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ON STAGE

Two plays push audience

By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin

Cryptic, grim and challenging describe director Dennis Carroll's ambitious staging of two plays by August Strindberg in the UH-Manoa Ernst Lab Theatre.

"Easter" and "The Ghost Sonata" are being presented in separate performances through the weekend. However, since Strindberg wrote "Easter" before "The Ghost Sonata" it makes sense to see them in that order if possible.

"The Ghost Sonata" and "Easter": Ernst Lab Theatre, UH Manoa. "Ghost" plays 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday; and 6 p.m. Sunday. "Easter" plays 8 p.m. today; 4 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $8; $6 students, seniors, military, UH faculty and staff; $3 UHM students with valid ID. Call 956-7655.

Both are stories of fragile individuals at risk and under pressure. Parallel themes and components play out to diametrically opposite results. Carroll explains in the program notes that Strindberg wrote "Easter" shortly before the playwright married his third wife. "The Ghost Sonata " came seven years later when his now ex-wife was involved with another man.

Lab theatre regulars Eric Dixon Burns and Taurie Kinoshita star as young innocents in both plays. Bill Carr, a less familiar face, dominates both with his portrayal of powerful and threatening characters. Kinoshita stands out in two complicated characters, she should be seen on stage more often.

Blake T. Kushi (Elis Heyst) is the focal point in "Easter" as a proud young man with the weight of the world bearing down on him. His father has been imprisoned for embezzlement. A colleague has apparently taken the credit for his research work, and it seems that his sister (Kinoshita), recently released from a mental hospital, may be charged with breaking into a florist's shop.

"The Ghost Sonata" finds a mysterious man "born unable to forgive" wreaking a vengeance worthy of the Count of Monte Cristo on a corrupt and morally bankrupt family only to have it turn upon him.

Carroll and assistant director Pippin stage these tales on stark minimalist sets and use a creative assortment of sound and lighting effects that include hand-held flashlights and projected images. Stephen Crowell (images, sound design & technical direction), D. Scott Woods (lighting), and Gregg Lizenbery (choreography) share credit for the contemporary embellishments to these two classic tales.

Carroll eschews the usual actor bios in favor of four pages of information on Strindberg, the context of the plays and the considerations that influenced Carroll in staging and directing this production. This is educational and challenging university theater at its best.

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OPENING

"THE AUDITION IS OVER" AND "COTTON GIRLS"

Tenney Theatre, St. Andrews Priory, 536-6102
Two one-act plays: "The Audition is Over" is a story of a battle between a mother and a teacher over a young girl's career. "Cotton Girls" centers around three best friends on their graduation night. 7 p.m. tomorrow; 3 p.m. Saturday. Free.

COMING UP

"Thirteen Daughters"
Mamiya Theater, 943-2244
A musical about a wealthy Chinese merchant named Chun and his wife, a Hawaiian princess, who have 13 daughters. By tradition, the couple's eldest daughter must marry before her sisters. But she is more interested in missionary work than romance. At 7 p.m. Feb. 10 and 8 p.m. Feb. 11-12. Tickets: $8.

"KEVIN HUGHES"
University of Hawaii at Manoa, 239-5867
Annual Valentine's Show with insight on "How Men and Women Relate," along with humor and poignancy. Performances: 8 and 10 p.m. Feb. 11, Campus Center Ballroom; and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Feb. 12, Hemenway Theater. Tickets are available at Jellys, Tower Records Keeaumoku and the campus center ticket outlet.$15; $10 students and military.

"PANGEAN DREAMS: A SHAMANIC JOURNEY
Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawai'i, 956-7655
A journey back in time explores the fracturing of Pangaea and of a woman's life. Performances: 11 p.m. Feb. 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26. Tickets: $6; $5 students, seniors, military and UH faculty and staff; $3 UHM students with valid ID. Tickets on sale at the door only, an hour before the performance.

On Stage

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