Pittsburgh Public Theater's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' is a long, mind-bending journey

More than six decades after premiering on Broadway, Edward Albee’s modern classic “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” remains a little bit vicious, a big surprise and a real conversation piece for first-time audience members.

Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production, which runs through April 6, boasts excellent performances that bring Albee’s mind-bending script to life.

With one set and four actors, the three-act play that topped out at well over three hours, frankly, needed those performances. While the dialogue and plot are compelling, it’s a long trip for the audience to take in one space, Still, the puzzling amount of empty seats after Sunday afternoon’s second intermission left me wondering if the performance was too much of a marathon or if some had missed the memo about the third act.

Which, for the record, would be their loss.

“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is set in the mid-20th century in the home of middle-aged George (Daniel Jenkins), a college history professor, and Martha (Tasha Lawrence), his wife and the daughter of the college’s president. At the beginning of act one, they have returned at 2 in the morning from a Saturday night faculty party hosted by Martha’s father. After some seemingly good-natured sniping between the two, Martha reveals that she has invited a new, young professor and his wife over for a drink.

Enter Nick (Dylan Marquis Meyers) and Honey (Claire Sabatine), both in their late 20s. Nick is a biologist and, well, Honey really likes brandy. Let the games begin.

I am always conservative with spoilers, but I will be especially so in this case, since the hairpin turns of this play are so vital to its success. Suffice it to say this pair of mid-century couples are not what they seem — to the audience, to each other and maybe even to themselves.

Jenkins and Lawrence make an unbeatable duo. Lawrence is brash and undeniable, making the sometimes-intolerable Martha the play’s best character by sheer force of will. Jenkins is often fittingly professorial, with a mellifluous voice, all the more mesmerizing in the moments when he finally erupts. The two have the chemistry of an electrical fire — in a good way. The ping-pong of their biting rapport is the best part of the production.

Meyers has to navigate some of the script’s most challenging peaks and valleys, and he rode each wave naturally. He is especially impactful in the second act, believably incredulous, cocky, sincere, seductive and furious. Sabatine’s got a journey of her own to take, and you can’t help but be enchanted with the delicacy of her politely nervous and overly intoxicated Honey.

This is a pretty straightforward production, with a deceptively comfortable-looking living room set that is fully used by the actors (especially the small bar; I wish I’d started counting the number of drinks made at the beginning of act one, because it must be in the dozens). Director Pamela Berlin has the quartet in constant motion, crashing into and away from each other and bringing human brushstrokes to sometimes over-the-top dialogue.

Even with enduringly cutting themes, this is a very mid-20th-century story. The set by Jason Simms and costume design by Suzanne Chesney lend an appropriate sense of place and time, but also of class, occupation and family structure. Lighting (by Annmarie Duggan) and sound design (by Zach Moore) is suitably foreboding and atmospheric. And hopefully it’s not too revealing to say that Randy Kovitz had plenty to do as fight coordinator, and he made the physical stuff look nail-bitingly realistic.

This is not a play for everyone, no matter the production quality. The play, to put it briefly, is a lot. If you’re a big fan of the theater, this is a great opportunity to see a modern classic with a top-notch cast. But this may not be the gateway drug for newcomers, unless you want to do some dissection afterward. It’s a conversation starter, a study in terrific acting and a highly satisfying production. Just make sure to take advantage of both intermissions for bathroom breaks — you’ll be immersed in the twisty world of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” for awhile.

Pittsburgh Public Theater’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” runs through April 6 at the O’Reilly Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh. For tickets, visit ppt.org