Glenn Close stars alongside John Lithgow and Martha Plimpton in A Delicate Balance, making her first return to Broadway in 20 years.

Glenn Close In ‘A Delicate Balance’

In Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance, Close, a three-time Tony winner, plays the aristocratic Agnes, who is complacently comfortable in her predictable existence with her husband Tobias, played by Lithgow. However, chaos and disorder soon ensue when their life is interrupted by a string of visitors.

Chief among Agnes and Tobias’ unwelcome visitors is Plimpton’s character Julia, their daughter who has returned to the family home following the demise of her fourth marriage. They’re also visited by their best friends, played by Clare Higgins and Bob Balaban, and Agnes’s younger, alcoholic sister Claire (Tony winner Lindsay Duncan).

Thus far, A Delicate Balance has received mostly mixed reviews. While performances by the accomplished cast are apparently worth seeing, reviewers are finding the play to be rather stale. “This new A Delicate Balance is like a Christmas fruitcake that’s been left out too long,” reads the New York Post’s theater review, penned by critic Elisabeth Vincentelli. “It’s boozy and loaded with goodies — Glenn Close! John Lithgow! — but it’s also on the dry side.”

In addition to her current stint on stage, Close most recently appeared in the summer box office smash Guardians of the Galaxy as Nova Prime. The six-time Oscar nominee also has two films in postproduction – Anesthesia with Kristen Stewart and Corey Stoll and the Great Gilly Hopkins with Julia Stiles, Kathy Bates and Octavia Spencer.