Edard Albee''s Lolita tries to adapt Nabokov''s novel for the stage: the story of Humbert Humbert''s passion for the nymphet
Dolores ''Lolita'' Haze, what he is willing to do to get her, their tempestuous relationship, and what happens when he loses her.
(He never lets them forget it either, as A
Certain Gentleman sticks to Humbert throughout the play, almost like a shadow -- quite literally the author who just can''t let go.) Nabokov''s Lolita also begins with an introduction -- but one that insists on the veracity of the story (and that is offered by an authority, not some vague ''certain gentleman'').
He is parenthetical", Humbert tells the audience -- but then Albee himself doesn''t allow for that.) The Lolita story unfolds familiarly, but in the shorter space Humbert''s insinuating himself into to the Haze household and then his conquest of Lolita aren''t nearly as effective.