Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: 50th Anniv

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company are to bring their production of the play to Broadway, opening on 13 Oct 2012, exactly 50 years to the date after the play's original Broadway opening on 13 Oct 1962.

Directed by Pam MacKinnon, the Broadway production will feature the original Steppenwolf cast: ensemble member Tracy Letts and Amy Morton with Carrie Coon and Madison Dirks and will play at a Broadway venue still to be announced.

This production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? originally ran at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company (13 Dec 2010 - 13 Feb 2011) and then transferred to Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage (25 Feb - 10 Apr 2011).

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: On the campus of a small New England college, George and Martha invite a new professor and his wife home for a nightcap. As the cocktails flow, the young couple finds themselves caught in the crossfire of a savage marital war where the combatants attack the self-deceptions they forged for their own survival. Steppenwolf ensemble members Tracy Letts and Amy Morton face off as one of theatre's most notoriously dysfunctional couples in what many consider to be Albee's masterpiece.

The Broadway production will feature the original Steppenwolf creative team: Todd Rosenthal (set design), Nan Cibula-Jenkins (costume design), Allen Lee Hughes (light design) and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound design).

Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will be presented on Broadway by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Susan Quint Gallin and Mary Lu Roffe in association with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Artistic Director: Martha Lavey and Executive Director, David Hawkanson.

Richards and Frankel previously teamed up with Steppenwolf to present ensemble member Tracy Letts' Ton® and Pulitzer Prize-winning production of 'August: Osage County' and 'Superior Donuts' on Broadway. They are also producing Steppenwolf's production of the Pulitzer finalist 'Detroit' by Lisa D'Amour, directed by Steppenwolf ensemble member Austin Pendleton, set to open on Broadway this fall.

Bios:

Tracy Letts (George) joined the Steppenwolf ensemble in 2002. Previous Steppenwolf productions include 'American Buffalo,' 'Betrayal,' 'The Pillowman,' 'Last of the Boys,' 'The Pain and the Itch,' 'The Dresser,''Homebody/Kabul,' 'The Dazzle,' 'Glengarry Glen Ross' (also Dublin and Toronto), 'Three Days of Rain,' many others. Other productions include: 'Orson's Shadow' (Barrow Street Theatre, NY); 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' (Alliance Theatre, Atlanta); 'The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial' (A Red Orchid Theatre);' Conquest of the South Pole' (Famous Door); 'Bouncers' (the Next Lab).­ TV and film: "Guinevere," "U.S. Marshals," "Profiler," "Prison Break," "Seinfeld," "Home Improvement," many others. As a playwright, he is the author of 'Killer Joe,' 'Bug' (also screenplay), 'Man from Nebraska' (Pulitzer finalist), 'August: Osage County' (Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award for Best Play), 'Superior Donuts' and an adaptation of Chekhov's 'Three Sisters' to be presented during Steppenwolf's 2011/12 Season.

Amy Morton (Martha) is an actor, director and Steppenwolf ensemble member since 1997. Her Steppenwolf acting credits include: 'August: Osage County' (also Broadway, London and Sydney), 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (also Broadway), 'Betrayal,' 'Last of the Boys,' 'The Well-Appointed Room,' 'Berlin Circle,' 'The Royal Family,' 'Homebody/Kabul,' 'Three Days of Rain,' 'The Unmentionables,' 'Cherry Orchard,' 'The Time of Your Life' and many others. Directing credits include 'American Buffalo,' 'Our Country's Good,' 'The Weir,' 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,' 'Dublin Carol,' 'Topdog/Underdog,' 'We All Went Down to Amsterdam,' 'The Pillowman,' 'Love-Lies-Bleeding,' 'The Dresser' and 'Awake and Sing.' Before joining Steppenwolf, she was a member of The Remains Theatre Ensemble in Chicago for 15 years. She can be in seen in the films "Up in the Air," "Rookie of the Year," "8mm," "Falling Down" and "The Dilemma."

Carrie Coon (Honey) made her Steppenwolf debut in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In Chicago, she has appeared in 'Magnolia' (Goodman Theatre) and 'Bronte' (Remy Bumppo Theatre). Regional credits include: 'Blackbird' and 'reasons to be pretty' (Renaissance Theaterworks); 'Anna Christie,' 'Our Town,' 'The Diary of Anne Frank' (Madison Repertory Theatre); and four seasons with American Players Theatre.

Madison Dirks (Nick) Previous Chicago credits include: 'The Chosen' and 'Gary' (Steppenwolf Theatre); 'Girl,' '20' (Serendipity Theatre-L.A. remount); 'A Man For All Seasons' (TimeLine Theatre); 'The Last Supper' (Infusion Theatre); 'Hillbilly Antigone' (Lookingglass Theatre-U/S). Film/TV credits include: "According to Jim," "Public Enemies" and "The Dilemma."

Edward Albee's (Playwright) plays include 'The Zoo Story' (1958); 'The Death of Bessie Smith '(1959); 'The Sandbox' (1959); '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); 'Listening' (1975); 'Counting the Ways' (1975); '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); and 'Peter and Jerry: (Act 1, Homelife. Act 2, The Zoo Story.)' (2004). In 2005 Albee was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.

Pam MacKinnon (Director) is an OBIE Award winning New York-based director. Recent productions include premieres of the Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize winning 'Clybourne Park,' which was just awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Playwrights Horizons, OBIE award and Lortel nominations); Rachel Axler's 'Smudge' (Women's Project); and Cusi Cram's 'A Lifetime Burning' (Primary Stages); as well as Shakespeare's 'Othello' (Shakespeare Santa Cruz); and Gina Gionfriddo's 'Becky Shaw' (South Coast Rep). She is a longtime interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, having directed 'A Delicate Balance' (Arena Stage); 'The Goat or, Who's Sylvia?' (Alley Theatre and Vienna's English Theatre); and 'The Play About the Baby' (Philadelphia Theatre and Goodman Theatre); as well as premieres of 'At Home at the Zoo' (formerly called 'Peter and Jerry' at Hartford Stage and Second Stage); and 'Occupant' (Signature Theatre). Additional recent work includes premieres of Roberto Aguire Sacasa's 'Good Boys' and True (Steppenwolf Theatre); Itamar Moses' The Four of Us (Manhattan Theatre Club and Old Globe); Richard Greenberg's 'Our Mother's Brief Affair' (South Coast Rep); Jason Grote's 'Maria/Stuart' (Woolly Mammoth); Itamar Moses' 'Bach at Leipzig' (NYTW and Milwaukee Rep); Sheri Wilner's 'Father Joy' (Contemporary American Theatre Festival and Summer Play Festival); as well as productions of Bruce Norris' 'The Unmentionables' (Woolly Mammoth); Richard Dresser's 'Below the Belt' (ACT-Seattle); and David Mamet's 'Romance' (Goodman Theatre).