Edward Albee's A DELICATE BALANCE Announced At Island City Stage

Family secrets, friendship and loyalties drive the heart of Island City Stage's milestone production of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Delicate Balance, running January 16 – February 9. This ambitious creative endeavor featuring highly acclaimed regional actors will be the first time Island City Stage has produced a show penned by America's greatest playwright of the last half of the 20th century.

“I've always loved A Delicate Balance. This multiple award-winning work was quite a departure for Edward Albee after his Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. It's dark and funny; a brutal comedy of manners,” said Michael Leeds, associate artistic director of Island City Stage and the show's director.  “To me, the title refers to the delicate balance between life and death, love and hate, and how the balance can shift so easily and suddenly from sanity to madness. I think the play is incredibly relevant in this age where the richest 1% of the world owns 95% of its wealth. A Delicate Balance is a reminder that no one is immune to the passage of time and the inevitability of death. I know it doesn't sound it – but it's also very funny!”

In Albee's three-act play, audiences are introduced to Agnes and Tobias, a wealthy, middle-aged couple whose complacency is shattered when unexpected friends Harry and Edna disrupt their household with unfounded anxiety. Add-in Agnes' witty, yet alcoholic, sister Claire with her quick quips and their troubled daughter Julia's return home and a pressure cooker of drama and dysfunction ensues.

A Delicate Balance premiered in 1966 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1967, the first of three Albee received for his work (the others being Seascape (1975), and Three Tall Women (1994)). The Master American Dramatist also received a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement (2005), the gold medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1980); as well as the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts (both in 1996), among many other prestigious theatre and literary awards.

The original Broadway production of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance starred Hume Cronyn as Tobias, Jessica Tandy as Agnes, Rosemary Murphy as Claire, Henderson Forsythe as Harry, Carmen Mathews as Edna, and Marian Seldes as Julia. It has been staged several times since, in the U.S. and abroad, with notable stars of stage and screen including Dame Maggie Smith, Glenn Close, Imelda Staunton, Clare Higgins, Bob Balaban, Martha Plimpton and John Lithgow. In 1996, a revival production starring Rosemary Harris, George Grizzard, John Carter, Elizabeth Wilson, Elaine Stritch and Mary Beth Hurt won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, as well as Tony Awards for acting and directing, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play.

Island City Stage's riveting revival of A Delicate Balance is directed by Leeds and stars highly acclaimed Carbonell and regional award-winning actors Patti Gardner (Agnes), Tom Wahl (Tobias), Betty Ann Hunt Strain (Claire), Margery Lowe (Edna), Christopher Dreeson (Harry) and Sabrina Lynn Gore (Julia).

Patti Gardner (Agnes) returns to Island City Stage, where she last appeared in The Goldberg Variations in 2017. A South Florida theatre veteran, Patti has performed across the region for over 30 years and toured nationally with Menopause the Musical for 17 years. Recent performances include Caroline, or Change (Actors' Playhouse), Fiddler on the Roof (The Wick Theatre), Into the Woods (Slow Burn Theatre), and The Last Yiddish Speaker (Theatre Lab). Patti is a recipient of Carbonell, Silver Palm, and New Times Best Awards and is the music and drama instructor at ABC Montessori Academy of Jupiter Farms.

Tom Wahl (Tobias) has performed at prestigious venues such as The Kennedy Center, Geva Theatre Center, and Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. In Florida, his credits include work with Palm Beach Dramaworks, Zoetic Stage, Actors' Playhouse, and Miami New Drama, among others. His film and TV credits include Pulse, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, New in Town, and recurring roles in Moon Over Miami. A recipient of Carbonell, Silver Palm, and Curtain Up awards, Tom is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.

Betty Ann Hunt Strain (Claire) will be making her Island City Stage debut. She was recently seen as Boo in The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Boca Stage). Strain moved to NYC from Memphis to pursue her passion for theatre. As an Equity actress, she has performed in regional theatres and national/international tours. Favorite roles include Mama Rose (Gypsy), Dolly (Hello Dolly!), and the Baker's Wife (Into the Woods). In South Florida, she has appeared in Sunshine Quest ( Founders Theatre), Sweet Delilah and Savannah Sipping (CCP), Bell, Book and Candle (AOD), and Grumpy Old Men and The Lost Virginity Tour (DBP.)

Margery Lowe's (Edna) recent credits include world premieres of Museum Plays (Miami New Drama), Wicked Child (Zoetic Stage), and The Messenger (Palm Beach Dramaworks). She was named Wall Street Journal's "Best of Theatre" for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst. A proud member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Lowe has performed in New York and across the U.S. in national tours and at venues such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and Canadian Stage. In Florida, she has worked with Maltz Jupiter Theatre, GableStage, Actor's Playhouse, and more. A Stratford Shakespeare Festival company member, she received the Tyrone Guthrie Award and has won Carbonell, Silver Palm, and other accolades.

Christopher Dreeson (Harry), also making his Island City Stage debut, made his South Florida professional debut in 2018 as Tennessee Williams in the Carbonell-recommended one-man show Confessions of a Nightingale. His most recent Carbonell nomination was for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (John aka Fountainhead) in Water by the Spoonful (New City Players). Other recent roles include Horace Vandergelder (Hello Dolly!), Mr. Simmons (Memphis), Victor Velasco (Barefoot in the Park), Lt. Schrank (West Side Story), G.W. Nethercott (Sordid Lives), Edward Duchamp (A Class Act), Brother Jeremiah (Something Rotten!), Herr Schultz (Cabaret), Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas), Jack Lawson (Race), Mr. Paravicini (The Mousetrap) and Ernst Janning (Judgment at Nuremberg) among many others.

Sabrina Lynn Gore (Julia), a three-time Carbonell nominee and Silver Palm recipient, returns to Island City Stage where she last appeared in Bette and Barry. Her notable credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Precious Little, 9 to 5, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Murder Ballad, Xanadu, Wild Party, Next to Normal, Lizzie the Musical, Head Over Heels, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, and Disenchanted. As a director, Gore has helmed acclaimed productions such as Ragtime, Fun Home, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Sweat.

A Delicate Balance is co-produced by FAB (Funding Arts Broward) and Jeffrey Danielson. Lights and Sound Sponsor is Scott Bennett, Set Sponsor is Glenn Goldberg and Costumes Sponsor are Arthur and Fran Greenberg. Additional funding is provided by the following: The Our Fund Foundation, The Schubert Foundation Inc., the SHS Foundation, The Maval Foundation, the Warten Foundation, OutClique and the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council.

Island City Stage's kicked off its 2024-25 season of powerful storytelling focusing on the nature of families with sold out performances of The Fantasticks. Upcoming shows include Fat Ham by James Ijames from April 3 – May 4, 2025; The Dying Gaul by Craig Lucas from May 22 – June 15, 2025 and At The Wedding by Bryna Turner from August 21 – September 21, 2025.

Individual show tickets start at $43. A Mimosa Sunday Brunch sponsored by Judith Paskoski will take place on January 26 with tickets at $60. A special Women's Night sponsored by Leslie Fine will take place on January 31. The show runs for two hours and 40 minutes with two intermissions.

Island City Stage will also be offering two Flexpass options this season. The Flexpass5 ($215) offers five tickets that can be used all for one show or one for every show (no processing fees) and $5 off additional tickets purchased ($52 upfront savings). The Flexpass3 ($130) offers three tickets that can be used all for one show or one for every show (no processing fees) and $5 off additional tickets purchased ($33 upfront savings). Discounts are available for groups.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.islandcitystage.org, call (954) 928-9800 or email boxoffice@islandcitystage.org.

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