Edward Albee’s ‘A Delicate Balance’ Coming to Off-Broadway With an All Asian-American Cast

Have you heard the news? Transport Group in partnership with National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) has announced that Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance, directed by Transport Group Artistic Director Jack Cummings III, will begin performances Saturday, October 22 at the Connelly Theater, 220 East 4 Street.

West Side Rag readers can get special $40 tickets (normally $60!) with code WEST.

This production is historic, it is the first Off-Broadway revival of Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, as well as the first production to feature a full cast of Asian-American actors.

In Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance, Agnes (Mia Katigbak) and Tobias (Manu Narayan) are a complacent middle-aged couple with a hanger-on of a house guest—Agnes’ alcoholic sister Claire (Carmen M. Herlihy). But when longtime friends Harry (Paul Juhn) and Edna (Rita Wolf) appear on their doorstep claiming a nameless “fear” has forced them from their home, just as their four-time divorced daughter, Julia, (Tina Chilip) moves home too, their delicate balance is shattered. Agnes and Tobias attempt to regain control, but is that even still possible?

This is the second collaboration between Transport Group and NAATCO, which first partnered on Jack Cummings III’s adaptation of The Trial of the Catonsville Nine in 2019.

“Partnering with NAATCO again after our successful The Trial of The Catonsville Nine production has been a goal of mine for years. Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance is a timeless classic and yet our production will be historic as we’re prioritizing NAATCO’s mission of re-examining the canon with Asian-American representation,” said Cummings.

Actor-Manager and NAATCO Co-Founder Mia Katigbak said, “NAATCO’s partnership with Transport Group on Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance exemplifies our work of joining forces with non-Asian American companies in our efforts to radically change the persistently narrow representation of Asian Americans in the theatre. That this was Jack’s idea, his initiative to cultivate a relationship with NAATCO that began in 2016, is meaningful to me. I have always maintained that new insights about old works can come from unexpected faces, and this blends seamlessly with Transport Group’s reenvisioning of 20^th century American works in unconventional productions.”

Join Transport Group and NAATCO at The Connelly through November 19th.

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