Abundance

Abundance

by Beth Henley

TACT (The Actors Company Theatre)

The Beckett Theatre / Theatre Row

February 28, 2015

Photo courtesy of TACT

I was very excited when I saw that TACT (The Actors Company Theatre) was doing Beth Henley’s Abundance.  I got a ticket on TDF right away.  I thought it was a new play, then found out that it was commissioned in 1989 by South Coast Repertory, just six years after her acclaimed Crimes of the Heart.  I commend TACT for their program notes with detailed information about Beth Henley and background on the development of this script.  Be sure to read through them when you go to the show.  They gave me a few points of reference and prepared me for the production, which was beyond anything I anticipated. 

The action of the play starts in 1860 and spans twenty-five years.  It is the story of two mail order brides who become friends while waiting for their prospective husbands to meet them.  Their stories are brutal and stark, as they face the wilderness, hunger, and abuse.  They cling to one another as they sacrifice and adapt to their situations.  Act II changes drastically when one of the women is kidnapped and enslaved by a Native American tribe.  The program notes state, “While much of the content in Abundance may seem far-fetched, all of it is based on fact.”  This is one of the reference points I referred to earlier.  Without previous knowledge to this time in history, I would have found this plot point to be contrived.  With this understanding, I was able to allow the second act to unfold.  

Tracey Middendorf, Ted Koch, Kelly McAndrew, and Todd Lawson
in the TACT production of Beth Henley's Abundance      Photo courtesy of TACT

The women turn on each other in Act II when they are reunited.  The level of betrayal between them is in the script, yet not portrayed with the depth that is needed to make it realistic and understandable.  Yes, the circumstances are extremely out of the ordinary, however, the connection of the two actors was not visceral enough to create a realistic and viable second act.  The four main actors, Tracy Middendorf, Kelly McAndrew, Todd Lawson, and Ted Koch, do an amazing job establishing their four distinct characters and creating relationships that are tense and connected in Act I.  The director, Jenn Thompson, seemed to miss the core of the conflict in Act II. 

The set, by Wilson Chin, opens the space up with expansive cloud constructions.  On the central playing area stands a strong, statuesque pole with a pulley that constantly reminds us of the level of rigorous work that is involved in the lives of these characters.  There is a lot of dialogue about the size of the sky and the closeness of the stars at night.  The openness of the design allows the space to be overtaken by this feeling.  Philip Rosenberg’s brilliant lighting illuminates the clouds with color and fills the night sky with those close, reachable stars.

Even though I had trouble with the second act, Abundance is valuable play about a portion of our history we do not regularly see or hear about.  Though I was not emotionally moved by its outcome, it certainly did intrigue me.  It is a well-produced piece with historic significance.  

Domenick Danza