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Title: Delicate Balance, A
Author(s): Edward Albee
Licensing Agent: Samuel French, Inc
Genre: Drama
Length: Full Length
Male Roles: 2
Female Roles: 4
Extras: 0
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Description: This Pulitzer Prize winner enjoyed a stunning Broadway revival in 1996 with George Gizzard and Rosemary Harris. The story is simple: one night a man and woman whose marriage has drifted loose and who harbor the wife's alcoholic sister from the shocks of a bitter world receive visits from both their daughter, who is home after the wreck of her fourth marriage, and their best friends, a couple who have just had the shock of their life. The friends move in and lock the door. Before they finally leave, everyone faces the same terror: to recognize how they have frittered away love until they are at that delicate balance between sanity and madness. The depths of their lives to the reaches of despair are plumbed, showing the disintegration of love by default, its perversion to self love and indulgence, and the terror that comes at the recognition of one's own depravity from which there is no surcease for the sane.
| Character |
Gender |
Role Size |
Min Age |
Max Age |
Description |
| Agnes |
F |
|
55 |
60 |
Agnes is a woman in her late 50's, well off, and married to Tobias. She is also the mother of Julia and sister of Claire. Agnes believes herself to be the fulcrum of the family, keeping everyone in balance, or order, by not confronting issues, not taking a stand, and not processing emotions. She tries to keep the peace by not dealing with anything that might upset that balance. |
| Tobias |
M |
|
55 |
65 |
He is the husband of Agnes. He is a well-to-do retired businessman. Although he is tolerant of people around him, he, like his wife, tends to avoid emotional topics. If Agnes is the fulcrum, then Tobias is the energy behind the fulcrum that works at keeping a balance in his dysfunctional family. |
| Claire |
F |
|
50 |
60 |
Claire is Agnes' younger sister. She claims that she is not an alcoholic but a "willful drinker." Of all the characters in the play, whether it is due to the alcohol or not, Claire has the loosest tongue. She speaks her mind and has the least affection for social politeness. |
| Julia |
F |
|
30 |
40 |
Daughter of Agnes and Tobias. She has just recently been divorced for the fourth time and has returned home. She is the catalyst of the play. She brings matters to the forefront. Julia has wants, and she demands that they at least be heard if not satisfied. |
| Edna |
F |
|
50 |
60 |
Edna is the wife of Harry. They are Agnes' and Tobias' best friends and of the same age. They live nearby. She is not afraid to voice her opinions and is willing to take on the role of mother to Julia, declaring to her that she no longer has "rights" in her parent's home. |
| Harry |
M |
|
55 |
65 |
Edna's husband and Tobias' best friend. They have known each other a long time. He is a reflection of Tobias, but is more reserved. He and Edna are in great fear of some unknown and unexplainable terror that came over them while sitting at home. They appear at Agnes and Tobias' house and ask to stay with them. |
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