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Diamond Head Theatre
Bridget Kelly, front, dons pillbox hat and white gloves in the
title role of "Jackie: An American Life." Naturally, Jackie
always had her share of groupies.

‘Jackie’ portrayal
simply darling

By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin

WHEN a couple happily bids $3 million for half-empty containers of household cleaning supplies from the apartment of Jackie Kennedy Onassis at auction, it's instantly apparent that Gip Hoppe's "Jackie: An American Life" is satirical comedy of the first magnitude.

Director Stephanie Curtis Conching and her cast quickly prove worthy of Hoppe's material. The Diamond Head Theatre production of "Jackie" is one of the funniest shows seen here in recent years. It is obviously going to stand as the funniest comedy staged by any local theater group this year.

Hoppe spares none of the sacred cows so dear to the tabloid culture of contemporary America. Not even Jackie escapes unscathed, but the tone remains light and the laughs are never forced.

Jackie: An American Life: At Diamond Head Theatre, 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through April 16. Tickets $10-$40; call 734-0274

Bridget Kelly (Jackie) makes a great return to local theater in the title role. Kelly plays Jackie with much the same breathy presence used by Naomi Brossart opposite Vaughn Meader in "The First Family" almost 40 years ago and she is instantly convincing.

Kelly negotiates a wide range of emotions with ease -- a feat particularly difficult in a satirical context. Sukey Dickinson (costume design) and Kathleen Kamawaiwi (makeup and hair) do an outstanding job is making her into a Jackie clone.

Kelly gets superb support from her male co-stars:

Richard MacPherson (John F. Kennedy) has previously distinguished himself as a villain in Kumu Kahua's production of "Othello" and as a hero in Manoa Valley Theatre's "To Kill A Mockingbird." He now proves himself equally adapt as a comic lead. MacPherson is absolutely amazing as JFK.

Dion Donahue reaffirms that he is one of the most accomplished actors in local theater with a series of comic performances. Donahue's finely detailed portrayals of Bobby Kennedy and Truman Capote are hilarious, but he is also good as a tabloid media "god" named Mur Doch, as Bjorn in a spoof of a Swedish movie, and as Biff Hutchinson III, a callow collage sophomore who goes down in flames when he tries to impress young Jacqueline Bouvier.

Wil T. Kahale gives a career best performance playing multiple roles as Richard Nixon, Aristotle Onassis and Jackie's promiscuous father "Black Jack" Bouvier. Kahale steals a scene outright when he appears as fecund Ethel Kennedy; Dickinson and Margaret McKea (puppet designer) makes Kahale's portrayal of Ethel an instant hit.

Kahale is also heard, rather than seen, as the booming voice of Joe Kennedy Sr., the Kennedy clan patriarch who made his sons in his own promiscuous image.

Blake T. Kushi adds fine comic portrayals of Frank Sinatra, doltish young Ted Kennedy and one of Jackie's early teachers.

Sarah Doudna, Melissa Larry, Katie Leiva Shriver, Erin M.M. Sweeney and Anne Willmarth play characters of both sexes. Willmarth is featured early as Jackie's mother. Doudna has a small but funny spot opposite Donahue in the movie spoof; she returns to give a strong performance as Christina Onassis.

Joel Savoie (set design) gives Conching and the cast a series of interesting visual environments and striking props to work with. Several characters are portrayed by masks or McKea's puppets. Everything here works as it should.

If there is a point to "Jackie," it is that for better and worse Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was shaped by her childhood experiences and upbringing. Anyone who appreciates well-written beautifully performed comic satire will want to see DHT's "Jackie."

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