COURTESY MEADER ARTS Mark Pinkosh proves himself an accomplished actor in the one-man show, "Haole Boy 2."

‘Haole Boy 2’ plays
well in new angle

Can a "haole boy" be part African-American? Why does the Screen Actors Guild make it more difficult for gay couples to qualify for health insurance? What is the only acceptable reason for wearing a baseball cap backward? Those are just three of the subjects Mark Pinkosh explores in his new one-man show, "Haole Boy 2: Haole-er Than Thou!," at The ARTS at Marks Garage.

"Haole Boy 2: Haole-er Than Thou!" by Meader Arts Continues at 8 p.m. today through Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at The ARTS at Marks Garage. Tickets: $20 Call: 550-8457 Website: www.artsatmarks.com

No knowledge of the original 1991 production of "Haole Boy" is necessary to appreciate Pinkosh's performance and insights, and fans who expect "Haole Boy 2" to be essentially "more of the same" are in for a surprise. Again.

The first time, Pinkosh adroitly side-stepped simmering controversy about the use of the word "haole." Pinkosh's protagonist/narrator, a Caucasian-American military "brat" named Christian Wnuk, gets a whiff of racist treatment from a Japanese-American girl but is later adopted by some "local boys" and becomes a "haole moke."

"Haole Boy 2" is much more of a straight-out autobiographical piece than "Haole Boy," and includes vignettes inspired by real people in the local theater community -- at least one of whom is still around.

It also makes much less use of the fast cuts between characters that Pinkosh used so well in "Haole Boy" -- arguments between Wnuk/Pinkosh and his sister, or between Wnuk/Pinkosh and other people. Several of the tightest such pieces in "Haole Boy 2" are those that Pinkosh is recycling to give first-timers some of the backstory.

Wnuk/Pinkosh was born on a American military base in Germany in the '60s, came to Hawaii with his family at age 8, and spent much of his youth as a "haole moke" while determining his sexual identity. The "old" pieces are just as entertaining the second time around.

Writing the sequel after 9/11, Pinkosh shares his experiences as an American in Scotland on Sept. 11, 2001, with "A Moment of Silence," a touching vignette about the Scots' reaction to the attacks. He also recalls the bombing campaign of the Red Army Faction in Germany in the early-1970s, the long-running Irish Republican Army bombing campaign in England, and the bitter centuries-old hatreds between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Pinkosh taps lighter topics with tales of his Hollywood experiences. There's the agent who didn't think she could find him much work because he looked Hispanic -- until she found out he actually isn't Hispanic! There's the actress who told him she would rather wait tables than do "background work" as a SAG extra, and a beautifully crafted look at the hierarchy and competitiveness that exists between actors, even when their current roles are as condiments in a hot dog commercial.

Another new segment, "The Magic of Theatre," will strike a chord in anyone who remembers Pinkosh's early local theater gigs.

Whatever the topic, Pinkosh consistently shows himself an accomplished actor with a fine sense of character and keen ear for dialogue and accents. Some segments advance the nominal storyline of a self-styled haole boy's journey through life. Others appear intended simply as platforms for a character or accent Pinkosh enjoys.

The prime example of the latter is Aunt Elenore, a character who babbles on at length in Act I about her knock-down, drag-out fight in Liberty House with the wife of a quiet but effective governor of Hawaii, and then returns in Act II for an even more improbable tale about her misadventures with Wayne Newton's wig in a Las Vegas casino. The character gives Pinkosh a great chance to entertain, though revealing nothing about the experiences of a contemporary haole boy.