Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, originally produced on Broadway in 1966, was the first of his three Pulitzer Prizes. It deals with a present day family's denial of emotions, missed opportunities, and regrets over paths not taken.

Trying to avoid pain and discomfort, according to Albee, only generates more pain and discomfort. Albee said "If I wrote plays about everyone getting along terribly well, I don't think anyone would want to see them ... You have to show people things that aren't working well in the hopes that people will make them work better."

One reviewer wrote, "It is far from light hearted and at key moments chilling. But in the strictest sense this is a comedy of manners to the core. Those who play it as a Gregorian chant are doomed. The players must take us down their dark road in stitches."