Artist Profile: Edward Albee

A young Edward Albee smiling with his arms crossed on a desk.

Edward Albee, photograph courtesy of the UH Photographs Collection

Albee’s Life and Works

Edward Albee (1928-2016) was an American dramatist whose career spanned more than five decades. His works used modern techniques to subvert classical structures in order to create a shocking yet familiar atmosphere. This technique forces audiences to focus fully on the characters and actions happening in the moment, as the usual dramatic structures or perceived style has been changed. Each of Albee’s plays touch on human desire and how the deepest desires of a person often fall outside of what is considered “normal.” He explores this idea throughout the different landscapes of his plays, sometimes focusing on love, isolation, sexuality, or all three at once.

Sketch of Edward Albee by Reginald Gray for the New York Times.

Albee’s works are undeniably influenced by his personal experiences. He was adopted by the Albee family, a wealthy couple, and never knew his birth parents. In interviews, he would often discuss how he was “relieved” to find out that he was adopted as he “never felt as though [he] belonged.” Albee often stated that he knew two things about himself from the time that he was a young child: that he was gay and that he was a writer. These facts caused tension with his adoptive parents. He rebelled against the elite lifestyle that the Albee’s provided, and was kicked out of three separate private preparatory schools before finally managing to graduate.

Eventually, Albee embraced his desire to write. He quickly determined that college life was not for him, and so dropped out and moved to Greenwich village. For the first time in his life, Albee was surrounded by individuals who were not actively against his identity. He soon gained success with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and no longer had to rely on odd jobs to support him while he wrote. Shortly after this, he established the Edward F. Albee Foundation in Montauk to provide a writer’s retreat to help newer artists develop their work. During this time, Albee had renounced all contact with his family and the life he had known growing up.

Albee remained estranged from his parents until after his father’s death, though he did eventually rekindle a relationship with his mother. Nothing had changed in her mind or worldview about his lifestyle, and this continued to stifle their bond. Shortly after her death, Albee wrote Three Tall Women, which chronicled a fictionalized version of her life and her relationship with Albee. Often regarded as his most autobiographical work, Three Tall Women won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1994.

Production photograph of BTGs 2017 production of At Home at the Zoo.

Joey Collins and David Adkins in Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo (Zoo Story), 2017. Photo by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

Albee’s theatrical career is shaped by critical and commercial peaks and valleys. Both the beginning and ending of his career were marked with critical and commercial success. For a brief period in the 1970s, Albee lost favor with both the commercial and critical audience. This was short lived, and Albee firmly believed that his comeback was due to his unwavering conviction in the value of his work, “plays that were written during that period…were all of them just as interesting in their own different ways as anything I’ve written before or since,” Albee stated in an interview with The Telegraph in 2011. He believed that “You can’t worry about whether you’re fashionable, because then you stop writing like yourself.” Edward Albee’s plays address a deep, and often dark, part of humanity. This fearlessness in his works has solidified his place in Theatre History as a seminal American Playwright.

 

Albee at BTG

Albee’s works have been part of the production history at Berkshire Theatre since the 1980s. 2019’s The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? marks the fourth production of an Albee work at BTG; A Delicate Balance was produced in 1986 and 2010 and At Home at the Zoo (Zoo Story) was produced in 2017.

Production photograph of BTG's 1986 production of A Delicate Balance.

(L to R) Holland Taylor, George Grizzard, Kim Hunter, and Pamela Payton-Wright in A Delicate Balance, 1986, photo credit Walter Scott.

A Delicate Balance is still as relevant today as when it was written and produced. Albee’s play centers around the idea that the lives people build are one revelation or reveal away from toppling. This idea can be seen in many of Albee’s plays. Often his plays center around a seemingly normal family unit, so familiar that the family could be your own. Slowly, cracks are revealed and the lives that seemed perfectly “normal” at the beginning slowly disintegrate. Reality, harsh and cruel, creeps in. Of course, the point here is that even after the revelations and secrets have been revealed, the family could be your own.

The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, currently running at The Unicorn Theatre, examines this idea and takes it to the extreme. The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? at its core, is about love, loss, and isolation. It examines what happens when one’s passion, their desire, is the very thing that alienates them from those they love. While Albee’s methods may be extreme, his message is remarkably relatable.

 

Now Playing

Edward Albee’s
The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?
Directed by Eric Hill

May 24–June 15
at The Unicorn Theatre
Featuring: David Adkins, Jennifer Van Dyck, Josh Aaron McCabe and Evan Silverstein

Tickets: $56

**Recommended for adult audiences only. Children under 12 will not be admitted.**

Plan Your Visit

Read our suggestions on where to dine, and where to hang your hat.

Get Started
Did You Know?
Just like NPR, Berkshire Theatre Group depends on the generous giving of its members!
Join Today!
We believe the performing arts can transform a community.
Learn More
Of the 16,000 Berkshire County school children, we serve 13,000 through our BTG PLAYS! Year-Round Educational Programs.
Learn More
Theatre is the place where we go to understand what lies in the human heart.
About Us
BTG's buildings, on two campuses in Stockbridge and Pittsfield, are historic treasures.
Theatre Info
Berkshire Theatre Group believes that the creative arts encourage freedom of speech and debate.
Get Involved
"Out of need will come the way. Once the pandemic ebbs, whenever that is, there will be an incredible need to gather again." - Artistic Director, Kate Maguire
Join Today!
The theatre has existed from the time of the Greeks. We will go on.
Learn More
Join Our Mailing List

Receive the latest BTG News, Updates, Special Offers, and more right to your inbox.

