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Good intentions and colorful costumes abound in "Eco-Circus," a committee-crafted youth theater production about the value of endangered species, which is being presented at Kennedy Theatre. Costumed circus stunts
offer empty amusementReview by John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.comIf that were all it took to turn the world around and ensure the survival of animals and plants, we could consider the rescue work as good as done. Unfortunately, life isn't that simple, and while the intended audience (early elementary school children) will thoroughly enjoy the work of the costumed performers, it's hard to see how the kids would enjoy the show any less if the costumed characters were Barney, Big Bird, Mickey Mouse or Scooby Doo.
In short, even though the designated Earth Day message -- Save These Adorable Endangered Species! -- is laid on with a trowel, there's very little substance to the script.
Playwright Karen Yamamoto Hackler opens with a boy named Tee (Mitchell Goo) being mocked by his pseudo-sophisticated "friends," Sammy (Kevin Pacheco) and Madison (Claudia Elmore), because he is more interested in helping his parents save endangered Hawaiian plants than in acquiring the latest electronic games and gadgets. Sammy and Madison quickly change their tune when two gorgeous butterfly "magicians" transform Tee's room into a circus tent filled with rare and exotic animals.
The ringmaster, a gruff and bombastic condor, isn't sure that Sammy and Madison deserve to see the show, but Tee persuades him to give them a chance. The circus begins, and the animals justify their existence by performing circus stunts for the children.
Presented by the University of Hawaii Department of Theatre and Dance 'Eco-Circus'
Where: Kennedy Theatre
When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $10; $9 for seniors, military, faculty and staff; $7 youth and non-UH students; $4 UH students with Spring ID
Call: 956-7655
Most of the characterizations are anthropomorphic. Two clownish koalas (Nina Darnowsky and Claudia Elmore) perform on a springboard. Four athletic red-eyed tree frogs (Kellee Blanchard, Kelly DeRosario, Christopher Steven Quiocho and Yoshika Miyachi) cavort across the stage and then get the kids and the condor (Thomas Isao Morinaka) to join in a calypso-limbo routine. The condor and his fruit bat musician-sidekick (Christoph Ravenlock) argue over when the bat will get his solo number and fight it out martial arts style. Judged by their opening-night performance, both need to take a stage combat class.
Two performances brilliantly combine costume and characterization to capture the essence of the real animals. Jennifer Butler and Malia Bowlby stand on short stilts and lean on crutches in successfully suggesting the bulk and natural four-legged gait of gorillas. Trisha Lee shares credit with Blanchard and DeRosario as the trio of agile Asian "monkeys." The three star in their own number and then make a welcome return to interact with the gorillas. Some simian butt-scratching is used for laughs a few too many times, but the performances are excellent.
Other niggling bits suggest someone's knowledge of zoology and the world's ecosystems is spottier than it should be. Some species of fruit bats are indeed endangered in parts of their range -- broiled fruit bat on a stick is a delicacy in parts of the Pacific -- but "Eco-Circus" is wrong in claiming the fruit bat as a Hawaiian species. The endemic Hawaiian bat is an insectivore.
Entertainment is also provided by three giant kangaroo rats, two stately whooping cranes, a pair of unsteady owls representing our beloved pueo, and three nonendangered humuhumunukunukuapua'a on scooters (representing the less appealing coral polyps of the world's endangered reefs).
There are many species of endangered insects as well, but, alas, the beautiful butterflies (Miyuki Hill and Runa Konta) serve only as costumed stage hands.
Sandra Finney does an outstanding job with almost all the costumes; that of the condor, with Morinaka's face sticking out in the middle of the bird's breast, is the one notable exception. Director Peggy Hunt shares credit with co-director CoCo Wiel and student directors Christine Berwin, Jennifer Butler, Kristy Miller, Melissa Teodoro and DJ Zwicker in stitching together a dozen or so performance pieces into a coherent variety show.
However, it's Joshua Fanene (music designer) who does the Po'okela-worthy work here by enhancing each performance with appropriate electronic accompaniment.
Given that "Eco-Circus" is billed as a show that "educates Hawaii's keiki about the Earth's endangered species," it seems appropriate to ponder how much educational impact a series of circus-style performances can have on kids growing up in a society in which proposed highways are described as "threatened" by rare Hawaiian plants instead of the other way around.
If this were a Honolulu Theatre for Youth production, it would come with materials for teachers' use in elaborating on the play's theme and content through classroom discussions and activities. Lacking such reinforcement, "Eco-Circus" will likely be enjoyed as a bright moment of cartoon-style entertainment that is quickly forgotten.
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