It will be a while yet before we know whether Edward Albee is a major playwright. But as a major playwright of our times (which may or may not be different from being a major playwright per se) Albee continues to be a problem, a focal point for contention, abused and abusing. His central virtue and his central fault, hypersensitivity, carry on a narcissistic war inside him that taints and embellishes everything he does. Hypersensitivity makes All Over, which opened in March at the Martin Beck theater, a beautiful and exciting piece of theater.
Albee’s whole career has been a series of responses to other people’s thrusts. His plays are derivative or imitative, much more so than the work of many other important playwrights, and his tendency to react to some fleeting theatrical mode has led to the creation of both his best and his worst work. All Over shares with A Delicate Balance the distinction of being Albee’s most satisfying achievement.
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