WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Begins Previews Tonight at Booth Theatre

Preview performances of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? begin this evening, Thursday, September 27, 2012, at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45th Street). Opening night is set for Saturday, October 13, 2012, exactly 50 years to the day of the play's original Broadway opening on Saturday, October 13, 1962.

One of America's most acclaimed theatre ensembles takes on one of the greatest plays of the 20th century in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Directed by Tony Award nominee Pam MacKinnon (Clybourne Park), the production will feature the original Steppenwolf cast led by Tracy Letts and Amy Morton, the playwright and the star of the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning smash hit August: Osage County. The two will face off as George and Martha, one of theatre's most notoriously dysfunctional couples in Albee's hilarious and provocative masterpiece. They will be joined by Carrie Coon and Madison Dirks as the unwitting young couple invited over to George and Martha's for an unforgettable night of cocktails and crossfire.

Tickets can be purchased at Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.

Tracy Letts (George) is an ensemble member and Artistic Associate at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. He last appeared at Yale Repertory Theatre in The Realistic Joneses, by Will Eno. Previous Steppenwolf credits include Penelope, American Buffalo (also the McCarter), Betrayal, The Pillowman, The Pain and the Itch, The Dresser, Homebody/Kabul, The Dazzle, Glengarry Glen Ross (also in Dublin and Toronto), Three Days of Rain, many others. Other Chicago credits include Bouncers and Fun & Nobody (Next Lab), 'Tis Pity She's a Whore and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (A Red Orchid Theatre), Conquest of the South Pole (Famous Door), many others. His only previous New York stage appearance was in Orson's Shadow at the Barrow Street Theatre. As a playwright, Mr. Letts is the author of Killer Joe, Bug, Man From Nebraska (Pulitzer finalist), August: Osage County (Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award for Best Play), and Superior Donuts.

Amy Morton (Martha) is an actor, director and member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. As an actor, she has appeared in over 30 productions for the theatre, and has appeared on Broadway in August: Osage County, (receiving Tony and Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress), as well as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Film credits include: Up In the Air, The Dilemma, Rookie of the Year, 8mm, Falling Down, and the soon to be released independent feature film, Bluebird for Killer Films. She appears throughout Season 2 in the Starz series, "Boss." Directing credits at Steppenwolf include, Penelope, Clybourne Park, American Buffalo (also at McCarter Theatre), Glengarry Glen Ross (also at the Dublin and Toronto Theatre Festivals), The Pollowman, Dublin Carol (also at Trinity Rep Theatre), Topdog/Underdog (also at The Alley Theatre) and many others. Other directing credits: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the ALLIANCE THEATRE and Awake and Sing! at Northlight Theatre. Prior to joining Steppenwolf, Amy was a member of The Remains Theatre Ensemble for 15 years.

Carrie Coon (Honey) is honored to make her Broadway debut. Regional theater credits include: Three Sisters, The March (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Arena Stage); The Girl in the Yellow Dress (Next Theatre Company); The Real Thing (Writers' Theatre); Magnolia (Goodman Theatre); Bronte (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company), Reasons to Be Pretty, Blackbird (Renaissance Theaterworks); The Diary of Anne Frank, Anna Christie, Our Town (Madison Repertory Theatre); and four seasons with the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Television and film credits include The Playboy Club, various commercials and One in a Million. A native of Copley, Ohio, she received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Madison Dirks (Nick). Broadway debut. Previous stage credits include: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Steppenwolf Theatre/Arena Stage), The Chosen and Gary (Steppenwolf Theatre); Girl, 20 (Serendipity Theatre-L.A. remount); A Man For All Seasons (TimeLine Theatre); The Last Supper (Infusion Theatre); Hillbilly Antigone (Lookingglass Theatre-u/s). Film and TV credits include: "Chicago Fire" (NBC), "According to Jim" (ABC), "The Chicago Code" (FOX), Public Enemies and The Dilemma. Madison is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a graduate of Louisiana State University. In Loving Memory of David Dirks.

Pam MacKinnon (Director) received Tony and Lortel nominations and an Obie Award for direction of Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park (Playwrights Horizons, Taper, Broadway). Recent credits include: Horton Foote's Harrison, TX (Primary Stages); David Bar Katz's Atmosphere of Memory (Labyrinth); Itamar Moses' Completeness (Playwrights Horizons, SCR) and The Four of Us (MTC, Old Globe) and Bach at Leipzig (NYTW); David Weiner's Extraordinary Chambers (Geffen); Rachel Axler's Smudge (WPP); Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (Old Globe); Bruce Norris' The Unmentionables (Woolly Mammoth). She is a frequent interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, having directed At Home at the Zoo (formerly Peter and Jerry, Second Stage, Hartford); Occupant (Signature); A Delicate Balance (Arena); The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (Alley, Vienna); The Play About the Baby (Philadelphia, Goodman); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Steppenwolf, Arena) She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Directors' Lab and the Drama League and board chair of the downtown theater company Clubbed Thumb, Inc. committed to new American plays.

Edward Albee (Playwright) was born on March 12, 1928, and began writing plays 30 years later. His plays include The Zoo Story (1958); The Death of Bessie Smith (1959); The Sandbox (1959); The American Dream (1960); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1961-62, Tony Award); Tiny Alice (1964); A Delicate Balance (1966, Pulitzer Prize, 1966 Tony Award); All Over (1971); Seascape (1974, Pulitzer Prize); Listening (1975); Counting the Ways (1975); The Lady From Dubuque (1977-78); The Man Who Had Three Arms (1981); Finding the Sun (1982); Marriage Play (1986-87); Three Tall Women (1991, Pulitzer Prize); Fragments (1993); The Play About the Baby (1997); The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2000, 2002 Tony Award); Occupant (2001); and At Home At the Zoo: (Act 1, Homelife; Act 2, The Zoo Story.) (2004); Me, Myself and I (2010). He is a member of the Dramatists Guild Council and president of the Edward F. Albee Foundation. Mr. Albee was awarded the Gold Medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980. In 1996 he received the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. In 2005 he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.