The Original Cast Recording of the 1962 Premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Available This Month

Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opened on Broadway in 1962, and in the winter of 1963, Columbia Records brought the original cast into the recording studio to perform the play. That recording will become available on 2-CD-R sets and for digital download for the first time on February 18 exclusively via MasterworksBroadway.com. The 2-CD-R sets will be available through Arkiv Music on March 18, and downloads through digital service providers will be available the same day.

The recording of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'s original cast includes Uta Hagen, Arthur Hill, Melinda Dillon, and George Grizzard. The newly available recording includes a booklet with original liner notes by Edward Albee and Goddard Lieberson, as well as a new essay by David Foil.

The original production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won the Tony Award for Best Play. In addition, Arthur Hill and Uta Hagen both won Tonys for their roles, and Alan Schneider won for best direction of a play. In 1963, the trustees of Columbia
University overruled the unanimous recommendation of the Pulitzer Prize drama jury and refused to award Albee's play the prize in drama that year, because of its portrait of a dysfunctional marriage and its scathing language.

To purchase the recording on Amazon, click here