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A Delicate Balance -- Original Production (long)

Posted by:	Whistler 01:43 am EST 11/14/14
In reply to:	re: A DELICATE BALANCE last night - AlanScott 12:05 am EST 11/14/14

I liked the original production a lot. I'd missed "Virginia Woolf" and "Tiny Alice," so this was the first Albee play I'd seen on Broadway. I hadn't seen Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn on stage, either, and I thought they were wonderful -- simple, elegant, well-spoken, and intelligent. As Albee has pointed out, Claire tries to make it her play whenever she's on stage, and I thought Rosemary Murphy did that beautifully without overplaying. Unfortunately, I barely remember Carmen Mathews, and I wouldn't have remembered her name if it hadn't been in the preceding message. But Henderson Forsythe seemed suitably paired with her, and they both seemed a good match for being Agnes and Tobias' friends. Marian Seldes was theatrical, but I don't think I'd seen her before, so I thought it was an acting choice. After seeing her more often, I realized it was partly a personal quality. I also admired Alan Schneider's work, as I did in everything I saw that he directed. Maybe I was the only one who missed him after he died. The audience also seemed respectful of Albee's and the actors' work, and I don't remember any discomfort or disruptions. Albee describes the family as middle class, which I never thought they were, possibly because of the elegance of the acting and the set. But I never thought of this as realism, either. Overall, it was a great introduction to Albee's work performed by professionals. Previously, I'd only seen college productions of "Zoo Story," "American Dream," and "The Sandbox," and I hadn't yet heard the original cast recording of "Virginia Woolf."

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