Gary Pak's story of illiterate, mentally unstable Vietvet Gilbert Sanchez (Rodney Kwock) is told primarily through the interwoven narration offive voices (Linda Au, Nyla L. Ching-Fujii, Karen C. Hironaga,Karen Kaulana and Lisa S. Lumives). Gilbert's thoughts andfeelings are related by three facets of his personality: theDrinker (Ronald Serrao), the Rebel (BullDog) and the Nice Guy(Russell K. Kaneakua).
The tightly interwoven performances of the eight narrators provide much of the entertainment value. Joseph D. Dodd's richlydetailed set encompasses the entire interior of the theater and brings the audience into the fictional community; that's another plus.
The use of language is still another. The residents speak unaffected contemporary pidgin. The narration is delivered in stilted overly precise formal English.
The premise is familiar Kumu Kahua fare. Two stereotypically racist "haole" developers need the Sanchez family land to complete a hotelproject. Gilbert inherits the land from his parents; his twoolder sisters scheme to get control of it so they can sell tothe developers.
Evil sister Lola (Margaret Jones) will do whatever it takes. She has absolutely no redeeming qual-ities; seasoned Kumu Kahua audiences will quickly define her as a clone of the true villains - the evil racist haoles. Jones does a fabulous job as a villainess you'll love to hate. (Her performance overcomes repeated references to Lola's obesity;Jones is slender).
The prospects of obtuse but good-natured Gilbert aren't helped by his penchant for talking to himself and by his involvement with another Waipuna mental case. Old ManNakakura (Dann Seki) is the self-styled "watcher" whoclaims to be defending Waipuna against mysterious Frog-Men.
Kashiwada's tightly knit teams of narrators create the foundation for effective performances by Kwock, Seki, Jones, Jan Dee Abraham (sister Lucy) and Daniel A. Kelin II (smarmy developer Hank Wilkins). Daryl Bonilla distinguishes himself in a small but hilarious comic role as Gilbert's nephew. Dennis Welborn completes the cast playing two evil haoles.
A combination of supernatural forces and geological problems any half-way competent developer would have discovered far inadvance eventually saves the rural community.
The sense of characterization is handled quite well. However, the pacing is glacial. At least one scene in Act I could be cut entirely without anyloss of detail or character development.
On the other hand, deft use of comedy, absence of pretentiousness, and the quality of the performances make this one of the most impressive and refreshing Kumu Kahua shows in several years. It isn't a safe production of a sure-hit topic. That's all the more reason for audience members to thank Harry Wong III and John H.Y. Wat for developing it.
'Watch' for the stagings
When: 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, through June 2. Signed performance May 12 "The Watcher of Waipuna"
Where: Kumu Kahua Theatre
Tickets: $12 general; $9 seniors, students and children; $9 Thursdays
Call: 536-4441