{"product_id":"cocktails-with-george-and-martha-movies-marriage-and-the-making-of-whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf-9781635579628","title":"Cocktails with George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Very smart and entertaining . . . dishy-yet-earnest . . . Gefter shows why \u003ci\u003eWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?\u003c\/i\u003e hit the '60s like a torpedo.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e-\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eNPR, Fresh Air\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Raucous, unpredictable, wild, and affecting.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e-\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn award-winning writer reveals the behind-the-scenes story of the provocative play, the groundbreaking film it became, and how two iconic stars changed the image of marriage forever.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom its debut in 1962, Edward Albee's \u003ci\u003eWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?\u003c\/i\u003e was a wild success and a cultural lightning rod. The play transpires over one long, boozy night, laying bare the lies, compromises, and scalding love that have sustained a middle-aged couple through decades of marriage. It scandalized critics but magnetized audiences. Across 644 sold-out Broadway performances, the drama demolished the wall between what could and couldn't be said on the American stage and marked a definitive end to the \u003ci\u003eI Love Lucy \u003c\/i\u003e1950s. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Then, Hollywood took a colossal gamble on Albee's sophisticated play-and won. Costarring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the sensational 1966 film minted first-time director Mike Nichols as industry royalty and won five Oscars. How this scorching play became a movie classic-surviving censorship attempts, its director's inexperience, and its stars' own tumultuous marriage-is one of the most riveting stories in all of cinema. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Now, acclaimed author Philip Gefter tells that story in full for the first time, tracing \u003ci\u003eWoolf\u003c\/i\u003e from its hushed origins in Greenwich Village's bohemian enclave, through its tormented production process, to its explosion onto screens across America and a permanent place in the canon of cinematic marriages. This deliciously entertaining book explores how two couples-one fictional, one all too real-forced a nation to confront its most deeply held myths about relationships, sex, family, and, against all odds, love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePhilip Gefter \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of \u003ci\u003eWhat Becomes a Legend Most: The Biography of Richard Avedon\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eWagstaff: Before and After Mapplethorpe\u003c\/i\u003e, which received the 2014 Marfield Prize for arts writing; and an essay collection, \u003ci\u003ePhotography After Frank\u003c\/i\u003e. He is a regular contributor to the\u003ci\u003e New Yorker's \u003c\/i\u003ePhotobooth, \u003ci\u003eAperture\u003c\/i\u003e, and the\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, where he was an editor and photography critic for over fifteen years. Gefter produced the award-winning documentary, \u003ci\u003eBill Cunningham: New York. \u003c\/i\u003eHe lives in New York City.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50580121780498,"sku":"9781635579628","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_682684d3-f9f7-4068-aedc-1d1aeafedbe4.jpg?v=1756797973","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/cocktails-with-george-and-martha-movies-marriage-and-the-making-of-whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf-9781635579628","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}