Edward Albee, brilliant playwright, has died and American theater will never be the same
Edward Albee, playwright whose works include The Zoo Story, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia, died Friday at his home in Montauk, N.Y. He was 88.
The preeminent American playwright of his generation, his sharp, insightful, and exciting dramas helped usher in new eras of the modern stage, perhaps founding what eventually became known as Off Broadway theatre.
Joining the ranks of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Eugene O’Neill, Edward Albee’s work launched him into legendary status.
The Zoo Story (1958), about two distinct opposites who meet randomly on a park bench in Central Park, explored issues of isolation and loneliness. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf uncovered the secrets of a pair of affluent couples. The Goat or Who is Sylvia, about a love affair between man and beast, tackled taboos of love. In between these great works, he churned out a prolific amount of writing: about 30 or so total stage plays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWoAOohbr5M?feature=oembed
Theaters across the country are likely planning their tributes to Albee’s career, and actors and fans of the stage are voicing their mourning for Mr. Albee across the Twittersphere.
John Lithgow offers hope.
#EdwardAlbee is gone, last of the 20th Century Titans, but George & Martha, Agnes & Tobias, and all the others live on. Rest.
— John Lithgow (@JohnLithgow) September 17, 2016
Mercy Street actress Donna Murphy on the art of asking.
#EdwardAlbee Thank you for provoking my young mind/opening it up to how artful asking hard questions can be #Genius https://t.co/k7jnIPTjOt
— Donna Murphy (@DMurphyOfficial) September 17, 2016
Fargo actress Allison Tolman remembers his influence.
Once upon a time in college I workshopped a scene from #WAOVW with @Robert_Askins, and it changed me. Thank you #EdwardAlbee.
— Allison Tolman (@Allison_Tolman) September 17, 2016
Buffy actress Sarah Michelle Gellar shares her favorite Albee quote.
#RIP #EdwardAlbee what's your favorite quote? pic.twitter.com/anpoMbPOfy
— Sarah Michelle (@SarahMGellar) September 17, 2016
Activist and Scream actress Rose McGowan mourns the loss of another artist in 2016.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/776981891375390720
HIMYM actor Neil Patrick Harris mourns with his husband.
Edward Albee passed away. Prolific playwright, Pulitzer Prize winner, friend and mentor to my husband @Davidburtka. He will be missed. #RIP
— Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) September 17, 2016
Hamilton writer Lin-Manuel Miranda puts Albee's influence into poetry.
Edward Albee's body of work
sits on a park bench like Jerry in The Zoo Story,
waiting for you to engage with it and never be the same. #RIP— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) September 17, 2016
