‘Water Hen’s’ Beane needs to live up to his potential

When the curtain rises on the Insurgo Theater Movement's "The Water Hen," now at the Onyx, we think we're seeing a helpless woman facing some sort of one-man firing squad. But when the man hesitates, the woman complains that they already had agreed, and she's upset that he might not keep his word. He then, much to his chagrin, kills her.

That's all I'll reveal about the plot, because the script by Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz is an absurdist gem that constantly catches you off guard. On one level, it's a family saga with all sorts of relatives and lovers trying to define their relationships, and on the other, a treatise about politics, love, lust, art and the meaningless of it all.

Witkiewicz argued that writers should be able to approach their stories with the sort of structural freedom that a painter approaches his canvas. So on a first viewing, the play can seem terribly illogical.

John Beane's major contribution as a director is that you can see he's caught -- in his head anyway -- the sense of the drama. He gives the action a foundation by rooting it in exaggerated, lunatic reality.

But he makes a mistake that prevents his vision from taking hold. He's cast himself in the lead (in addition to producing, directing, designing the sets, sounds, costumes and lights). Beane has a well-trained speaking instrument and knows how to command a stage. But his every role feels like the one he played before.

As Edgar, the man who kills the woman at the beginning and then tries to figure out his life, Beane says his lines with affectations that fake naturalness. But his character work is so generic we can't figure out who this man is. He needs a strong director to challenge him.

Beane's self-absorbed performance leaves the rest of the cast hanging. Did he notice how over-animated some of his actors are? And was he aware of how easily he could have prevented much of that? How can an actor be "in the moment," reacting honestly and in proper scale, while still evaluating the work of everyone and everything around him?

It gets tiring writing about what potential Beane has. It's only the Insurgo's second local season, and already the troupe is in a rut. It's time Beane focused his talents and vision. How long can one get by on potential?

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.