Mark Pinkosh and the Starving Artists Theatre Company opened "Haole Boy" with much trepidation back in 1991. A Caucasian college student had come to Hawaii evidently expecting a social paradise free of racial prejudice, encountered people who he believed hated him for no reason than the color of his skin, and had the temerity to complain about the racism he perceived here. Pinkosh reprises 1-man play
exploring bias against whites"Haole Boy": Continues at 8 p.m. today and tomorrow at Hawaii Pacific University Theatre. Tickets are $14; $10 military, students, HPU faculty and staff; $5 HPU for students. Call 375-1282.Review by John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.comA high-profile member of the University of Hawaii-Manoa faculty allegedly responded that nobody had asked him to come here and that he ought to go back where he came from.
SATCo had built its reputation on its willingness to address controversial issues such as sexual identity and prejudice against gay men. Did the abrasive and potentially offensive title of Pinkosh's play mean that SATCo was joining the fray?
Not really, but Pinkosh's one-man show turned out to be great theater and a showcase for his talent. Ten years later, it is still a delightful experience.
"Haole Boy" is the story of Christian Wnuk, born in Germany while his father was stationed there and raised in Hawaii from the age of 7 after his father is transferred here. Most of Act 1 deals with Christian's experiences in Germany and the mainland United States. He survives bizarre encounters with his relatives during a cross-country trek and is disappointed when he meets Mickey Mouse at Disneyland.
Act 1 is almost over by the time Christian reaches Hawaii and he enters the public school system. High school is a blur. Christian graduates, confounds expectations by not going to college, and supports himself with an entry-level job at a local bank while trying to figure out who he is. Sexual experiments -- first with a manipulative Japanese-American princess, then with a motor-mouth gay rights activist -- leave him still searching.
The experience of being "haole" in Hawaii is only a small part of Christian's story. His first exposure to racial prejudice here as a newly arrived third-grader is when a Japanese girl runs up to him, calls him a "f-- haole," spits at him and runs away. (Young Christian finds her use of the F-word most shocking.) There will be other times when he is judged solely by his skin color -- sometimes to his advantage.
Christian observes sexism as well. As a bank employee -- "I can't tell you the name, but it wasn't the Second Hawaiian Bank," he says -- he notices that male tellers are quickly promoted to higher positions while "girls" remain tellers.
Christian also confronts the AIDS holocaust.
Pinkosh excels at portraying multiple characters and does so brilliantly here. Each is strikingly defined, there's hardly a wasted line, and director Godfrey Hamilton's sense of pacing is perfect in showcasing Pinkosh's formidable talents while also moving the story along. Act 1 never loses momentum, and the one character in Act 2 who overstays her welcome in terms of advancing the story proves one of the most popular in terms of audience response.
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