Arlington - The Connection Newspapers

Theater
Photo illustration by J. Tom Hnatow; original photos by Scott Suchman
Ellen McLaughlin as Claire, Kathleen Chalfant as Agnes, Terry Beaver as Tobias, and Carla Harting as Julia in
“A Delicate Balance” at Arena Stage through March 15.
Arena’s Frighteningly Good Balance
Albee’s play about fear gets lovely revival. Where and When
by Brad Hathaway
The Connection
Most playwrights
working on a
drama use fear
somewhere in the
structure. It is almost always a fear
of something specific. Fear of
death. Fear of exposure for some
weakness or evildoing. A dread of
failure — financial or personal.
Not Edward Albee. At least not
when he was writing “A Delicate
Balance” which earned him his first
Pulitzer Prize (he has three). The
play, which is being performed now
by an exemplary cast at Arena
Stage’s temporary home in Crystal
City, is about fear itself — or, more
precisely, about dread. Albee never
diffuses the focus by specifying
what is feared. This isn’t a play
about danger or threat. No monster
with a machete in a goalie’s
mask or fanged vampire or slick-
Calendar
Know of something missing from our
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Deadline is 2 p.m. the Thursday before
publication. Call Rebecca Halik at 703-
917-6407 with any questions. Photos are
welcome.
ONGOING:
With the advent of spring, Arlington’s
David M. Brown Planetarium, 1426
No. Quincy Street, presents “The
suited mafia don is presented. Just
people in fear.
Those people are wealthy. They
exist in a world of refinement and
comfort. Their relationships may
not be as successful as they
dreamed they would be (the principal
couple no longer share a bedroom,
let alone a bed and their
daughter is reeling from the collapse
of her own fourth marriage.)
But their world seems about as secure
from external threat as possible.
Still, that world, beautifully envisioned
in Todd Rosenthal’s set of
a well decorated living room and
costume designer Ilona Somogyi’s
marvelously appropriate outfits for
each and every one of the characters,
is no protection from the fear
of some exterior danger.
Those characters are played by
an ensemble of superb performers
with Broadway veterans Kathleen
Chalfant and Terry Beaver in the
Mystery of the Missing
Seasons” beginning Friday,
March 6 through Sunday, April
5. Showtimes are Fridays & Saturdays
at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at
1:30 & 3 p.m. Admission is $3 for
adults and $2 for senior citizens and
children 12 & younger. 703-228-
6070.
FRIDAY/FEB. 27
Theater. 7:30 p.m. at Chalice Theatre
at Unitarian Universalist Church of
Arlington, 4444 Arlington Blvd. $15/
lead roles of the man and woman
of the house, the couple who
haven’t shared a bedroom since the
death of their son from an unspecified
cause an unspecified time ago.
Being unspecific is exactly the tool
Albee is using and it gives these
fine performers the latitude to go
at their parts and each other with
a vigor that is remarkable. Beaver’s
third-act tirade is particularly spectacular
while Chalfant is absorbing
all evening long.
Ellen McLaughlin is the wife’s
sharp tongued alcoholic sister with
a past and Carla Harting is their
oft-returning daughter who throws
something of a fit over the fact that
“her” room isn’t ready for her reoccupancy
without advance notice
even though she’s all of 37 years
old.
The room isn’t available because
a couple they think of as their best
friends have unexpectedly shown
up not just seeking but expecting
student; senior. $20/adult. Watch
“Big: The Musical.” 703-892-0202 ext.
6.
Music Performance. The IBIS
Chamber Music Society will perform
at 7:30 p.m. at Lyon Park Community
Center, 414 N. Fillmore St. Free,
donations accepted. Visit
www.ibischambermusic.org or 703-
527-3960.
Tiny Tot. 10 a.m. or 4 p.m. at Gulf
Branch Nature Center, 3608 N.
Military Road. Children ages 18-35
months can learn about nature
through walks, stories and more. $3/
“A Delicate Balance” plays Tuesday,
Wednesday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.,
Thursday – Saturday at 8 p.m. with Saturday
and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
through March 15. There are also weekdays
matinees at noon March 3 and 11.
Arena Stage’s temporary location is at
1800 South Bell Street in Crystal City.
Tickets are $25 - $66. Call 202-488-
33000 or log on to www.arenastage.org.
asylum from some unexplained
danger that has caused them to flee
their home just a short drive away.
Albee doesn’t concentrate on plot
so much as on the inner workings
of the characters’ minds. Not much
actually happens between the
opening and final lines of the
nearly three hour play, but in the
hands of these performers under
the direction of Pam MacKinnon,
the by-play of language and the
flow of emotions makes the
evening a memorable one.
Brad Hathaway reviews theater in Virginia,
Washington and Maryland as well
as Broadway, and edits Potomac Stages,
(www.PotomacStages.com). He can be
reached at Brad@PotomacStages.com.
child. Registration required, 703-228-
3403.
Music Performance. 9:30 p.m. at El
Gitano’s Restaurant and Lounge, 3528
168 th St. Hear SikSadState and
Overkast perform. $5/person.
SATURDAY/FEB. 28
Theater. 7:30 p.m. at Chalice Theatre
at Unitarian Universalist Church of
Arlington, 4444 Arlington Blvd. $15/
student; senior. $20/adult. Watch
See Calendar, Page 10
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Arlington Connection ❖ February 25 - March 3, 2009 ❖ 9
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