Howard, Albee, and an All-Black Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

by Kimmarie McCrann

In 2001, a production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with an all-Black cast was performed for the first time at Howard University, under the direction of theater arts professor Vera J. Katz. Goldie E. Patrick was a rapt freshman student and audience member at this groundbreaking production. Now, 24 years later, Patrick is directing a fresh rendition of the play with a cast of Black actors—including one of the original Howard performers—at Portland Stage Company. Let’s take a look at what occurred back in 2001 to make the pioneering production come to fruition at Howard University.

Vera J. Katz has often been described as a “force of nature” and a powerful contributor to theater arts in higher education. Katz knew that she wanted to push boundaries and direct the first all-Black production of Virginia Woolf with a cast of strong student actors and professors at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) like Howard. Although not a Black woman herself, Katz is very connected to her Jewish identity and had been working extensively with Black students for many years. And Katz knew that in order to direct such a production, there would be some necessary script changes. In the original text, there are moments when characters in the play are described as “blond” and “blue-eyed.” Practically and dramaturgically, this wouldn’t work for the group of students that Katz was hoping to cast in the production. So, this tenacious professor wrote out a letter longhand to playwright Edward Albee himself and sent it to his agent, explaining her dilemma. Vera’s own husband said to her on the matter, “You’ll never hear from him.” Much to the Katzes’ pleasant surprise, Albee responded to Vera’s request by calling her directly, and excitedly agreed to make several script changes to allow the production to materialize.

The alterations that Albee mulled on and sent to Katz included changing the mentions of the “blue-eyed child” to the “dark-dusky child.” Additionally, Albee changed the names of several of the prestigious universities mentioned in the script, like MIT and UCLA, to HBCUs such as Howard University and the Tuskegee Institute. Albee also expressed to Katz his desire to visit Howard University and speak with the young actors. A visit was arranged, and Albee took the trip from his residence in New York to Howard in Washington, DC. Katz later described the encounter: “When he arrived, he insisted on shaking every actor’s hand and gave a brilliant lecture about the play.” She also noted Albee’s tour of the university’s campus, saying, “He was very knowledgeable of persons the dormitories and buildings were named for—Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Charles Drew, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Ira Aldridge. For me, he seemed to want to expand his awareness of the Black experience during this visit.” Albee was unable to attend the performance of Howard’s Virginia Woolf in the end because he was in production at the same time for another one of his plays, but Katz was sure to send him a copy of the program. Ashley C. Turner, the actor who is currently playing George in Portland Stage’s production, is actually the same person who played the role when he was a senior student at Howard University in 2001!

Who's AfrAid of VirginiA Woolf?

Despite Albee’s enthusiastic support of the Howard production, there have been several controversies regarding casting practices for Virginia Woolf over the years. For example, in May 2017, a production of the play with The Complete Works Project in Portland, Oregon, was denied licensing rights by the Albee estate when they cast a Black actor in the role of Nick. The estate, and Albee himself in the past, said that casting Nick as the only BIPOC actor would add a racist narrative to the story that he didn’t intend. The controversy made national news and sparked some outrage, and the Albee estate released a letter clarifying that multiple BIPOC actors could be cast, but not only one. Jonathan Lomma, Albee’s former agent who now oversees the playwright’s estate, provided the statement that clarified why the Oregon production had been denied. Lomma went on to say, “Virtually all of the roles can and should be done in a diverse, color-conscious fashion.” Lomma’s statement proves that the controversy was a general misconception and misunderstanding by the public on Albee’s morals. This letter, in addition to Albee’s 2001 visit to Howard University, shows how the playwright had always been encouraging of BIPOC actors playing Virginia Woolf’s roles, while still honoring the play’s narrative.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which already explores themes of classism and makes plentiful social and political commentary, gets an extra layer of meaning with a diverse cast and creative team at Portland Stage. Director Goldie E. Patrick has spent a lot of time in the rehearsal room facilitating conversations around the cu lture of Blackness in 1960s Virginia, institutional racism in higher education, and intergenerational conflict. One can safely assume that if Albee could see the production today, he would be quite proud of its depth and magnitude for our 2025 audience.