Sex, violence, betrayal and a shopping list of challenging points to ponder. Honolulu Theatre for Youth's current production of "War" offers all that and more, and the interactive post-show discussion "forum" should be considered an integral part of the production. Excellent acting explores
issues of violence in
HTY productionReview by John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com
Should "War" be considered controversial? Not in these days and times, when the violent deaths of children are routine front-page news.
Presented by Honolulu Theatre for Youth, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays through Feb. 15 at Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral. Tickets are $12 general, $6 for youths and seniors. Call 839-9885. Recommended for ages 10 and older. 'War'
Canadian playwright Dennis Foon blurs the message a bit by equating careers in the military or film industry with organized crime and acts of "date rape" and arson, but as played out by Reb Beau Allen, Scott Davis, Jonathan Clarke Sypert and Hermen Tesoro Jr., and directed by Po'okela-winning fight choreographer Tony Pisculli, HTY's "War" is excellent modern theater.
Each of the four young men represents a different "type." Tommy (Davis) is a high school ROTC member and wants to be a fighter pilot. His best friend, Brad (Allen), wants to be a professional hockey player, and at the age of 17 has spent 10 years mastering the art of aggressive high-contact play. Andy (Sypert) enjoys acting and has a step-by-step Hollywood career plan. His goal is to become an action film star and produce his own films "like Eastwood and Schwarzenegger" because actor-producers get a larger chunk of gross receipts.
Shane (Tesoro) is a semiretired teenage hit man from a local street gang; he has such a formidable reputation that even cocky, macho Brad, who is definitely no scoob (nerd), fears him.
Their lives and destinies become intertwined when Sheila, a girl Tommy claims as his, leaves him for Andy -- or so it seems. Tommy decides, with a little help from Brad, that the only appropriate response for a macho stud like himself is to teach Andy what happens to a scoob who steals a woman.
Tommy easily humiliates Andy, with a little help from Brad, then orders the hapless scoob to meet him after school for a more thorough lesson.
Andy sees no way out and shows up for punishment as ordered, but the situation changes abruptly when Shane arrives and announces that he's there to back up Andy. Tommy and Brad suddenly decide that they have urgent business elsewhere.
ANDY, WHO HAS been preparing to audition for a small film role as a gang member, hopes Shane will be his mentor in getting it "real." However, with Shane as his "back," Andy is suddenly assumed to be a gang member for real, and the shrewd, opportunistic Brad quickly tries to befriend him. Brad even submits to a public humiliation session at Andy's hands in an effort to win admission to the new gang he thinks Shane and Andy are forming.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Actor Hermen Tesoro Jr. plays teenage gangster Shane in Honolulu Theatre for Youth's production of "War."
But "War" is about more than bullying and street gangs. Brad's career plans are shattered when the hockey coach decides to emphasize finesse over force, and Brad is demoted to bench warmer for playing too aggressively -- a demotion that ends Brad's chances of ever making big bucks playing professional hockey. His replacement in the starting roster is a girl -- and a mysterious fire breaks out in her locker.
Meanwhile, Tommy and Brad wage their own battle over Sheila, which results in rape.
The four actors are excellent throughout this fast-moving, one-act play. Davis shows that Tommy's tales of sexual conquests are imaginary and intended to impress Brad. Sypert, playing the character the audience is intended to sympathize with, likewise shows Andy's mixed feelings about the power he is able to wield after Shane befriends him. Tesoro exudes malevolence as the lethal hit man, and Allen is perfect as a violent and opportunistic "best friend" from hell for whom violence is always someone else's fault.
The actors' characterizations transcend the occasional holes in Foon's story. For instance, American soldiers may possibly have been humiliated a time or two along with "peacekeeper" forces from other nations around the time Foon wrote "War" in 1995, but for the most part, from Iraq in 1991 through Afghanistan in 2002, U.S. air and ground forces have performed pretty much as Tommy imagines -- blasting "snergs" like players in the ultimate arcade game -- and not as the weaklings Brad describes while teasing Tommy. Foon also seems to be making a stretch in equating Brad's desire for a professional sports career with Shane's career as a teenage hit man.
The post-show forum is conducted with Allen, Davis and Sypert still in character, and allows the audience to explore the complex issues raised. For instance, does violence ever solve problems? (One audience member Saturday night noted that violence ended the Holocaust.) Is there anything Sheila could have done to prevent being raped? Is Brad to blame for what Tommy did to Sheila? There are no simple answers to the many complicated issued involved, but "War" is a great springboard for discussion.
Click for online
calendars and events.
