I went to see Edward Albee�s The Goat Friday night (his 2002 Tony Award winning play). I saw �Who�s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe� several times when I lived in NYC but I had never seen this one. The story was outrageous; the theme was the many ways of loving. In Edward�s words (from the program) �it�s about love, and loss, the limits of our tolerance and who, indeed, we really are.� One of my favorite lines was �I didn�t fall in love. I rose into love.� But the situation was so bizarre that the words are provocative. Falling in love, rising into love, not merely having sex. . . with a goat? and not feeling remorse or guilt, Martin, an architect, a loving husband and father, just turning 50, bringing down the structure of his home. . .
The deftly juxtaposed comic aspects�the sarcasm, the complicated play with words, the semantic confusions�with the gravity of the situation kept me alert (and laughing) as many layers of the play unfolded. The comic elements were relentless even as this family�s carefully constructed life dramatically crumbles and falls apart in front of us on stage. When we were young, my sister used to ask: �Is it funny ha-ha or funny peculiar?� This was both at the same time, which made the play challenging.
No one walked out on the production. That speaks well for the Halifax audience.
Posted by leya at April 11, 2005 08:28 PM