Meny Beriro’s The Rubout starts very strongly with George Bizzell (Phil Oetiker) sitting at his desk, which he has occupied for many years, at the funeral home where he works. Soon he is interrupted by a phone call from his boss asking him to stay late to meet a client since the boss is running late. His peace (and frustration) is soon interrupted by Bill Miller (Alan Hasnas) who enters the room pretending to be a potential client.  

What follows is an absurdist, dark comedy where Miller tries to enlist Bizzel’s help in first covering-up and then committing a murder. Bizzell rejects all the initial propositions with outrage and sometimes fear of this seemingly deranged individual. But each time Bizzell rejects a Miller proposition, Miller switches to a different character. He keeps Bizzel constantly off-balance as he drives Bizzell to admitting the evil deeds in his past.  

The action and changes are extremely fast and, for the first fifteen minutes or so of this one-hour play, very effective. Unfortunately, the device soon becomes repetitive and no longer moves the plot forward as the play continues. It seems that Beriro wants Miller to be the conscience of Bizzell, but the current staging does not allow that to work as the author does (or should) intend. A much more functional approach would be for Miller to leave the set each time Bizzell rejects him. Then, while Bizzell is resting, Miller should reenter the space and give Bizzell a new challenge to his conscience and morality. This would soon make it apparent to the audience that Miller is a phenomenon actually created by Bizzell as his self-image and the reality of who he is come to a resolution.  

The acting by Oetiker and Hasnas is first rate as they both effectively deal with the fast paced and constantly shifting dialogue. The staging does need significant revision. At the performance I attended the sound cue for the suicide in blackout failed. This left my companion unsure that the suicide of Bizzell actually happened. Certainly, that is the sort of thing that can happen in an off-off-Broadway black box, but there should be a way to generate that sound, especially while in blackout, from the stage.  

The Rubout’s comic, dark absurdism has potential, but that full potential us not realized in the current production.