Scenes From the Apocalypse

The American paranoiac belongs to a club whose membership renewals are going extremely well at the moment. This is a time of worry. Now, with a careful, cool sense of composure, along comes a theater piece exploring the 1993 Branch Davidian disaster in Waco, Texas--that volatile combination of dubious law enforcement and paranoiac, apocalyptic prophecy.

The play is “Soon,” written and directed by Hal Hartley. Conceived several years ago, it premiered as part of the 1998 Salzburg Festival. Its North American debut opened Thursday as part of the Eclectic Orange Festival, which is fast becoming one of the most valuable arts presenters around.

Hartley’s best known for writing and directing the films “The Unbelievable Truth,” “Trust,” “Flirt” and other seriocomic slices of life as Hartley knows it. When he came on the scene in the ‘90s, his terse, deadpan characters were a nice change from--well, from an awful lot of independent filmmaking, for one thing. That sense of humor comes through in “Soon,” albeit sparingly.

It begins with a Bible, isolated in a spotlight, on a footstool. Hartley’s cast of seven enters the squarish playing space, lined by lighting and sound equipment. They carry modified boom microphones resembling golf clubs, which evoke the image of an ever-ready media jackal pack, circling the Branch Davidian compound.

Various members of “The Faithful” debate whether the promised Apocalypse will arrive. “Is it happening?” asks one believer, after the Big Day has failed to come again.

“No.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

Another congregation splits off from the Faithful. (The narrative flow of “Soon” is oblique and dreamy; the program synopsis fills in the details.) Its self-designated prophet takes things in the direction of cultdom. He marries all the women. In order to finance their compound, the men decide to manufacture and sell guns.

Despite its Waco vibe, “Soon” is no docudrama. It is a series of tightly choreographed tableaux, in the service of an extended poem. The most familiar face in “Soon” belongs to Elina Lowensohn, the memorably intense bundle of pathos opposite Isabelle Huppert in Hartley’s film “Amateur.” The ensemble is all of a piece, costumed by Alysia Raycraft in subdued grays and browns. “Soon” has an excellent lighting design by Scott Zielinski, whose work with Richard Foreman informs the visual scheme here. Hartley and Coleman’s musical score, very cinematic in its atmosphere of yearning, acts as mournful commentary on the proceedings.

The play is a bit of a putterer; its sense of remove limits its effectiveness. But to his credit, Hartley isn’t demonizing or mocking these folks. Nonetheless: When Hartley’s comic edge reveals itself, it’s usually to the piece’s benefit. At one point, late in “Soon,” the David Koresh-like prophet issues an order to “Bring me your daughters--the virgins, particularly.”

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“Soon,” Eclectic Orange Festival, Founders Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 and 7 p.m.; Monday-Wednesday, 8 p.m. Ends Wednesday. $25. (213) 480-3232 or https://www.EclecticOrange.org. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.

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Emily Coates, Stacy Dawson, Elina Lowensohn, DJ Mendel, David Neumann, Tom O’Connor, James Stanley: Ensemble

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Written and directed by Hal Hartley. Choreographed by David Neumann. Lighting by Scott Zielinski. Sound by Andy Russ. Costumes by Alysia Raycraft. Music by Hal Hartley and Jim Coleman. Stage manager Terri Anne Ciofalo.