A Delicate Balance Directed by Donna Mullen Assistant Director - Jackie Herbert Production Advisor - Ron Ross Written by Edward Albee Edward Albee used words, phrases and innuendo to the maximum in this Pulitzer-Prize winning play. Clues abounded as to what the "terror" might be, what real feelings between Tobias and Agnus existed, what the relationship between Tobias and Claire might have been, etceteras. One thing for sure, a microscope was put to use very nicely by Albee. A Delicate Balance was a caustically funny and moving exploration of love, compassion and the bonds of friendship and family. Agnes and Tobias, a middle-aged couple, were engaged in a battle of wills with Agnes' sister Claire, a self-professed drunk, and their daughter Julia, who had returned home after a fourth failed marriage. Their equilibrium was further jeopardised by the sudden arrival of their best friends, Edna and Harry, a couple seeking refuge in an already threatened home. The play began with what we soon came to understand was a ritual. It was Friday evening; Agnes and Tobias settled in for after-dinner drinks. The long-married couple engaged in what seemed to be idle chatter. Agnes wistfully contemplated whether she might one day go mad. Tobias quietly listened, pouring more cocktails and offering an occasional comment. Soon enough it became clear that for all the small talk being bandied about (much of it about what to drink and who should serve it), there was very little talk that was excessive or unnecessary. Agnes spoke in intricate, paragraph-long sentences reminiscent of a Henry James novel. The language was dense, but precise. She never lost track of the original thought, which made her a formidable opponent in an argument. Underneath the docile surface of this upper middle class household was a history of infidelities, frigid marriages, alcoholism, and lifelong friendships based solely on convenience. Battles were fought everyday, but that particular weekend the war finally broke out into the open.

Jackie Herbert - Assistant Director, Donna Mullen - Director

On The Couch - CHIP LAVELY as Tobias, SUSAN MARTINDALE as Agnus, FELICIA MASTERS as Julia, KAREN THOMPSON as Edna In The Back - BILL MORRISON as Harry, KIRSTINE TITUS as Claire

Front Row - Don Cline, Terry Carlson, Bill Morrison Back Row - Grace Morrison, Anne Cline, Sue Maxwell, Jackie Herbert