Delicate Balance, A

A shoo-in for any Milwaukee critic's Top 10 list is the current Milwaukee Repertory Theater production of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. In a production that borders on perfection, director Edward Morgan slices through the gauze of a seemingly well-ordered suburban lifestyle. Though the play won a Pulitzer Prize in 1966, it remains remarkably fresh and funny. (Clearly, Albee was ahead of his time.)

Balance begins in the well-appointed living room of a longtime married couple, Tobias (James Pickering) and Agnes (Elizabeth Norment). Although one might expect casual after-dinner gossip about friends and neighbors, Agnes has a single thought on her mind. She is exploring the notion that one day she may go mad. Tobias laughs off the idea. Tellingly, as they sip their after-dinner drinks of cognac and anisette, they muse about Agnes' alcoholic sister, Claire (brilliantly portrayed by Laurie Birmingham). Soon Claire makes her entrance, her large frame sweeping into the room beneath a flowing raspberry-colored gown. She begs for a drink from the obliging Tobias while Agnes, in the other room, talks on the phone to the couple's daughter, Julia (Deborah Staples). Seen together, the sisters are a marked contrast. While the tall and willowy Agnes is dressed in the latest tailored fashions, Claire, somewhat large and clumsy, is a bit of a bohemian. She thinks nothing of padding around the living room in bare feet, for example. During the evening, Claire has one drink after another.

After awhile, the alcohol becomes something of a truth serum, and Claire brings up one uncomfortable family secret after another. We learn, for example, that Tobias and his best friend, Harry, once had an affair with the same woman many years ago. Claire waits to see whether this revelation has its desired effect of unsettling Agnes and Tobias. When it does, Claire sits back, satisfied. She does not seem to mind when the conversation immediately changes to her "drinking problem." Although Claire readily admits to being "a drunk," she insists that she can stop at any time. Before Agnes and Tobias can explore the subject in depth, they are interrupted by as unexpected visit by their friends, Edna (Rose Pickering) and Harry (John Kishline). Edna and Harry admit to being terrified at being alone in their home. Frightened out of their wits, they run to their friends' house much as a small child will search frantically through a house for its mother. Agnes and Tobias are friendly at first, but they become increasingly agitated to learn that their friends do not plan on ever returning to their own house. Further complicating matters is the arrival of the Agnes and Tobias' 36-year-old daughter, Julia, who is fleeing her marriage. Julia, too, seeks support beneath her parents' wings.

As the play unfolds, Albee uses these bizarre happenings to explore the basis of human relationships. What are they based on? Love? Convenience? Time? Necessity? Albee richly mines this fertile territory, all the while flirting with an unnamed ailment of the aging mind, now known as Alzheimer's disease. (One element that may date the play is that no character suggests anyone else see a doctor, or questions the effects of medications that might be causing these unusual behaviors.)

Albee's vision is played out with splendid clarity by this talented cast. Laurie Birmingham, as Claire, gives the performance of her career. The other characters all play "straight men" to Claire's witty rejoinders. Even the obliging Tobias is occasionally caught off guard. The talented Elizabeth Norment, so memorable as the star of Wit a couple of seasons ago, again shows rare form as Agnes. One can almost visibly see her composure begin to crack, under the strain of it all. Veteran Milwaukee Repertory actors James and Rose Pickering (Tobias and Edna) are fine, and Deborah Staples is convincing as an aging brat who cannot face her failed relationships. John Kishline has the most thankless role, as Harry, but he believably pulls off the character's blank stare, shuffling walk and confused demeanor.

Credit also goes to Set Designer Joseph Varga's soothing environment, all swathed in comforting vanilla creme and mint green. The set is nicely lit by Joseph Appelt's lighting design. Costumer Amela Baksic is also worthy of mention. She makes Agnes a moving set piece, by dressing her in colors that complement the room.