Big Bad ëWoolfí Classika Production of Albee Play Exhibits Ingenuity but Drags as a Whole by Lisa Troshinsky What is the old adage? If it ainít broke, donít fix it? This logic should have been applied to Classika Theatreís current production of Edward Albeeís timeless ìWhoís Afraid of Virginia Woolf?î This treatment of ìVirginia Woolfî by visiting director Constantine Tariloffó which marks the Shirlington, Va., theaterís first stab at an American playóbetter resembles the Russian theater genre to which both Classika and Tariloff are more accustomedóan unfortunate choice in this particular instance. I left the theater thinking they would have fared better had they whet their chops on simpler American fare. Yet nothing is simple about ìWhoís Afraid of Virginia Woolf?î Russian theater is often more deliberately paced and focuses on exploring the charactersí mental and emotional conflicts rather than propelling the play forward with action. This emphasis follows the Stanislavsky method of acting, which stresses the charactersí motivations and on which Classikaís professional theater school is based. Tariloff is also steeped in Russian thespian tradition. He is a graduate of the famous Moscow Art Theatre School, where he directed both Russian and international classics at Russiaís Contemporary Theatre. Before arriving in the Washington, D.C., area, he also directed two Russian contemporary plays in Denver. As a result, much of this production of ìVirginia Woolfî dragsósomething a play as long as this one (two hours and 50 minutes with two intermissions) doesnít need. The first sceneówhen the married team of Martha and George return home after an evening of excess liquor at a university faculty partyócould have been lifted right out of a Chekhov play. The action suffered from long, dramatic pauses where the characters seemed to be contemplating their every next thought, word and action. Yet the spontaneous, easily provoked and uncontrollable characters of Martha and George are not the types to think before they speak or act. In addition, Tariloffís choice to cast slim, lanky, youngish Kate Revelleóa seasoned and accomplished actress in her own rightóas Martha also clashes with Albeeís intentions. Albee penned Martha as six years older than George (a point made repeatedly throughout the play), past the childbearing age, and an embarrassing and inappropriate match for the 20-something professor Nick, whom she invites over with his bride and later seduces. Yet Tariloff has Revelle, who looks younger than George (played by Marcus Fisk), spend the course of the play changing into one sexy outfit after another to excess and distraction, with the evening starting to resemble a beauty pageant. Another unconventional decision that at times doesnít work within the context of the play was to direct Nick and his wife Honey as sex-craved guests and all-too-willing accomplices to Martha and Georgeís emotionally twisted and sexual ìparlor games.î Albeeís ìmousy, small-hippedî Honey, usually played as shy and horrified by her hosts, is cast as buxom and well-padded Rachel Speicher, who, by draping herself seductively all over George and Martha while wearing Marthaís skimpy outfits, at times steals attention from George and Marthaís relationshipóìVirginia Woolfísî intended main attraction. This works well as a showcase for Speicherís fine acting abilities, but at the expense of Albeeís masterpiece. On the other hand, the choice to embolden the character of Nick with an intense, unreserved rivalryóboth on a professional and personal levelówith George actually strengthens Georgeís character by giving him more on which to react. Consequently, this decision strengthens the production as a whole, and Marthaís shortcomings in this rendering are, in part, made up for by the intensity of the other characters. A highlight of this production, and one that serves to ground it in Albeeís reality, is the superb acting by Fisk as George, whose character also provides the emotional glue that keeps his marriage togetheróalbeit hanging on by a very thin thread. Fiskís interpretation of George hides his pain from Marthaís verbal and emotional jabs through a jeering bravado, but at the same time shows enough vulnerability and insight to allow us to empathize with his plot in life. It is because of his sensitivity that the final ìsurpriseî he springs on Martha at the playís end seems less of a vicious jab and more of a last attempt to save the marriage through forced honesty and reality. In all fairness, this production exhibits a healthy amount of ingenuity and good humor that serves well to compliment the emotional heaviness of its plot. It is delightful when Martha offers up her rear end as a serving platter while George pours his guestsí cocktails, forcing Nick to muster up the courage to retrieve the drinks from this awkward position. The symmetry is brilliant when, while Martha and Nick are upstairs supposedly engaged in sexual relations, George and Honey are positioned stacked on top of each other in the living roomóhe lying on top of the coffee table with her lying underneath writhing in a dance of imagined sexual intercourse. And during the majority of the play, the four characters work well as an inspired ensemble. Yelling and talking over one another, fighting and running around the stage, each is on his or her separate journey. But in the end, the whole is greater than the parts, and the effect is overwhelming. ìWhoís Afraid of Virginia Woolfî runs through March 9 at Classika Theatre, 4041 S. 28th St., Arlington, Va. For more information, please call (703) 824-6200 or visit www.classika.org. Lisa Troshinsky is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.