As Edward Albee’s offbeat, provocative play “The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?” begins, the rapid banter between the married couple feels comfortably Theatre of the Absurdish, with its tight, clever, certain rhythm, not quite realistic. In the Shotgun Players’ production in Berkeley, Martin (William Giammona) and Stevie (Erin Mei-Ling Stuart), in color-matching white and pink outfits, seem familiar enough as theatrical characters. He’s 50, a prize-winning architect, and seems distracted— a bit muddled, and worried about his memory. She’s witty, sardonic.
From the beginning of this 2002 Tony Award winner, we’re on notice that “The Goat” is not a realistic play. There’s no furniture, no decoration on the blank, gray walls. When Stevie carefully places a bunch of flowers into a vase, there is no vase, no table. The flowers, of course, fall to the floor, but that doesn’t matter to her.
Later, when Stevie learns about Martin’s bizarre extramarital affair, she goes into a rage and starts breaking everything in the room, her destruction carefully, cleverly represented by sound effects. The sound design by Matt Stines.
As usual in a Shotgun Players production, the acting is superb, as is the direction by longtime company member and actor Kevin Clarke.
So is the choice of material. In a drama that could be simply absurd, or comic, or one dimensional, or totally not believable, this production is, yes, funny at times, and shocking, but also heartbreaking.
As the hopelessly smitten adulterer Martin, Giammona seems at times to be channeling actor Steve Carell, in a good way; considering the fix he’s in, he muddles bravely, almost innocently through, always staying true to himself. When he insists he loves his wife, it’s believable, as are his cluelessness and his acceptance of his fate.
But Stuart’s rage and pain also are believable. So is Joel Ochoa as the couple’s teenage, coming-of-age-gay son Billy, who’s confused and fearful.
Also believable: the complete conviction of Martin’s best friend, Ross (Kevin Singer) that he’s doing the right thing for Martin and family.
That belief in all the characters seems to expand the onstage universe. Although they are not so purposefully tormenting each other as George and Martha do in Albee’s 1962 “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Stevie and Martin at times echo that combustible duo. And Tennessee Williams’ character Hannah in “The Night of the Iguana,” who says, “Nothing human disgusts me,” also might come to mind.
I couldn’t help thinking about Albee, who died in 2016, living as a gay man in the mid-20th century and known to avoid “explaining” his more mystifying plays. As he said about this one, bestiality is discussed, but the play is about “love, and loss . . . who indeed we really are.” Make of that what you will.
As for ‘The Goat” subtitle, it’s in a love song in Shakespeare’s “Two Gentlemen of Verona”:
“Then to Sylvia let us sing, That Sylvia is excelling; She excels each mortal thing Upon the dull earth dwelling: To her let us garlands bring.”
Hmm. As always, Albee leaves us pondering the mysteries of the human condition.
Shotgun Players’ “The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?” continues through April 26 at Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. Tickets are $23-$80 at shotgunplayers.org.
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