`damn Yankees' To Light Up Kirby Stage 
Play Ball! 
It May Not Be Springtime Quite Yet, But Anyone At The F.m. Kirby Center On 
Feb. 21 Will Welcome An All-time Favorite Sport And A Great Broadway Play, All 
In The Same Evening.

2 Luzerne County Men Indicted On Drug Charges

By BOB NOCEK; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Friday, January 30, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1C 





SCRANTON- Those who know "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" often describe
the Edward Albee play as disturbing, unsettling, haunting. It is a work that
offers, unquestionably, some grim prospects. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But director Donna Kaz, a New Yorker making her debut with The Northeastern
Theatre Ensemble, sees far more than just the misery in the lives of George
and Martha, the couple whose marriage Albee explores in his Pulitzer
Prize-winning play. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "George and Martha are hysterically funny," said Kaz. "They're very funny,
extremely intelligent, very witty. They have a problem. But I think people can
relate to some of their problems, certainly. And I think the joy of seeing
this as a piece of theater is getting to know them." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They are a compelling couple, indeed. He a university history professor,
she the daughter of the university's president. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They share a fondness for alcohol and bitter verbal jabs, sometimes
playful, sometimes not. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And they share a secret that demonstrates the true depths of their
dysfunction. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When this play came out, it broke a lot of taboos in the theater that
aren't there anymore," said actress Andria Laurie. "On the other hand, there
are still some shocking things in it- just the way these two (George and
Martha) go at each other for the jugular. I think it's shocking to watch, even
though we may have an inkling that people behave that way." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's like being at a party with a bunch of drunken people that you don't
want to be with, and you can't get out," said Kaz. "That's what's
uncomfortable about it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To bring "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" to TNT's Shopland Hall in the
Scranton Cultural Center (where it opens tonight), Kaz has assembled a cast of
top-shelf professional actors from New York. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Edward J. Cunningham, whose classical background includes "Othello" and "Of
Mice and Men," plays George. As Martha is Judy Rhodes, a member of the Actors
Ensemble in Columbia University's directing and playwriting program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Their guests, Nick and Honey, are played by Brad Fairbanks, who appeared on
Broadway in "Inherit the Wind," and Laurie, whose film "Three Dogs" is on the
film festival circuit this year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Taking a break from rehearsals in Scranton this week, the four agreed that
"Virginia Woolf" is a modern masterpiece. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I had done it in college," said Rhodes. "I re-read it again before I
auditioned for it, and I was just amazed at how that toxicity just leapt off
the page at me. It's very engaging, because it's so human. And the stakes are
really high." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There is a perception, particularly among those who remember the
outstanding film that featured Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, that
"Virginia Woolf" is a three-hour shouting match. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 What is often forgotten is the humor, the intellect, the rare tenderness.
"Virginia Woolf" is more than just misery, even if it's only a mask. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The reality of their lives is extremely painful," said Kaz. "But like must
of us do, they deny their pain and stuff their pain and deal with it in other
ways- through humor, intellect and game playing. Then, when the impact of the
real pain does come out, it's 100 times greater." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 WHAT: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," presented by The Northeastern
Theatre Ensemble. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 WHERE: Shopland Hall, Scranton Cultural Center, North Washington Av

`virginia Woolf' More Than Just Misery