There is only one thing wrong here, and that is the fact that Albee's script has so much in common with his previous work, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? There are four short years between the two, but I can't accuse him too much of self-imitation, since in between he did the bizarre Tiny Alice.
Albee consistently makes me vow to never try playwriting again. He was such a genius. The way these people talk is too delicious! And then there are the things they're saying -- and not saying!
The acting is off the charts, and I don't know why it received no awards attention. Everyone is blasting on all cylinders. Kate Reid: holy cow! Schofield's final aria! And Hepburn is always a surprise to me. Every single time, I think "this will be one more Hepburn performance..." And, yes, she does bring a lot of Katherine Hepburn to her roles, but she's also just darn excellent. I've decided that I underestimate her because her styling is always the same. So I expect her performance to be the same. And finally, I've often wanted to see Betsy Blair in something other than Marty. I was glad to see that she could back that performance up with a different kind here.
Like the best works, this one is about so many different and yet interlocking things. Friendship and hospitality. Female responsibilities versus male responsibilities. The terror that is always waiting to descend on us. Alcoholism. Marriage and divorce. Family dynamics and the very definition of family. It says so much about each of these subjects and more! And there's not a false step in the script or performances.
This was my first time actually seeing A Delicate Balance, and it is infinitely better when embodied than when read. More proof of Albee's brilliance.