Lust for the limelight is comical

Musical romp tells of a talentless
woman's endless quest for fame

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By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

Zhan Hunt steals the show with a beautifully shaded portrayal of a strong and intelligent woman, Elitei Tatafu Jr. proves himself an accomplished romantic lead, and veteran actor Ray Bumatai takes charge of the comic action in Diamond Head Theatre's season-ending production of Lee Cataluna's local-style musical comedy "You Somebody."

The story is a comic look at superficiality. The life of Pua Lusa (Loretta Ables Sayre) is defined by her frustration about not being able to get a mention in a local newspaper column. Lusa thinks nothing of browbeating her husband and children into a series of humiliating experiences that she thinks will help her achieve her goal. Sayre plays the character as a cross between Karen Keawehawaii and Lisa Matsumoto as Da Wicked Queen, the joke being that Pua is totally oblivious to the misery she causes her family and almost everybody else she comes in contact with. She is, to borrow a phrase, the Mother of all Stage Mothers.

"You Somebody" is a better show than Cataluna's earlier "Ulua: The Musical," as staged by Kumu Kahua in 2000. It also is better than this year's "Super Secret Squad." The story is tighter and the focus sharper as we watch other members of the hapless family -- Bobby (Daren Kimura), Trina (U'ilani Kapua'akuni), Small Joe (Eric Manke) and Dad (Bumatai) -- humiliate themselves in one lame contest or unpaid performance after another.

It takes a tremendous amount of talent for trained professionals like Bumatai to deliberately sing and dance badly for comic effect, but the family delivers a series of atrociously bad performances as choreographed by Peter Rockford-Espiritu, and embellished by comically hideous costumes courtesy of Puamana Crabbe. An essential part of the comic aspect of these song-and-dance numbers is that we see from the actors' performances that Dad and the kids know they're bad -- it's just that Mom hasn't a clue that she is, too.

"You Somebody" Playing at Diamond Head Theatre, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 4. Tickets $10 to $40. Call 733-0277.

(The funniest moment at last Sunday's performance was when Bumatai and the others surprised Sayre with a costume accessory she hadn't seen before. She lost it right in the middle of the scene, and then Bumatai and the others started breaking up as well.)

Keith K. Kashiwada, one of the stalwarts at Kumu Kahua, plays somewhat against type and adds another welcome comic character with his portrayal of unlucky MC Lucky Fortunato.

And then there's Zhan Hunt. She takes the story in another direction entirely as Lisa Lusa, the older, studious daughter, who, for no apparent reason, is immune to her mother's threats and blandishments. Lisa refuses to humiliate herself along with the others, or even enter a beauty, er, scholarship pageant. Hunt brings such presence to the role that she is worth watching even when she's reacting to action elsewhere on stage. It's a credit to her skill as an actor that we applaud Lisa's strength of character rather than looking at her as a wet blanket in the comic action.

Tatafu gives a smooth supporting performance as Lisa's academic rival: a good looking, intelligent guy who isn't sure how to make his romantic interest known. It's a small role but Tatafu develops it nicely.

There is more to "You Somebody" than broad physical comedy; there's also Keola Beamer's songs and Patrick M. Kelly's colorful set. The script is salted with topical references and snide comments about two columnists, the Honolulu City Council, Cecilio & Kapono, June Jones, women who do local television weathercasts and the idea of staging a "pidgin adaptation of a classic story."

Another knowing factor is the presence of three real-life Miss Hawaiis -- Patricia Lei Anderson Murray (1962), Cheryl Toma Sanders (1990) and Candes Meijide Gentry (1999) who play mind games with Lisa. Their scenes don't do much to advance the story, but provide well-written, acid-etched comic interludes.

The three take the lead on one of the more improbable but funny musical numbers, "It Sucks," a cautionary tale about what happens to people who play it safe. Who would have thought the day would come when we'd hear Miss Hawaii 1962 singing lyrics such as "It really bites the big one?"

On the other hand, who'd have thought Hoku Award-winning Keola Beamer would write 'em?

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