Tracy Letts and Carrie Coon in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

Seeing Arena Stage’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is one of the most emotionally engaging — and draining — theatrical experiences I’ve had in recent memory. It’s a show that could get me keyed up, choked up or tensed up in an instant, sometimes even without a clear explanation for why.

The show’s enduring resonance is a testament to Edward Albee’s master work on marital dysfunction and the powerful impact of this particular take, originating from Chicago-based regional company Steppenwolf. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? isn’t a rare show to see staged (The Kennedy Center, for example, hosted an impressive, if not as harrowing, take back in 2007), but Arena’s version gives the play a new found intensity and relevance.

Virginia Woolf? may be a long exercise, stretching over three hours, with two intermissions, but the entire play takes place during one night where two couples meet for a late night drink after an academic dinner party. The world-weary George and his brash wife Marsha have invited over University up-and-comer Nick and his “slim-hipped” wife Honey for drinks, but the younger couple soon realizes that they’re in for more than a night of light schmoozing. George and Martha become engaged in a brutal battle of wits, drawing their counterparts into the fray as well.