KUMU KAHUA Alvin Chan, Brent Yoshikami, Alissa Joy Lee, Tristan Hiraishi, Keith K. Kashiwada, Rodney Kwock star in "David Carradine Not Chinese," presented by Kumu Kahua Theatre through Feb. 5.

Toilet jokes out of
place in fine play

"David Carradine Not Chinese": Presented by Kumu Kahua at 46 Merchant St. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 5. Tickets: $5 to $16. Call 536-4441.

Set aside expectations of analysis of ethnic stereotypes in the American media, and allow the story to meander at its own slow pace, and Kumu Kahua's world premiere of "David Carradine Not Chinese" offers several entertaining characters and a few undeniably clever moments. "Yankee Dawg, You Die" this isn't, but playwright Darrell H.Y. Lum succeeds in illuminating some conundrums of cross-cultural identity.

Director John H.Y. Wat gets solid performances out of a talented cast and appears to have made a substantial contribution to the development of this Kumu Kahua-commissioned play. Consider that the characters are all surnamed Wat and that Wat credits his father with informing him that the surnames Wat and Chu are represented by the same Chinese character. The story of the life and death of real-life Chinese poet Chu Yuan becomes an important part of this story, as do the Abbot and Costello possibilities of being named Wat in an English-speaking culture. Playwright Lum also utilizes the comic possibilities provided by the fictional Wat family's membership in the Wat-Chu association. (Try saying the two names quickly.)

The story gets off to a slow start as the Wat family acts out the familiar story of the five Chinese brothers. Generations of Hawaii children have been raised on the story of how one of the identical brothers accidentally kills a greedy child. The other brothers use their super-powers to prevent his execution, but it takes much longer than necessary here to reveal that the Wats are rehearsing a skit for the talent contest that is part of the annual Wat-Chu society reunion.

Rutger "Cowboy" Wat is the president of the family society and therefore must give the keynote speech in Chinese. He doesn't speak Chinese, and must memorize the phrases phonetically -- just as most of his predecessors did.

It's here that the irony kicks in. Lum sets the story in the early 1970s when Caucasian-American actor David Carradine starred as fugitive hapa-haole Shaolin priest Kwai Chang Caine in "Kung Fu." The hit TV show was perhaps the first mainstream American production to present an Asian or half-Asian character as the hero in a western since James Shigeta played would-be Chinese gunfighter Cheng Lu opposite Jack Lord and Nobu McCarthy in "Walk Like a Dragon" in 1960.

So, "Cowboy" Wat pretends he can speak Chinese but feels much more cultural affinity with the stereotypical American cowboys and cowgirls personified by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Meanwhile, his sons, Truman "Tru" Wat and Lincoln "Link" Wat, are enjoying Carradine's portrayal of the Shaolin priest in "Kung Fu."

Why was it deemed necessary to cast a Caucasian in the role instead of an Asian? Well, because having Caucasians play Asians was an American tradition that went back to the days when Warner Oland and Sidney Toler played Charlie Chan, Peter Lorre was Mr. Moto and Asian actors were relegated to secondary roles.

Several cast members take turns wearing the hat and vest that represents Carradine. Keith Kashiwada occasionally dons a robe and beard to represent Keye Luke in character as Master Po, Kwai Chang Caine's murdered mentor, while various characters mull over the issue of cultural identity in the arts and in life. The idea of having several cast members double as Carradine may have looked good on paper but is confusing onstage.

Director Wat adds another level of irony by casting Kashiwada, a Japanese American, as a Chinese-American character. This, too, is a Hollywood tradition: Shigeta played a Chinese character when he was cast opposite Miyoshi Umeki and hapa-haole Nancy Kwan in "Flower Drum Song."

Ethnic issues notwithstanding, Kashiwada makes a welcome return to the Kumu Kahua stage with an engaging portrayal of an unpretentious local guy who would rather be singing "Happy Trails" than pretending to speak Chinese.

Two-time Po'okela Award-winner Brent Yoshikami gives another memorable performance as an immature high school student, and Kumu Kahua veterans Alvin Chan and Rodney Kwock add impact as Princeton "Uncle Pull-My-Finger" Wat and Stanford "Uncle Primo" Wat, respectively.

But the infantile toilet humor involved in the Uncle Pull-My-Finger subplot stinks up this otherwise promising comedy.

Alissa Joy Lee (Columbia "Ma" Wat) has more to work with in Act 2 as the relationship between "Cowboy" and his wife comes to the fore. Tristan Hiraishi completes the cast as spunky Lincoln "Link" Wat.