Town Players of Newtown this week announced “circumstances beyond our control” have led to “the difficult decision” to delay the opening of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The announcement was accompanied by the news that two performances have been added to the schedule.

Originally scheduled to open tonight, the production will instead open Sunday, September 21. That first show is already sold out, however, according to the September 16 announcement from the Orchard Hill Road community theater.

Also originally planned to close following its October 5 matinee, the show will now run to Saturday, October 11.

A classic American drama first staged in October 1962, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? examines the complexities of the marriage of middle-aged George (being played for Town Players by Aaron Kaplan), an associate professor of history, and his wife Martha (Erica Lynne Evelti), the daughter of the president of the college where George teaches.

After the couple returns home late one evening from a faculty party, Martha reveals she has invited a young married couple she met at the party, Nick and Honey (Andrew Blanchard and Amy Strachan, respectively), over for a drink.

As the alcohol flows, Martha and George engage in scathing verbal abuse of each other in front of Nick and Honey. Although the interactions embarrass the younger couple, they decide to stay, and are inexorably drawn into Martha and George’s bitter and frustrated relationship.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won both the 1963 Tony Award and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. It has been frequently revived on the modern stage, notably in an acclaimed 2005 Broadway production featuring revisions by playwright Edward Albee, which is the version Town Players of Newtown will present.

Tickets are now available for Friday and Saturday evenings, September 26-27 and October 3-4 and 10-11, at 8 pm; and Sundays, September 28 and October 5, at 2 pm.

All seats are $30. Senior citizens will receive $5 cash back at the door for tickets purchased online or a $5 discount on tickets purchased at the door. The theater is at 18 Orchard Hill Road.

Those who had tickets reserved for September 19-20 should hear from the theater.

For additional information or reservations visit newtownplayers.org.

‘Country House’ Auditions Planned

Meanwhile, Town Players are also looking ahead to the next show of the season, a production of Donald Margulies’s The Country House.

Auditions have been scheduled for a December presentation to be directed by Terry Sagedy.

In his 2014 work, Margulies introduces audiences to a brood of famous and longing-to-be-famous creative artists who have gathered at their summer home during the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

When the weekend takes an unexpected turn, everyone is forced to improvise, inciting a series of simmering jealousies, romantic outbursts, and passionate soul-searching. Both witty and compelling, The Country House provides a piercing look at a family of performers coming to terms with the roles they play in each other’s lives.

All roles are available; breakdowns are available at newtownplayers.org (click on Audition Notice on the landing page).

Auditions are planned for Sunday and Monday, September 28-29, 7-9 pm both nights.

Read through date and the rehearsal schedule will be shared at auditions. Those planning to audition are asked to bring with them a list of calendar conflicts through opening night.

Performances are planned for weekends, December 5-20, including two Sunday matinees.

For additional information send email to info@newtownplayers.org.