Albee is a three-time Pulitzer prize winner for "Delicate Balance" (1966), "Seascape" (1975) and "Three Tall Women" (1994), and only playwright Eugene O'Neill has won more Pulitzer Prizes. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1962), his most well-known drama, won a Tony award and was revived on Broadway last year. Known for absurdist drama and plays that offer critiques on American life, Albee was also awarded the National Medal of Arts by former President Bill Clinton in 1997.
When his work was first introduced to the public in the late 1950s, he was hailed as the successor to O'Neill and fellow playwrights Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. Albee has characterized his own work as "an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society ... a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen."
According to Susan Wright, executive director of the Montgomery Endowment, his visit should be much to the delight and enthusiasm of students and faculty across campus, particularly those involved in the English and Theater Departments.
"[The Montgomery Fellow is] someone who transcends departments, who's going to have an impact on many departments, many students and the entire community," Wright said.
Tickets are required for entry to Albee's lecture but are free for students. They will be available at the Hopkins Center Box Office on Tuesday.
Wright is currently in the process of planning Albee's schedule for his four days on campus, which will involve many opportunities to interact with the students. During his time on campus, Albee is slated to visit the English Department's American Drama class and work with student playwrights whose plays were selected for the Eleanor Frost Playwright Festival.
"We have been wildly excited to have, last spring, Wendy Wasserstein and this spring, Edward Albee," Wright said.
Many students on campus look forward to Albee's visit.
"I've always admired his works and think he's a phenomenal playwright, and I'm really looking forward to getting the chance to meet him or hear him speak," English major Amanda Rosenblum '07 said.
