'Talk Story' adds musicians

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Advertiser Drama Critic

•	'Christmas Talk Story 2003' Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew's Cathedral 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 21 $16, $12, $8 839-9885

The new element in the 2003 production is professional accompaniment. A quartet of Island musicians (Albert Makanani, Duane Ing, Jassen Tolentino and Luke Solotario) provides the preshow music, backs up the singing actors and contributes an original tune, "Santa Looks a Lot Like Dad."

The musicians add a new dimension to the show, giving it a slick opening and solid accompaniment, but unfortunately they aren't otherwise integrated into the action.

Much of the original charm in the earlier outings of "Christmas Talk Story" came from its casual style — a spontaneous, veranda evening of shared memories that seemed to arise spontaneously with the cool breezes of twilight. We could forget that the dialogue was scripted, edited and rehearsed and believe that it occurred as easily as conversation.

When music was added, songs were a cappella or accompanied by gourd, tambourine, or the artless strumming of a pickup 'ukulele. The show was all of one piece, and had an unstudied oral folk art appearance — like a painting by Grandma Moses.

Surprise was also a large part of earlier productions. Each monologue was a miniature character study, spoken with the artless enthusiasm of a recollected Christmas memory. Each contained a small discovery for the speaker and a small insight for the audience that helped us see something in a different perspective or share a feeling in a new way.

These were not epiphanies, just small insights that sometimes hit a familiar chord in the listener and that ranged between ridiculous burlesque and a bittersweet glimpse of Christmases past.

Since the 2003 production is a "Best Of" compilation of earlier shows, that element of discovery and surprise will be missing for repeat audiences. Some of the pieces — under the skilled care of the HTY cast — hold up well. Some aren't strong enough to stand closer inspection.

Best moments include BullDog in Gary Tachiyama "Cedric, the Now and Future Pain," Moses Goods III in Tony Pisculli's

"The Year We Ate Brains," and Janice Terukina in just about anything (Linda Tagawa's "Rubba Slippa" is a good example).

School shows are done in a crisp one-hour act. Public performances add a second half that merely offers more rather than something different. Intermission would be a good opportunity to extract the bored and the restless.

Depending on your perspective, "Christmas Talk Story 2003" is as good as any of its predecessors in presenting a blend of unique Island voices or not markedly better than any of them.