SOURCE: "Time—and Again," in The New Leader, Vol. LXXVII, No. 2, February 14-28, 1994, pp. 22-3.

[Kanfer is an American novelist, playwright, short story writer, essayist, scriptwriter, and critic. In the excerpt below, he offers a mixed review of Three Tall Women, arguing that "this elegant minor effort gives very little reason to cheer" and lacks the qualities that characterize Albee's best works.]

Whatever happened to Edward Albee? The young playwright of the early '60s, he began his career with small but auspicious Off-Broadway efforts like The American Dream and The Sandbox, both about the sorrow and bitterness of old age. His first full-length work, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1963), focused on ambition and self-deception, dazzled Broadway audiences, won critics' awards, and announced the arrival of a major talent. Albee went on to earn two Pulitzer prizes (for A Delicate Balance and Seascape) and to write many original...