Gender conflict
propels new play

A man arrives at a picnic table in a beach park and prepares for a meal. He checks the lay of the tablecloth, pours two glasses of water -- he's even brought a red rose! A woman joins him. Are they lovers celebrating a special occasion? Well, not exactly. They're attorneys who've agreed to meet after hours to confirm the details of an out-of-court settlement. He's representing one side. She's representing the other. Things get ugly fast.

"Tiramisu on the Beach" Presented by the Actors Group. Continues at 7 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at Yellow Brick Studio, 625 Keawe St. Tickets are $10. Call 550-8457 or visit www.honoluluboxoffice.com.

Is he surprised that she arrived on time? Why did she think that he thought she wouldn't be on time? Isn't his suggestion that they meet at the beach really just another example of the way men always want to be in control? Did his wife ever find out about their affair?

Welcome to "Tiramisu on the Beach," the first "dark night" production by the Actors Group at the Yellow Brick Studio. An overflow crowd filled the small theater on Saturday, and access is likely to be "reservations only" for the rest of the run. "Tiramisu" reunites TAG founders Eric Nemoto and Dorothy Stamp, the dramatic duo whose work in TAG's 2001 production of "Oleanna" earned them matching Po'okela Awards for leading male and leading female -- and an award for Overall Play as well.

With "Tiramisu," Nemoto and Stamp return to the same murky and often enigmatic issues they explored in "Oleanna," and they do so with the same finely shaded work that made the earlier production a critical and popular success. The big difference is that this production is the world premiere of an original script co-written by Nemoto and director Jon Brekke.

The writing is engaging, the arguments well balanced, and several interesting facets of the story are left for the audience to discuss afterward. "Tiramisu" is overall one of the best locally written scripts in recent years.

Nemoto and Stamp again prove perfectly matched playing adversaries in a bitter yet poignant battle of the sexes. Posture, position, facial expressions and subtle changes of inflection become important in their nuanced portrayals of ex-lovers trying to sort out their personal feelings while also taking care of business.

Wren (Nemoto) was the "hot-shot partner" of a major law firm, and married, when Tara (Stamp), 22, was hired as a paralegal. He says in retrospect that he wasn't expecting a sexual relationship when he first invited her to join him for coffee. But later on, he had meant what he said when he told her he loved her and was going leave his wife for her.

It didn't work out that way, of course. Tara lost her job, told the head of the firm that Wren had sexually harassed her, and then went to law school. Now she's a successful attorney specializing in sexual harassment suits.

Playwrights Nemoto and Brekke take the issue of sexual harassment out of an ivory tower academic environment and address it from real-life community perspectives. Tara explains why some young paralegals -- or women in other entry-level jobs -- might feel forced to accept social invitations from their superiors. Wren doesn't get it. He tells Tara that some women -- not her, but some women -- wear tight or revealing clothes because they enjoy the attention they receive, and that some women -- not her, but some women -- aggressively flirt with their male superiors and encourage their advances.

Other women misinterpret innocent compliments as "sexual harassment." What's a man to do?

Suppose Tara was lying on her stomach in her back yard, sunbathing in a "dental floss" bikini, and she knew her male neighbors were ogling her as they pretended to water their lawns or whatever. What would she do? What does that have to do with the issues of my client's case? she replies.

Nemoto and Brekke are remarkably objective. Many men might come away with new perspectives -- or at least a better idea of how things can look from a woman's perspective. Women might have heard most of the male arguments before, but this isn't standard male-bashing, either. Brekke's direction and the actors' performances suggest that Wren and Tara are sincerely open to hear each other out on the personal issues between them.

The resolution is successful on several levels even as it leaves other issues open to discussion.

James McCarthy (Paul) provides much of the comic relief with his performance as the French chef Wren has on hand to prepare the dinner on the beach. This element of the story works well, too.

Gender issues are important, and addressing them with the opposite sex is important. That makes this well-written and compelling production recommended for anyone who is mature enough to want more than sex from the opposite sex. Go now, Hawaii!