Penned by Edward Albee circa 1965.
Premiered in 1966.
Won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1967.
The first of three Pulitzer Prizes for Edward Albee. So today I went to a matinee performance of A Delicate Balance. I saw it a thousand years ago with Lauren Bacall and John Lithgow. I’ve read it a few times too. Well today it didn’t go over so well. Kind of lifeless. And then I figured out the difference in quality acting on Broadway verses anywhere else. Not fair to compare today’s cast to any another cast. But without a little punch to it that the actors usually provide, the play is pretty forgettable.
Some other contributing factors. How it’s visually blocked out. The Broadway version had the characters constantly changing locations on the stage, and there was a vibe or subtle gestures in their stationary moments. Always alive. In today’s version, actors parked and played.
I’ve seen a few other Edward Albee plays: Three Tall Women, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Seascape. His actors have to dialogue the hell out of his scripts. The best I saw an actor master it was Kathleen Turner as Martha with Bill Irwin as George. Great chemistry.
The play did a limited engagement so I was there three Sundays in a row to get my fill. I think Kathleen Turner recognized me once. (stalker) Back to that dialogue, it’s like a good tennis match when done correctly. It’s fascinating to watch it as much as hear it.
It’s interesting how easy it is to take great acting for granted until you sit through some not so great acting.