STAGE REVIEW
'Talk' entertains, but format a few syllables long

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Advertiser Theater Critic

•	'2002 Christmas Talk Story' 17 original tales co-produced by Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Kumu Kahua Theatre 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 21 Tenney Theatre, Saint Andrew's Cathedral For ages 6 and older $16; 839-9885

Most of us don't do very much about it, despite some solemnly stated intentions about "cutting back." Good things tend to pile up.

That's where the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Kumu Kahua Theatre, and director Mark Lutwak seem to find themselves as they collaborate on the fourth annual production of "Christmas Talk Story."

This year, for the first time, the show runs into two acts. There's plenty of material with eight songs, a four-piece stage band, and 16 writers contributing original monologues. But it's questionable whether the format can support more than two hours and whether the string of vignettes wouldn't work better as a tightly edited one-act. To come back after intermission for more of the same feels redundant.

Granted, there are some excellent pieces in this year's show, and the three-member cast (BullDog, Nara Springer Cardenas, and Cynthia See) pumps them with plenty of enthusiasm and discovery. Here are some favorites.

Some are school-oriented. Diane Aoki's "Origami Christmas Tree" centers on an admittedly poor student who is coaxed into trading her talent for juggling for extra help with multiplication tables. Dot Saurer's "The Christmas Sentence" is one boy's struggle to capture the meaning of the holiday using every letter in the alphabet.

Some explore sibling relationships. In David Mulinix' "My Brother's Bike" a boy makes an astonishingly generous gesture toward his sister, and in Jason Kanda's "True Love Christmas" a middle child assumes the role of an absent elder brother in igniting the holiday spirit.

Some are strong meditations on a single emotion. Y York's "Losers Weepers" is a girl's ethical struggle over returning a found puppy, while Darrell Lum's "Firecracker Uncle" touches the dangerous thrill of a youngster's first toss of a pack of 500s.

Easily the most fanciful is Gary Pak's "I No Like Be Kalah Koa!" in which the central character is an insect that has a close call avoiding a praying mantis.

There are a couple of good reasons for coming back after the intermission. Daryl Bonilla's "Santa's Local Helper" creates the character of Frankie Pacheco, an elf who helps Santa learn Hawaiian ways. It also features a likeable narrator intent on exploiting his last good Christmas, "Once you turn 13, it's all downhill — Fruit of the Loom bebadees."

A poignant piece of transparent bravado by Lee Tonouchi ends the performance. The protagonist in "No Santa, No Werry" lives in a tough neighborhood, promising to highjack Santa's sleigh and use Rudolph's nose "fo' make underneath da sleigh glow — too bad his nose not purple."

But it's just tough talk from someone who Santa has missed too many times. It ends with an invitation for him to stop by this year. "Maybe you sked fly down come our place. We jus regular peoples. Go come. Cruise, talk story. Chill."

Musical numbers range from a sweet "Silent Night' to a spirited "Numbah One Day of Christmas" complete with cartoon cue cards, to a behaviorally-incorrect "Santa We've Been Good." There's also excellent harmony on the closing "Someday at Xmas."

Catch "Christmas Talk Story" for a marathon on monologues. And where else can you find an accordion in the orchestra?