Editing Edward Albee (section)

=== 1971–1987: The Middle Plays ===
[[File:Edward Albee by Reginald Gray.jpg|thumb|upright|160px|Edward Albee by Irish artist [[Reginald Gray (artist)|Reginald Gray]] (''The New York Times'', 1966), inspired by a photograph taken in 1962 from [[Bettmann Archive|Bettmann]]/[[Branded Entertainment Network|Corbis]].]]
In 1971 he wrote ''[[All Over]]'', a two-act play originally titled, ''Death'', the second half of a projected double bill with another play called ''Life'' (which later became ''[[Seascape (play)|Seascape]]'').<ref> [1] Gussow, Mel. Edward Albee: A Singular Journey, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999, p. 282.  {{ISBN|0-684-80278-3}}</ref> The play premiered on [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] at the [[Martin Beck Theatre]] with [[John Gielgud]] directing and starred [[Jessica Tandy]], [[Madeleine Sherwood]], and [[Colleen Dewhurst]]. ''[[The New York Times]]'' writer [[Clive Barnes]] wrote, "It is a lovely, poignant and deeply felt play. In no way at all is it an easy play -- this formal minuet of death, this symphony ironically celebrating death's dominion. It is not easy in its structure, a series of almost operatic arias demanding, in their precision, pin-point concentration from the audience, and it is certainly not easy in its subject matter."<ref>Barnes, Clive. [https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/08/15/specials/albee-allover.html?_r=1 "Stage: 'All Over,' Albee's Drama of Death, Arrives"] ''The New York Times'', March 29, 1971</ref>

In 1974 he wrote ''[[Seascape (play)|Seascape]]'', which won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]]. It debuted on Broadway with [[Deborah Kerr]] and [[Frank Langella]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/seascape-shubert-theatre-vault-0000010471|title= Seascape (Broadway, 1975)|website= Playbill|accessdate= February 11, 2024}}</ref> It was nominated for the [[Tony Award for Best Play]] losing to [[Peter Shaffer]]'s ''[[Equus (play)|Equus]]''.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1975/category/any/show/any/ |title=1975 Tony Awards Nominees |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=[[American Theatre Wing]] |access-date=August 11, 2023}}</ref> Clive Barnes of ''The New York Times'' declared the play "a major event", adding, "As Mr. Albee has matured as a playwright, his work has become leaner, sparer and simpler. He depends on strong theatrical strokes to attract the attention of the audience, but the tone of the writing is always thoughtful, even careful, even philosophic." He compared his work alongside [[Samuel Beckett]] and [[Harold Pinter]].<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/27/archives/albees-seascape-is-a-major-event.html|title= Albee's 'Seascape' Is a Major Event|work= The New York Times|date= January 27, 1975|accessdate= February 11, 2024|last1= Barnes|first1= Clive}}</ref>

Albee continued to write plays including ''Listening'' (1976), ''Counting the Ways'' (1976) before a brief break before ''[[The Lady from Dubuque]]'' (1980) which had a short run on Broadway.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://v.playbill.com/person/edward-albee-vault-0000018564|title= Edward Albee (Director)|website= Playbill|accessdate= February 11, 2024}}</ref> He wrote the three act play ''[[The Man Who Had Three Arms]]'' (1983) which was received negatively with [[Frank Rich]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' writing, "isn't a play - it's a temper tantrum in two acts... One of the more shocking lapses of Mr. Albee's writing is that he makes almost no attempt even to pretend that Himself is anything other than a maudlin stand-in for himself, with the disappearing arm representing an atrophied talent."<ref>Rich, Frank. [https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/08/15/specials/albee-arms.html "Stage: Drama by Albee, 'Man Who Had 3 Arms'"] ''The New York Times'', April 6, 1983, {{ISSN|0362-4331}}, p. C15</ref>

Albee's plays during the 1980s received mixed reviews with Michael Billington of ''[[The Guardian]]'' writing, "American dramatists invariably end up as victims of their own myth: in a success-crazed culture they are never forgiven for failing to live up to their own early masterpieces. But if Edward Albee has suffered the same cruel fate as [[Arthur Miller]] and [[Tennessee Williams]], he has kept on trucking".<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2001/may/10/theatre.artsfeatures1|title= Edward Albee's mismatched partners|website= The Guardian|date= May 9, 2001|accessdate= February 11, 2024|last1= Billington|first1= Michael}}</ref> Billington wrote of Albee's 1987 play, ''[[Marriage Play]]'', "At the end the play achieves a metaphorical resonance by suggesting that marriage is an accumulation of meaningless habits and that "nothing has made any difference".<ref name="auto"/>