The current theater season is shaping up to be the year of Charlotte Akin in Northern Virginia.
With her sharply focused and captivating portrayal of an edgy, agitated, emotionally and physically needy woman in Fountainhead Theatre's current offering, Akin is an artist fully coming into her own onstage. She dominates Nicky Silver's dark farce, "Fit to Be Tied," and makes it her own, even though she is in a supporting role. But it's hardly a surprise to those who have seen her compelling performances in back-to-back productions over the past few seasons with Fountainhead, the troupe she founded with husband Jim Jorgensen and with Fountainhead's partner, Keegan Theatre.
Charlotte Akin, right, portrays Nessa opposite Scott Bradley's Arloc in Nicky Silver's dark farce, "Fit to be Tied." Akin is gaining notice after a succession of standout roles in professional plays.
(Photos Ray Gniewek)
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Akin and Jorgensen moved their theater company from Dallas to Arlington about four years ago and have been staging several plays each season since then. The two have appeared primarily in plays mounted by Keegan and Fountainhead, working together and singly, but occasionally branching out to work with other groups. They have steadily carved out a niche playing character roles in the relatively low-profile world of the Washington area's secondary tier of professional theaters, the ones generally turning out good work but often struggling for audience attention in the shadow of nationally recognized theaters such as Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, the Kennedy Center, the Shakespeare Theatre and Studio Theatre, among others.
Akin often supplies the extra zing with a sparkling supporting performance that helps make a play satisfying. But with this role, following her recent play-saving turn as the lead in Fountainhead's otherwise mundane production of "Betrayal," Harold Pinter's unique examination of infidelity, Akin shows that she can elevate any production she is in. If the theater gods are watching, she is poised to make the jump into wider audience acclaim.
In "Fit to be Tied," she overshadows the rest of the cast as a woman who could become a one-joke, monstrous nymphomaniac in lesser hands, but whom Akin sympathetically brings to life as an unhappy woman isolated within her own crumbling family unit. And she does it with flamboyance, flair, impeccable comic timing and a wicked smile, later softening the character just enough to achieve a touching level of sentimentality.
Arloc Simpson (Scott Bradley) is a befuddled, good-natured gay man. He became heir to his late father's sizable estate at age 12, but not before fighting off a very public lawsuit waged by his disinherited mother Nessa (Akin), who remains financially and emotionally dependent on him, especially after leaving her second husband, the cold and remote Carl (Jorgensen). The two have settled into an agreeably contentious relationship, more like bickering buddies than mother and son, so Nessa has few reservations about unexpectedly moving into Arloc's stylish Manhattan apartment after leaving Carl.
Her timing results in an odd holiday ménage à trois, as Arloc has planned a very special first date with Boyd (Keith Lubeley), who's playing an angel in Radio City's Christmas extravaganza and shows up in winged costume. Santa will find Arloc is both knotty and nice, as his idea of romance involves rope. But the less explained here, the more surprises remain in Silver's absurdist comedy. Despite a weak plot, the comedy is outrageous, some dialogue is clever and a cloying AIDS subplot can be forgiven.
Bradley manages both charm and vulnerability as self-destructive Arloc. Jorgensen generates pity as self-absorbed Carl, but Lubeley is generally blank as Boyd, which may be Silver's fault in not shading the character properly. Directed by Kerri Rambow, the four actors are a tight ensemble, exaggerating their various pathologies to amusing effect ensconced in Stefan Gibson's vividly colored and smartly appointed apartment setting.
"Fit to be Tied," performed by Fountainhead Theatre, concludes this weekend at Theatre on the Run, 3700 S. Four Mile Run Dr., Arlington. Showtime is 8 tonight, Friday and Saturday. For tickets, call 703-920-5923. For information, visit www.fountainheadtheatre.com.
