ALBEE, EDWARD (1928-), U.S. Playwright

One of America's most controversial dramatists, Edward Albee is said to have reinvented theater in the United States. A prolific writer, Albee's works include The Zoo Story, The American Dream, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In his plays, Albee portrays a world in which suffering is inevitable, but his vision is not truly pessimistic; although his characters confront pain, they are capable of growth and change. Each is forced to question his or her values and relationships and begin to take a more honest approach to life. Albee was abandoned at birth by his natural parents and was adopted by millionaires Reed and Francis Albee. He was a rebellious child and was expelled from three prep schools and a military academy before graduating from Choate. He spent his early adulthood working at various odd jobs, and in 1958 he wrote The Zoo Story as a "sort of a thirtieth birthday present to myself." It was at that point that his writing career began in earnest. Since then, he has written more than twenty plays and has received a number of awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes. Albee has consistently avoided discussing his personal life in interviews, preferring to keep focus on his work, but he has made no secret of his homosexuality. Gay themes and characters find little place in his plays, although many critics feel that his homosexuality has influenced his portrayal of relations between the sexes.