Arts & Entertainment

Albee's 'The Goat' opens at the Alley

By Charity Halphen
The Daily Cougar

In celebration of Edward Albeeis 75th birthday, the Alley Theater presents its premiere of his renowned 2001 Tony Award winner, The Goat or Who is Sylvia? on the Neuhaus Stage. The Goat is filled with the same level of intense humor and biting dialogue as its notorious 40-year predecessor, Whois Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, currently showing as a revival on the main stage of the Alley.

Powerfully poignant, <I>The Goat<P> addresses human morality and the separation of what we believe is reasonable and what society deems clearly taboo. The playis topic is almost indigestible at first.

Despite his perfect life -- married to his venerated wife Stevie (Elizabeth Heflin), being at the peak of his career as an architect and having a strong and supportive relationship with his gay teenage son Billy (Matt Hune) -- Martin (Todd Waite) falls in love with a goat named Sylvia and holds an extramarital affair with her for six months. 

Unquestionably horrific to his wife, son and best friend Ross (James Belcher), Martin defends his love affair with Sylvia as his supposedly faultless life crumbles beneath him.

Laughter jolts from the audience with almost every remark Stevie makes to attack her husbandis jaded love affair. However, Albeeis dialogue is geared so that the laughter catches in your throat with sensitive empathy as the reality hits: this woman is married to a man who loves a goat as much as he loves her. 

Heflin makes a heart-wrenching performance as she notes their fall. Her anger is intense as she performs the demanding verbal role contrasting that of Waiteis.

Waiteis character tries to rationalize the unexplainable in his delicately written role. Martinis quiet grief is evident as he is betrayed by his best friend, rejected by his wife and son and comes to realize that the genuine love he feels for Sylvia is soiled. Martin sees purity and connection in a farm animal; is there much wonder why no one else can identify with him? 

When the circumstance is ironic, Waite skillfully times the delivery of off-beat humor that couldnit be wittier. In the middle of all of the yelling and breaking, such extreme drama, these glints of repartee are where members of the audience can finally take a breath to snicker a bit. 

However, with nominal gestures and brief flickers of emotion that pass across his face, the spoil of his predicament registers severely. He knows that societal structures will bring his career and family down, but he deeply believes his love is true and scorn of the "bestiality" is absurd. 

Waite and Heflin bring the script to life in such believable clarity as the pain of everyone involved is explored. The play is no longer the joke that it appeared to be in the beginning. Pam MacKinnon cleverly directs <I>The Goat<P> into a play that deftly addresses acceptance and the confines of love. Like addressing interracial marriage in the 60is when it was frowned upon, <I>The Goat<P> hits on one of the few taboos that remain in our society.

Again, Albee challenges his audiences and asks questions rarely found in modern theater. Funny, abrasive, and undeniably bold, The Goat or Who is Sylvia is an intriguing play that is sure to leave watchers surprised if not slightly disgusted. 

The Goat or Who is Sylvia

Alley Theatre

Jan.22 to Feb. 16

 the verdict: The Goat is a suprising play that it funny, abrasive, bold and a little disturbing.

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