Stage Review
Young writers create touching holiday tales

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Advertiser Theater Critic

•	'Christmas Talk Story' • Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral • 2:30, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., Dec. 1, 8 and 15 • $10, $7.50 and $5 • 839-9885

The performance is comprised of short monologues written by several local authors and playwrights, each delivered by a single actor in a style that represents the voice of the youthful narrator. Individually, they are touching and personal. Collectively, they share a universal theme of insight and discovery.

Three actors share the roles — Nara Springer, Shen Sugai and Tanner Henderson. They also perform the occasional songs that punctuate the performance — including a sweet Hawaiian version of "The Little Drummer Boy."

Blessed with simplicity and childhood naivete, the stories are directed by Mark Lutwak on a set of rainbows and gift boxes designed by Chet Toni. Appropriately, the focus is always on the vivid images spun by the authors' voices.

Jason Kanda's "Dog from Santa" is the story of a little boy desperate to keep an abandoned puppy that appears in his family's back yard. E. Shan Correa's "Christmas at Malama" vividly creates the showdown between a wild boar and a wheelchair that interrupts a string performance at a retirement center. Dot Saurer's "A Dinosaur for Christmas" is the logical breakdown of a fantasy pet when confronted by harsh reality ("Are you going to clean his litter box?").

"Counting Epiphanies" written in pidgin by Yokanaan Kearns, may be the pivotal piece. In it, a couple of third-graders, giddy with vacation anticipation, manage to learn a tough vocabulary word while counting down the minutes before Christmas. Without working too hard at it, they learn something.

Learning something unexpected is the connecting thread.

In Susan St. John's "Mama's Bad Luck," we learn that character strengths can overcome negative expectations. W.C.R. Pollitt's "Funny How Things Turn Out" parallels the O. Henry story of personal sacrifice as the perfect gift. Sean T.C. O'Malley's "Step Christmas" points out that Jesus was somebody's stepchild.

Some of the pieces just feature quirky characters.

Tony Pisculli's "The Year We Ate Brains" chronicles the exotic Christmas Eve menus created by a father who prepared his children for wider experiences. Gary Tachiyama's "Super Cedric" is about a son who intends to improve his personality as a gift to his mother. "I am thankful for my mom.

I am thankful for by best friend.

I am thankful for shampoo.

I am thankful for combs."

"Christmas Talk Story" is another delightful collection by HTY and a gentle way to anticipate the Christmas season.