Akin Center Theatre -- There's a new theater in town

Tonight, the Akin Center Theatre at Melody Lane opens with the British comedy "See How They Run" by Philip King.

Full of mistaken identity and hijinks, the show inaugurates the new 128-seat theater-in-the-round. The venue is a longtime dream for community actor Tony Akin, and something new for Yakima theatergoers.

"It's such a unique experience," Akin says about having the audience on all sides of stage. "From an actor's standpoint, you can really feel the energy from the audience. And from the audience standpoint, you feel much more intimately involved in the show."

The new playhouse is built adjacent to the Melody Lane Academy of the Performing Arts in the Nob Hill Plaza in the empty space next door. The theater adds about 1,500 square feet to the longtime song-and-dance studio, and when the theater is dark it can be used for classes and recitals.

Renovations included building platforms for seating, installing a lighting grid, electrical upgrades and building a new wall.

While there is no set schedule for now, the productions will primarily be family-friendly comedies and musicals divided into three different categories:

* Main stage productions suited for adult audiences with primarily adult casts.

* Theater for children with experienced actors performing shows for families and children.

* Children's shows with child actors performing shows for families and other children.

"I do feel there needs to be more theater opportunities for children," says Akin. "The goal will be to involve as many kids as possible."

Akin studied music, theater and dance at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he met his wife, Amy, a dancer. The two have been married 11 years and have three children.

It was also in college when Akin changed his focus from acting professionally to coming back and someday running the Melody Lane Academy of the Performing Arts, which his mom, Peggy, originally founded with just 14 students in her living room. For lack of a better name, at the time she called it the Melody Lane School of Music.

Tony and Amy took over Melody Lane in fall 2006 after Peggy retired. Work began on building the theater in February.

"This space has been empty for a couple of years," says Akin, sitting in the new theater where you can still smell the fresh paint. "I've always had this dream of opening a theater."

When he was 10, Akin started acting at another local playhouse, the Warehouse Theatre Company. But, despite the fact that the Akin Center Theatre's debut show features familiar Warehouse faces, plus some borrowed props, Akin emphasizes this is not the Warehouse 2.

"This will be an enhancement to the Warehouse and to the Capitol (Theatre)," he says. "I hope it's a symbiotic relationship.

"Good theater," he adds, "breeds good theater."

If you go

WHAT: "See How They Run" by Philip King.

WHEN: 7:30 tonight, Saturday and Thursday, Oct. 24-25, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, Nov. 6-8, and 2 p.m. Nov. 8.

WHERE: Akin Center Theatre at Melody Lane, 2610-A W. Nob Hill Blvd.

HOW MUCH: Tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and children.

INFO: Call 248-2782 or visit www.akintheatre.com.