COURTESY BRAD GODA Janice Terukina, from left, Jason Kanda and BullDog are the merry makers on stage in the Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Kumu Kahua production of "Christmas Talk Story."

HTY and Kumu Kahua
spread Christmas cheer

The cast is energetic and engaging, actor Janice Terukina makes a successful debut as a playwright, and Jesus Christ is nowhere to be found as Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Kumu Kahua team up again to present "Christmas Talk Story 2004" in Tenney Theatre.

"Christmas Talk Story 2004": presented by Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Kumu Kahua at Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral, 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 3:30 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 19. Tickets are $16 for adults, $13 for students and $10 for children and seniors. Call 839-9855.

Last year's production, recycled stories from the previous four years, but this season, the annual playwrights' showcase moves forward with 15 new monologues describing the Hawaii's keiki holiday experiences from a child's first-person perspective.

Jason Kanda and BullDog join Terukina in delivering energetic performances.

Terukina is the writer/performer of "The Secret Present," one of eight stories that speak directly of local holiday customs. A girl discovers her mother has purchased presents for family members on her behalf but decides she'd rather give them things that she chooses, and so goes looking around the house for things she knows they can use. There are hints that the girl may be "finding" things these people already own, but her heart is in the right place and the underlying message that Christmas is a time for giving, rather than greed, comes through.

(Terukina's delightful tale didn't make the cut for the truncated nine-story show HTY stages for school audiences during the week, but is one of the best and more relevant.)

Other stories share this theme. Kanda narrates Kaiulani E.S. Kidani's piece, "Peanut Butter Christmas," about the generosity of a family choosing to give their elaborate Christmas dinner to a homeless family. Diane Aoki's "Presents For My So-Called Friends" also ends with a message about the importance of giving.

Yokanaan Kerns' "De Most Dangerous Chreesmas Eva" describes a child's near-death experience in comic terms, Rochelle delaCruz's "Christmas Panties" may help needy kids who must deal with a spate of utilitarian gifts, and Cedric Yamanaka's "Mr. Abe Ain't Santa Claus" is an entertaining tale of a boy's attempt to disprove his friend's theory that the school custodian is Santa.

Several stories make a reference or two to Christmas but are otherwise non-seasonal. Kanda stars in "Mum's Da Word," a clever audience-participation piece about a guy trying to choose flowers for a girl. BullDog narrates the tale of a guy who suffers when his wife accidentally uses super-potent chili peppers while making sausage. Kanda returns as the spokesman of a gang that catches frogs for spending money in "Cedric Said Where You Going."

References to "American Idol," fathers without jobs, sending old clothes to Samoa, and having relatives in Iraq add to up-to-the-minute touches.

Christmas shares December with the pre-Christian Hawaiian makahiki, Chanukah, New Year's Eve, the winter solstice, Boxing Day, winter vacation for school kids and college students, and the recently instituted observance of Kwanzaa, and previous editions of "CTS" have included stories addressing that diversity.

"Hanu-chriskwanzoban" mentioned Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and the fact that some religions don't celebrate holidays. There have also been stories about popping firecrackers on New Year's Eve and the year 'round uses of rubber slippers. "CTS2004" goes further in terms of multi-culturalism with "Chanukah Lights" as Kanda plays a Jewish youth who explains the religious significance of his family's menorah and its eight candles at Chanukah.

Albert "Maka" Makanani Jr. and his band, Canoes For Rent, do a fine job backing the actors. They also step forward for several musical numbers that help stretch the show to its full running time. The group adds a touch of Hawaiian tradition with the Hawaiian version of "Silent Night." BullDog takes the lead as the actors enlist the audience in a spirited performance of "The Twelve Days of Christmas, Local Style."

There's plenty of entertainment here, but still, "talking story" about Christmas without addressing the spiritual element of the holiday is problematic, and closing the show with John Lennon's anti-war anthem, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," adds another odd note as well.