A Delicate Balance

[broadway86]

A Delicate Balance#0

Posted: 3/19/05 at 3:49pm

My school did this Albee play last weekend, and I found it to be a very fascinating look at friends, lovers, and family. Has anyone else seen a production of this? If so, what are your thoughts?

I'm extremely late, but I just read that Elaine Strich starred in the '96 revival of this, along with George Grizzard and Rosemary Harris.

My dream cast, in twenty years...

Agnes - JULIANNE MOORE
Tobias - SEAN PENN
Claire - GOLDIE HAWN
Harry - JOHN C. REILLY
Edna - MADELINE STOWE
Julia - SCARLETT JOHANSSON
Updated On: 3/19/05 at 03:49 PM

[MusicMan]

re: A Delicate Balance#1

Posted: 3/19/05 at 5:03pm

See if you can get your hands on the Katharine Hepburn-Paul Scofield film from the '70s, which is available on DVD. A very good, if stagy, version of the play.

[melissa errico fan]

re: A Delicate Balance#2

Posted: 3/19/05 at 5:21pm

Ms. Moore and Mr. Penn are about 20 years too young for Agnes and Tobias.

[MargoChanning]

re: A Delicate Balance#3

Posted: 3/19/05 at 5:53pm

The 1996 revival was brilliant -- one of the best productions of Albee I've ever seen. One of my all-time favorite plays. The cast was flawless and the late great Gerald Gutierrez did a wonderful job directing.

And yes, Penn and Moore et al are at least 20 years too young for those characters (remember that Julia is supposed to be a 40-ish oft-married daughter who can't seem to keep a husband -- Scarlett Johansson is what? 25?).

"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

[melissa errico fan]

re: A Delicate Balance#4

Posted: 3/19/05 at 6:01pm

"The 1996 revival was brilliant -- one of the best productions of Albee I've ever seen. One of my all-time favorite plays. The cast was flawless and the late great Gerald Gutierrez did a wonderful job directing."

It was a pretty perfect production. The theatre world really lost a true great and an original when Mr. Gutierrez passed. It's hard to believe that it will be three years this September.

[broadway86]

re: A Delicate Balance#5

Posted: 3/19/05 at 6:40pm

"Ms. Moore and Mr. Penn are about 20 years too young for Agnes and Tobias."

Make-up?

[wildcat]

re: A Delicate Balance#6

Posted: 3/19/05 at 7:45pm

Finally, a great play written expressly for mature actors and you want to draw wrinkles on a bunch of young movie stars who've probably spent half their lives getting rid of them with botox?

[broadway86]

re: A Delicate Balance#7

Posted: 3/19/05 at 7:51pm

I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that Julianne Moore and Sean Penn were into that.
Updated On: 3/19/05 at 07:51 PM

[wildcat]

re: A Delicate Balance#8

Posted: 3/19/05 at 8:01pm

I'm merely defending the rights of the wrinklies!

[broadway86]

re: A Delicate Balance#9

Posted: 3/19/05 at 8:15pm

lol Say what?

No, I'm just saying that I saw this play featuring actors ages 18-22, and it was fairly convincing. If they can age Nicole Kidman over 20 years for "The Hours", they can do it with Moore and Penn.

Looking back at my post, however, I realized that Johansson would not be right for the role.