stand up after the play was over. All the laughing in the first act almost made it more crushing somehow. (hide spoiler)]

The play was so good on stage I would've gone to see it a second time, but unfortunately we saw it near the end of its run.

Leslie wrote: "Having just finished this, I now understand the "it's strange" comments much better!! I did find it funny in places & sad as well. I have some thoughts about what Albee was trying to say but need t..."

Definitely funny, sad, and strange Leslie.

I'm so glad some of the humor came across on paper. The delivery can be so important - I was worried from other comments that some of the humor was getting lost on paper. Of course, the first act still seems hilarious to me, but perhaps it's partly because I'm picturing the actors in my head as I read: their mannerisms, delivery, & expression.

I read another Albee play a few days ago -- his most famous one, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Albee does dysfunctional families so well!

I have seen the film with Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton (a marvelous movie) and I kept hearing the lines in their voices. I thought that this play read almost as well as it performs, which isn't always true for plays.

Maybe I should have picked this one as a group read but I wanted a more recent play in our lineup...

Leslie wrote: "I read another Albee play a few days ago -- his most famous one, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Albee does dysfunctional families so well!

I have seen the film with Elizabeth Taylor..."

I think it might have been more popular Leslie, though it's good to have some 'stretch' choices on occasion.

I wonder though if Who's Afraid read well for you partly because you've seen it performed (via the movie), the way I have with the Goat. Performances can make things a lot clearer/sharper I think, especially with dark humor.

The only Albee play I've read before I saw it performed was the one-act Zoo Story. I did love that one on paper; so I think I would've liked them all on omly paper too, but it's hard to un-remember the performances, especially when they're good.

Greg wrote: "I wonder though if Who's Afraid read well for you partly because you've seen it performed (via the movie), the way I have with the Goat. Performances can make things a lot clearer/sharper I think, especially with dark humor.
..."

I wondered about that after I commented. I suspect you are right Greg. I do think Albee's plays are very readable though, more than many other playwrights.

Leslie wrote: "I read another Albee play a few days ago -- his most famous one, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Albee does dysfunctional families so well!

I have seen the film with Elizabeth Taylor..."

I think this one was a much better choice, Leslie. It was good to encounter something entirely new.

Leslie wrote: "I wondered about that after I commented. I suspect you are right Greg. I do think Albee's plays are very readable though, more than many other playwrights. ..."

I agree Leslie!