What a difference a year makes: On Maytag Virgin, Lizzy, life and love

Nov 7

Woman in a pink dress sits on a porch glider with a birdhouse on her lap — Aimee Thomas as Lizzy Nash in CAST’s October 2026 production of Maytag Virgin at the Arts Factory, Charlotte NC

I felt Lizzy Nash in my bones.

Maytag Virgin is the story of two neighbors, Lizzy Nash and Jack Key, moving through a year of grief and recovery and slowly finding their ways back to themselves and to each other.

It wasn’t until the show finished that I realized why I felt this story so deeply. It starts back in October 2025.

I went to a 3retreat in the mountains, and we were asked to imagine our life as a river. And I didn’t want to. My river current felt like a whirlpool – spinning, spinning and going nowhere (In retrospect, very Lizzy.). Fragments floated through my mind:

The song Say Something
Jeremiah 29: A letter to the exiles
Robert Frost’s Mending Wall

And through my tears I grappled with God. Anger, hurt, grief, sorrow, fear, exile. God met me in the struggle. And the work began.

Three months later, I auditioned for my first role in Charlotte. My first role in years. It led to a beautiful ensemble experience as Annette Raleigh in Theatre Charlotte’s God of Carnage. And one year to the day from that retreat, that grappling, I found myself on stage again as Lizzy Nash in Maytag Virgin.

When I look back over my retreat notes, the path seems so clear. But in the moment, I couldn’t see around the corners. Or over the walls.

When I pick a role, I read the script in its entirety. And I listen to my body. Can I feel this character. In God of Carnage, I could feel Annette – her anxiety, her need to smooth the waters, her pent-up anger. In Maytag Virgin, I could feel Lizzy before I even understood the script. I was still making discoveries into the last shows. And I didn’t recognize the mirrored timeline, that fateful year of healing, until after the show closed.

I leave Maytag Virgin with a feeling of immense accomplishment and gratitude. A two-hander is a really special experience, made more so when your scene partner is an exceptional talent. Dalton Riddle is.

And Lizzy. Lizzy is flirtatious and odd, terrified and hopeful, blind and keen, desperate and wanting. Technically – SO MANY LINES. Artistically – SO MANY FEELINGS. Every night, when she finally got her happy ending, I celebrated with her. We – she and I – finally exhaled. The opportunity to live a happy ending and share that with audiences was a beautiful gift. The idea that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be rich was a beautiful reminder.

In Scene 1.4, Jack and Lizzy stand in the backyard, and Jack asks, “Just what exactly are you tryin’ to wall in, I wonder?” Lizzy veers. And I? I am transported. To a retreat in the mountains. To a woman who was spinning. To pine and apple orchards. To a year of quiet growing, of courage and surrender. And around that corner, over that wall - love.