Getting Out: A Tale of Two Arlies

The promise of turning over a new leaf and forming a different identity is frequently an appealing one, but sometimes it can be a necessity for survival. At least, that's how it seems to Arlie, who has just been released from prison, and plans to get through life as her better, more respectable half, Arlene.

Of course, all of this is easier said than done in Getting Out, a challenging work being produced by the frequently thought-provoking troupe, Journeymen Theater. The play's most interesting and effective conceit is having both halves of the protaganist's soul inhabited by different actresses - Tiffany Fillmore takes on the more unhinged Arlie, while Alia Faith Williams is the struggling Arlene.

Both women give such revelatory performances that we learn as much about this character from a gesture or a facial movement than we do from this explorative script by Marsha Norman. Fillmore is transformative as Arlie, vicious to the point she's almost scary; Williams has the less demonstrative but no less daunting task of conveying Arlene's more internal journey, and does so admirably. Director Deborah Kirby is smart to keep Arlie suspended above the action in a jail cell, her presence never allowing us to forget Arlene's turmoil without interfering with present developments.