A DELICATE BALANCE
Although winning the Pulitzer is often evidence of incomparably stunning dramatic craft, it also often implies a certain predictable, mainstream accessibility, an ability to find the delicate balance between an original dramatic voice and standardized theatrical conventions. Say what you will about the misanthropic vulgarity of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woof (notably, it was not awarded the Pulitzer, which ignited an explosion of controversy in the theater community), at least it was brutally frank in its exposure of the miserable lives led by the privileged classes of American society. A Delicate Balance is no less critical, but its anger is tempered and its critique takes a more socially acceptable form. Call it Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woof Light. Same ideas, half the bitter taste.
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A Delicate Balance is probably Albee’s most carefully constructed play; one marvels at the natural progression of its dialogue and the sturdiness of its internal architecture. Yet in our age of ubiquitous divorce and singleparent households, Albee’s observations about the emptiness of uppermiddle-class ideals certainly don’t come off as revolutionary. Who still believes in the sanctity of dad sitting around in a bathrobe saying, “Make me a martini”? Though one can admire Albee’s technique, the world he is criticizing seems already obsolete.
