Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin Begin Five-City Tour of Virginia Woolf at Kennedy Center

Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin will begin a five-city tour of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on January 4 at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater in Washington DC. Irwin and Turner will reprise their starring roles as George and Martha, which they first played on Broadway and in London, joined by Kathleen Early as Honey and David Furr as Nick. The production is directed by Anthony Page.

The five-month, five-city tour will play the Kennedy Center through January 28. Other stops include the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles February 6-March 18, the La Salle Bank Theatre in Chicago March 27-April 8, a theater yet to be named in San Francisco April 11-May 12 and the Music Hall in Tucson May 15-20.

Turner earned the 2006 London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress in a Play and Irwin earned a 2005 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for their performances as Martha and George. The Broadway revival of Virginia Woolf received six 2005 Tony nominations including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Revival of a Play and Best Costume Design. That same year, Albee received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the theater. The production then went on to play the West End, where it earned strong reviews.

In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Irwin and Turner portray one of the most vivid couples ever written for the stage, George and Martha, for whom marriage is a battleground. Furr and Early portray the young academic couple who become blood sport during a booze-drenched party at George and Martha's home.

The production features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski and sound design by Mark Bennett and Michael Creason.