Edward Albee's
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Performance Dates:
June 13, 14, 20, 21 @ 7:30pm
June 15, 22 @ 5:00pm
NOTE: Due to mature themes and language, this production is recommended for audiences age 16+.
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC,
servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)
Marriage is a blood sport ~ and the living room is the arena.
Late one night, after a faculty party, George and Martha—an aging academic and his sharp-tongued wife — invite a younger couple, Nick and Honey, over for drinks. What begins as small talk quickly unravels into something far more unhinged. Throughout the night, secrets are spilled, illusions are torn apart, and the line between entertainment and emotional warfare disappears. Everyone becomes a little more exposed than they bargained for.
Edward Albee's Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is known for its emotional intensity, but what makes it so enduring is how funny and disarmingly familiar it is. These characters are messy, clever, sometimes cruel, and deeply human. Beneath the biting sarcasm and mind games, there’s a story about disappointment, identity, and the complicated ways people try to connect when they’re falling apart.
This site-specific production unfolds inside Bissel’s End, an actual home. The audience is in the room with the characters — close enough to feel the tension and flinch at the humor. That intimacy turns the play into something raw and immersive. You might laugh, squirm, or recognize something of yourself in the chaos.
Setting: The living room of a house on the campus of a small New England college.
ACT ONE
FUN AND GAMES
ACT TWO
WALPURGISNACHT
ACT THREE
THE EXORCISM
Director's Note:
Every production has its origin story. For this one, serendipity definitely played a big part in bringing us together to support the founding of The Arts at Bissell's End. What a perfect opportunity to showcase a home-based arts space with a piece that takes place in none other than - a home! Talented friends came together with excitement, momentum, and ever-growing enthusiasm. Our production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? quickly took shape.
What makes this production special isn’t just the location, although that certainly brings its own kind of magic. We have an extraordinary cast and creative team: dedicated, skilled, and passionate about bringing Albee’s fierce, funny, and deeply human play to life. Their professionalism and artistry deserve a spotlight, even if it’s one borrowed from the dining room.
There’s something wonderfully intimate about seeing this play in a living room. The walls are closer. The emotions feel less like a performance and more like something unfolding right in front of you: immediate, inescapable, and real. In a way, it’s a return to how theater began. People gathering together, sharing a story, letting themselves be drawn in.
We’re grateful to share this with friends, family, and neighbors, many of whom have supported us not just tonight, but throughout the process. Your presence and your donations help keep this kind of theatre alive: personal, daring, and woven into the fabric of our community.
Thank you for taking a seat in our living room. We’re glad you’re here.
Enjoy the show,
Debra Lee Failla
With thanks to the following individuals and organizations for your help and support of this production:
Pamme Jones & The Ridgefield Theater Barn, Lou Ursone & Curtain Call Inc., Markiss Jackson, Miran Robarts, Justin Ballheim, Carol Foley, Dean Kapica, John M. Failla, Chad Hudson, Rodney Loren, Silvermine Community Association, Rose Lanard, Irene Corsaro
Meet the Cast & Production Team
Martha
Amanda Bloom
Amanda is thrilled to be revisiting Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? after playing Martha at Harrison Players (Harrison, NY) in 2023. The play is her second experience with Albee, having played Mommy in The American Dream in an unoccupied bar space at Vassar College some time in the 1990s. Other more recent roles include POTUS (Harriet) at Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack, NY; Stage Kiss (She) and Picnic (Rosemary Sydney), also at Harrison Players; and Assassins (Sara Jane Moore) at Curtain Call in Stamford.
George
Danny Charest
Danny is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and has performed in some 101 productions in his many years on the stage. Some of his previous roles have been, The Emcee in Cabaret, Sam Byck in Assassins, Whizzer in the Falsettos, Richard in Lion In Winter, Col. Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men. All his Love to his family for their unending support. Here's looking at you kid!
Honey
Cara Kramer
Cara is so excited to be part of The Arts at Bissell's End's inaugural production! Favorite roles include Hodel (Fiddler on the Roof), Emma Goldman (Assassins), and Baker's Wife (Into the Woods). Favorite ASM/PA credits include Ghost, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Something Rotten. As a teaching artist, she has worked with children ages 6-18 at various performing arts centers and schools in the tristate area. BA Theatre Performance/Technical Theatre, High Point University; MSed Educational Theatre, City College of New York.
Nick
Ethan Parsons
Ethan is excited to perform such a unique show in such a unique space with some of the most talented people he knows. Recent credits include Assassins (Leon Czolgosz), A Few Good Men (Lt. Jonathan Kendrick), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Gerry).
Director
Debra Lee Failla
Deb has directed theater for over 30 years across NY and CT since earning her BA in Theatre from Penn State. Notable credits include A Few Good Men, Assassins, The Elephant Man, Rent, The Pillowman, and award-winning productions of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Next to Normal and The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged). She’s thrilled to launch Bissel’s End’s first production and dedicates it to Larry — with love to RJ and John, who let her keep doing what feeds her soul.
Stage Manager
Kat Tracy
Kat is thrilled to be making her SM debut with such a fabulous cast and creative team. She’s worked on and off stage in theaters from Connecticut to Switzerland and has a fondness for immersive theatre, emotional chaos, and overthinking prop procurement. She’s grateful to this extraordinary cast and team for their trust, talent, and the wildly entertaining descent into madness.
Additional Credits:
Rebecca Borowick - WAVW Graphic Design & Social Media
Andrew Frederick - 'Fire'arms Master