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Cross-cultural
milestoneUmbuik Mudo and the Magic Flute: Performances continue at 8 p.m. today, tomorrow and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Kennedy Theatre. Tickets are $12; call 956-7655
By John Berger Boy loves girl. Girl rejects boy as lazy and generally lacking in substance -- "Even your money is a loan from your father," she says in dismissal. What's a guy to do?
Special to the Star-BulletinRicky Nelson decided that the answer was to become a recording artist -- and so he did, with a little help from his father. Young Umbuik Mudo uses a similar strategy to win the love of rich and beautiful Puti Galang Banyak as the University of Hawai'i at Manoa Department of Theatre and Dance celebrates the glorious traditions of Indonesian theater with "Umbuik Mudo And The Magic Flute."
The production is one of those expansive cross-cultural projects at which the UH excels. The script is a translation of a traditional Indonesian tale adapted here by a committee that includes members of the INDO 301 class, producer/director Kirstin A. Pauka and the cast. Two master teachers from Western Sumatra -- Musra Dahrizal, who brings 42 years of experience as the leader of a Indonesian Randai theater group, and Hasanawi, a former child prodigy specializing in traditional Indonesian instruments -- conducted a six-month program to get the cast up to speed with the theatrical conventions and cultural context of Randai.
Pauka and her cast do a beautiful job combining spoken dialogue, sung narrative and traditional Indonesian music to tell the story while also displaying their skill in developing characters. Each scene is separated by a dance segment that reflects the Indonesian martial art form, silat.
The dancers' circle defines the area in which most of the story is told. Limited audience seating is provided on three sides of the performance area, as well as in the regular off-stage seating. Anyone interested in seeing the costumes and musical instruments up close should ask about the availability of seats on stage.
The adapted story contains many traditional themes -- family relationships, the importance of protocol and good manners, the custom of leaving home to obtain further eduction, and the prominence of silat in the Indonesian culture. Yes, there's a lot of tradition here -- just as in Kennedy Theatre productions of Japanese or Chinese theater -- and colorful costumes, engaging performances, and the impact of the dancers' silat drills make this an impressive and entertaining experience.
Umbuik (Jonathan Clark Sypert) spends several years getting advanced training in silat, but loses an important match to rival Pendeka Capek (Shen Nissan Sugai) when he is distracted by the beautiful Puti Galang (Christine M. Hauptman). He's smitten; she rudely dismisses him as unworthy.
Umbuik's mother (Frances Marguerite Mammana) goes into the jungle to find the right piece of bamboo for the titular magic flute that Umbuik then uses to bewitch Puti. Yes, musicians get the babes in traditional Indonesian society just as they do in America!
Sypert does an effective job portraying the pain Umbuik feels at failing his silat guru and then being twice rejected by Puti. Performers in some of these cross-cultural shows can be so focused on accurately executing the stylizations of a unfamiliar art form that they fall short in character development. Sypert comes through on all counts.
Hauptman, Mammana and Sugai are strong in key scenes. Stephanie Keola Anna Sanchez adds another stellar performance to her resume as the leader of the Anak Randai dancers/silat squad; She is fully involved in responding to the action even when she and the troupe are only observers.
The sound was not balanced evenly last Saturday, but consider this a must-see experience in world theater. The production deserves full houses for the remainder of its run.
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