Cocktails and after-dinner drinks; small talk and fighting words: these are the tribal rituals of the upper-class WASP brought to life by Edward Albee in his 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "A Delicate Balance."

Trinity Rep in Providence will present "A Delicate Balance" in the intimate Dowling Theatre from February 16 - March 25.

Director Kevin Moriarty surprised Trinity audiences with an old-fashioned pie fight in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," and helped them discover their inner feline in last season's "Indoor/Outdoor."

Now helming Albee's brilliant and brutal "A Delicate Balance," Moriarty states, "It's a great play, a modern classic, but the humor lies in a different place than other comedies I've directed at Trinity Rep. The fun lies in Albee's language, its precision and wit, and the devastating clarity of his insights." He adds, "Albee's writing is like that of Shaw or Wilde, smart, fast, economical in its language-'A Delicate Balance' is all of that in spades."

The ensemble cast balancing the mix of drama and satire is made up of Trinity Rep company members Angela Brazil, Timothy Crowe, William Damkoehler, Janice Duclos, Anne Scurria and Cynthia Strickland.

Playwright Edward Albee  began writing plays at the age of 30. His plays include "The Zoo Story," "The American Dream," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (Tony Award), "Tiny Alice," "A Delicate Balance" (Pulitzer Prize; Tony Award), "All Over," "Seascape" (Pulitzer Prize), "The Lady From Dubuque," "The Man Who Had Three Arms," "Finding The Sun," "Marriage Play," "Three Tall Women" (Pulitzer Prize), "Fragments," "The Play About The Baby," "The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?" (Tony Award), "Occupant" and "The Zoo Story."

Moriarty has directed Trinity Rep productions of "Indoor/Outdoor," "Richard II," The Merry Wives of Windsor" (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Direction), "Nickel and Dimed" and "A Christmas Carol" (Boston, 2003 and Providence 2000). His other productions include "The God Committee" by Mark St. Germain (Lambs Theatre, Spring 2006), the national tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar" starring Sebastian Bach and Carl Anderson (which played at PPAC in 2003 and 2005),"Betrayal" (Syracuse Stage),"Wit" (Queens Theatre in the Park),"Triumph of Love" (Walnut Street Theatre),"Guys and Dolls" (Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre) and "Jekyll and Hyde" (Theatreworks/USA).

For tickets and information, stop by the box office at 201 Washington Street, phone 401-351-4242 or visit www.trinityrep.com.

Talkback sessions will be held after every performance of "A Delicate Balance." Audiences are invited to share their response to the play, the production, the themes -- no topic is too high or low, no opinion is right or wrong. A company or staff member will moderate talkbacks for approximately twenty minutes after each show.

NOTE: The first performance on February 16 at 8:00 p.m. is Pay What You Can (PWYC) sponsored by The Rhode Island Lottery. PWYC tickets go on sale at 7:00 p.m., limit one per person.

-- OnStage Boston

01/25/07