Edward Albee is best known for his association with the movement of the 1950s and early 1960s, more popularly regarded as the theater of the absurd. Aside from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, his other famous plays are The American Dream, The Zoo Story and The Sandbox.
Early Life of Edward Albee
Born in Washington, D.C. on March 12, 1928, Albee was abandoned as a baby by his parents and adopted by a wealthy couple who owned a theatre chain. Despite the lavish environment he grew up in, he was unhappy. He attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut for a year.
Aged 20, Albee left home and settled in Greenwich Village, New York City. He took on various jobs. During this time, he also began to meet other authors, including Thornton Wilder and W.H. Auden. It was Wilder who suggested that he try his hand at plays.
The Playwright
Albee wrote his first play, The Zoo Story, when he was 30. He wrote it for just three weeks. The play failed to attract attention in New York, however, Albee's roommate sent a copy of it to a friend in Europe, where it had its premiere in 1959.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Albee's first full-length three-act play was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, produced when he was 34. Claimed to be his greatest success, it won him international fame and several awards. Like his other plays, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? centers on family relationships, in particular, the complex relationship between a history professor and his wife. The famous author Virginia Woolf has nothing to do with the story of the play.
Honors and Awards
Among other honors, Albee has won three Pulitzer Prizes – for A Delicate Balance in 1967, Seascape in 1975 and Three Tall Women in 1994.
Major Works by Edward Albee
- The Zoo Story, 1959
- The Sandbox, 1959
- The American Dream, 1960
- The Death of Bessie Smith, 1960
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 1962
- The Ballad of the Sad Café, 1963, adapted from Carson McCullers novela
- Tiny Alice, 1964
- Malcolm, 1965, adapted from James Purdy's novel
- A Delicate Balance, 1966
- Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1966
- Box-Mao-Box, 1968
- Seascape, 1975
- The Lady from Dubuque, 1977-1979
- Lolita, 1981, adapted from the novel by Vladimir Nabokov
- The Man Who Had Three Arms, 1981
- Marriage Play, 1986-1987
- Three Tall Women, 1994
- The Play ABout the Baby, 1996
- The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, 2002
- Peter & Jerry, 2004
Sources:
Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Edinburgh: Chambers, Harrap Publishers, 2002
Larousse Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring. New York: Larousse, 1994
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