Edward Albee celebrated by the Road Theatre Company
Listen to this articleFriday, September 16th 2016 Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize winning play The Play About The Baby made its West Coast premiere at the Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood, California. It was a truly extraordinary historic event in a very Edward Albee sort of way. For as it happened one of America’s most lauded and cherished playwrights, Edward Albee, departed the mortal plain earlier that same day. But as is true of all great artists he continues to live on stages around the world and for now particularly on the stage at the Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood.
The Play About The Baby is dark and chilling and supremely hilarious at the same time. It starts with a young couple very much in love. Soon the young woman gives birth to their baby. The two middle-aged people, a man and a woman mysteriously appear.
The woman announces to the audience that she is not an actress but claims that she is often very dramatic. The man presents a vast litany of diverse often humorous and often also dark thoughts and views. The young couple is at first perplexed by this inexplicable intrusion into to their lives. But their thoughts and feelings soon turn from confusion to fear and panic as the question begins to emerge, where is the baby?
In no other play to my knowledge has the truth of the concept that it is the journey and not the destination that rules the consciousness been so powerfully displayed. All four actors, Philip Orazio, Allison Blaze, Sam Anderson and Taylor Gilbert were all superb under the excellent direction of Andre Barron. But it became inescapably clear to me that Sam Anderson is a vastly talented performer at the pinnacle of his craft.
(Wikipedia)
The Play About The Baby may not be for everyone and it is definitely not for young children. But it is rich and compelling and will severely entertain most theatre goers. It runs now through November 5th at the Road Theatre, 10747 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, California.
Show times are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Reservations and ticketing are available by calling 818-761-8838 or online at: www.roadtheatre.org.
Photos by Michele Young unless otherwise noted.
Top photo (L-R): Philip Orazio, Allison Blaze,
Sam Anderson and Taylor Gilbert
Ron Irwin was born in Chicago, Illinois a long time ago. He served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, became a trial lawyer, TV and radio host, CEO of a public company and once held an Emmy. He never won an Emmy he just held one. Ron has written and published twelve books. His most important book to date is “Live, Die, Live Again” in which Ron tells of his early life and his unexpected and very temporary death in 2012. That experience dramatically refocused his life and within the pages of that book Ron reveals how he achieved a much healthier life, ridding himself of Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Failure. Now Ron enjoys writing about many things including health topics, travel [he has circled the globe several times], adventure, culinary experiences and the world of performing art. Ron’s motto is “Live better, live longer and live stronger because it feels great and annoys others.” Contact the author.