Subscribe

News & Articles

From the Archive: Eva LeGallienne

By: Katie Birenboim (She/Her/Hers)   Devoted fans of BTG may gasp to discover that until doing a first round of research in the amazing BTG archives, I had never heard … Read On

Don't miss Lady Supreme, an immersive celebration of the music, style, and legacy of Diana Ross, at The Colonial Theatre this Saturday night!

Purchase your tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org and experience breathtaking, spot-on renditions of Diana Ross’ greatest hits by singer Deanna Carroll and an elite ensemble of singers and musicians!
13 0
HYPROV, returning THIS SATURDAY to The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, promises a hilarious, imaginative and utterly unpredictable night of comedy, starring improv legend Colin Mochrie and master hypnotist Assad Mecci!

Get your tickets at berkshiretheatre.org today before its too late!
19 0
Thank you to Mr. Shaun Kennedy and Morris Elementary School in Lenox, MA for the warm welcome for the cast and crew of the 2024-2025 BTG PLAYS! Touring Show production, Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon, before their performance at the school last Friday. Our pirate crew is appreciative of all of you! 🦜💙

Magic Tree House On Stage
48 0
Time is running out to purchase tickets to The Corvettes Doo Wop Revue, performing the greatest hits from the golden era of 1950s Doo Wop LIVE at The Colonial Theatre THIS SUNDAY!

Don't delay! Purchase tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org.
10 0
BTG is saddened to know that Alan Filderman passed away on March 19. For many years, he was the casting director for Berkshire Theatre Group. In 2020, with choreographer Gerry McIntyre, he directed Godspell in the height of the Covid pandemic under a tent outdoors at The Colonial Theatre. As someone once said, "Everything's more fun with Alan." Alan Filderman loved the theatre, whatever stage door through which he has now passed, may he find peace.
129 8
Looking for summer vacation plans? BTG is once again offering one-week summertime theatre class sessions for young actors in Grades 1-8 from June through August! To register for classes ($500/session. Need-based scholarships are available), please email Allison Rachele Bayles at allison@berkshiretheatre.org. 

2025 Summertime Classes Schedule:
• June 23-27 - The Garage at The Colonial Theatre (Grades 4-6)
• July 7-11 - The Garage at The Colonial Theatre (Grades 1-3)
• August 4-8 - The Garage at The Colonial Theatre (Grades 4-6)
• August 11-15 - The Unicorn Theatre (Grades 1-3)
• August 18-22 - The Garage at The Colonial Theatre (Grades 6-8)

To learn more, please visit https://www.berkshiretheatregroup.org/performing-arts-for-young-people/#summertime-classes
16 0
LAST CHANCE to purchase your tickets to The Best of the 70s, performing LIVE this Saturday, March 22 at The Colonial Theatre! Experience the greatest decade of music like never before with hits by Elton John, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and many more.

Don't delay! Purchase tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org.
12 0
This past Saturday, the mighty cast of BTG's Matilda The Musical JR. began rehearsals for their upcoming performances this April at The Colonial Theatre. All of us at BTG are thrilled to see the strength and magic all these young actors will bring on stage! ✨

(Photo by Caelan Carlough)
97 2
On March 22 at The Colonial Theatre, come see why audiences are praising The Best of the 70s as "amazing from start to finish!” The show is brought to life by the dynamic band DizzyFish, joined by the legendary Uptown Horns, creating an experience that will have you singing and dancing along to every song!

Get your tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org.
12 0
Take a spectacular trip back to the greatest decade of music with The Best of the 70s at The Colonial Theatre on March 22 at 7:30pm! Featuring DizzyFish and The Uptown Horns, this electrifying celebration features the timeless hits of Neil Young, The Beatles, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and many more.

Get your tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org.
12 0
David Adkins and Mike Wartella, along with all of us at BTG, would like to thank all of those who joined us for each session of BTG's Acting Through Song workshop, which concluded last Sunday! 🎵

Keep on singing loud and stay tuned for more workshop and education opportunities in the future!
86 3
We remember Gene Hackman.

Our 1966 season opened with Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, directed by Arthur Penn, and featuring Anne Bancroft, Alvin Epstein, Estelle Parsons and, the youngest and least well known member of the company, Frank Langella. The only new play of the 1966 season was Murray Schisgal’s Fragments, with two old friends and former roommates who had both just completed making films that were to change their lives: Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. A year later Dustin would receive an Oscar nomination for The Graduate and Gene would receive one for Bonnie and Clyde.
50 2
UPDATE for participants of the Acting Through Song workshop! ✨ The
second day of the workshop has been postponed to this Sunday, February 23 at The Colonial Theatre, and we are excited to have you all back to continue to grow your acting and singing skills!

If you can no longer attend on this date, please let us know by emailing
allison@berkshiretheatre.org to give those on our waitlist a chance to attend.
53 0
Today on Monday, February 17, BTG's offices are closed in observance of Presidents' Day. We'll see you soon in the theatre!
20 0
BTG has announced 6 brand new shows for the late spring and early summer season, and they are all ON SALE NOW! From crowd favorites like Pink Floyd's The Wall, to BTG Plays! spring production of Matilda JR., to Bob Marley's legendary band, The Wailers, we have something for everyone! ✨

Plan ahead and grab your tickets today at berkshiretheatre.org.
78 0
Follow Us