Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
The hero Danshichi (Andy Utech), left, has an armlock
on the villainous Sagaemon (David McFall).

Students whisk
theatergoers to Osaka

By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin

THE University of Hawaii at Manoa Department of Theatre & Dance does some of its best work staging elaborate productions of traditional Asian theater, and director James R. Brandon's painstakingly prepared stagings of kabuki classics performed in English are the jewels in the program. This year's selection, "The Summer Festival: A Mirror Of Osaka," isn't as overwhelmingly impressive as "Sukeroku: The Flower of Edo" was in 1995, but is still magnificent. Anyone with an interest in theater should be sure to see this perfect introduction to kabuki.

Brandon and a team of kabuki specialists spent two years putting the piece together, and the student cast does them proud. The stylized movement and speech of the performers is as close to perfect as a non-professional cast can be.

The Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka At 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday through April 22, and 2 p.m. Sunday and April 23; Kennedy Theatre. Tickets: $12; $9 seniors, military UHM faculty and staff; $7 non-UHM students; $3 UHM students with valid ID. Call 956-7655

The costumes and makeup are authentic. Four striking sets designed by UH MFA candidate David Minkoff, with the assistance of Japanese designer Hamatani Hitoshi, frame the action perfectly.

Off-stage musicians directed by Ricardo D. Trimillos add another essential facet to the experience. Auxiliary members of the cast hawk posters and perform in the upstairs lobby between acts.

Playwright Namiki Sosuke links several loosely connected stories of life and love in Tokugawa Japan:

A feckless young samurai, Isonojo (Cassandra Wormser), shirks his responsibilities to pursue the beautiful prostitute Kotoura (Cindy Sakumoto).

Villainous samurai Sagaemon (David Brian McFall) seeks to win Kotoura for himself by framing Isonojo for the loss of a precious sword. The scheme is Sagaemon's only hope; when he flirts with Kotoura she dismisses him as "creepy" (The interplay between Sakumoto and McFall brought down the house on opening night.)

Osaka "street knights" Danshichi (Andrew Utech) and Tokubei (Michael Ng) team up with an aging but still formidable boatman, Sabu (Moses W. Goods III), to help Isonojo flee Osaka until they can clear him of the charges.

Danshichi confronts his father-in-law, Geheiji (Hal Schneider), for kidnapping Kotoura on Sagaemon's behalf. Geheiji spent his own money supporting Danshichi's wife and child while Danshichi was in prison and expects to be paid back in cash and familial loyalty. But Danshichi was released from prison by Isonojo's father and so owes a debt to the father, even if repaying it costs him his freedom. What will he do?

Utech gives a tremendous performance and makes the long final scene his personal showcase. Schneider is a strong second as Geheiji.

Ng and Goods likewise infuse their roles with memorable characterization. Goods transcends both race and age with his portrayal of Sabu. Ng does a fine job conveying a range of emotions through the thick kabuki makeup.

Emi Fujinami (Otatsu) steals Scene III. When Sabu tells Otatsu she is too beautiful to help sneak Isonojo out of Osaka she fearlessly disfigures herself. Fujinami portrays Otatsu with a searing intensity.

Woman were barred from performing kabuki for centuries so it may seem appropriate that Wormser plays one of the major male roles. If Isonojo is intended to appear distinctly effeminate and a poor excuse for a samurai opposite the robust and prepossessing Sagaemon and the "street knights" then this open casting was successful. It's a distracting oddity otherwise.

Tradition is preserved elsewhere. Several cast members are acknowledged by name during the show after earning that form of traditional recognition. Ad lib references to current affairs were kept to a minimum on Friday and that was an improvement over some previous UH kabuki-in-English productions.

Click for online
calendars and events.