Billboard Players to present ‘Virginia Woolf’

The Island Now

The Billboard Players of the Community Church of East Williston will perform Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

This is the first time that this play has been done on Long Island as a revival so far; however, it has seen a number of revivals on the Broadway stage, the last being with Bill Irwin and Kathleen Turner in 2012.  

Louis V. Fucilo, director for the Billboard Players, has decided to mount this production as theatre in-the-round because the play is rich with dialogue, and he wants the audience to concentrate on the lines that Albee has written as opposed to looking at the setting of a New England living room.

Fucilo said that when he spoke to friends who had seen the original production in 1962 with Uta Hagen, Arthur Hill, George Grizzard and Melinda Dillon about the title and its significance, he was told “it’s nothing more than a joke that’s laughed at during the play.”  

However, there is a direct correlation between Virginia Woolf and what is taking place in Albee’s play.

The cast consists of four very talented men and women who have appeared on many community theatre stages throughout Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

John Carrozza and Clare Lowell handle the roles of George and Martha, and in the roles of Nick and Honey are Chris Murtha and Kate Lenzo.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” opens at the Parish Hall of the Community Church of East Williston on Saturday, Nov. 7 and will run for a total of eight performances: Friday, Nov. 13 and 20 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 7, 14 and 21 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, November 8, 15 and 22 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 and $12 for senior adults.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, an optional dinner and theatre package will be offered for $25: dinner at 6:30 followed by the play at 8:00 p.m.

Reservations for this package must be made and paid for at least one week prior.

For reservations and/or further inquiries, please call 516-860-4424 or email ccewplays@gmail.com.

Share this Article