'Aloha Las Vegas' remains fresh

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Advertiser Drama Critic

•	'Aloha Las Vegas' 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 3 Kumu Kahua Theater $16-$5; 536-4441

Most of the cast are reprising their roles from last season's production, and everyone clearly has the pulse of their character down pat. But the performance is more than neatly controlled. Like the best theater, it gives the illusion of the first time and is brimming with fresh discovery.

Harry Wong III again directs the show, and Tony Solis and Janice Terukina provide the central charm as mismatched lovers. Terukina plays the 40-year-old spinster daughter who barks orders and slaps wrists in the worst schoolteacher fashion. Solis is the mild-mannered fishmonger Alvin Kawabata, who still lives with his parents and is likely to physically disappear from lack of self-esteem.

Looking over their shoulders is June's father, Wally Fukuda, newly retired after a lifetime of earning wages in someone else's bakery and tempted by a lifetime friend to pull up his Hawai'i roots and relocate to Las Vegas.

The difficulty of change is the dominant theme, and it finds expression in each character's decision to hold on to familiar things or to risk stepping on a new path. The play also touches on Hawai'i's love affair with Las Vegas as the desert Disneyland for adults.

Kumu Kahua first produced the play in 1992 and restaged it for a successful run early in last year's season. This revival proves that playwright Edward Sakamoto continues to touch emotional chords in his home state.

Dann Seki is charming and uncomplicated as Wally, Allan Okubo is the blowhard childhood friend Harry, and Eric Mita recreates Wally's testosterone-charged, security-guard son Butch. Michelle Kim appears again as Butch's wife, and Nara Cardenas takes over the role of good neighbor Gracie, filling it with spontaneity and real warmth.

But it's the relationship between June and Alvin (sometimes called Vinnie, in a misplaced attempt to enrich his image) that propels the comedy.

From their first mismatched blind date, Solis correctly underplays Alvin as the prototype anti-romantic and Terukina snaps and scowls as the dyspeptic June. Much of the fun comes from their excellent timing, inspired use of pauses, and wonderfully controlled body language and facial expressions.

Together they are the sleeper couple of anti-romantic comedy.

Other small moments take on new significance. Okubo delivers a fine extended speech in an attempt to convince June that moving to Las Vegas is best for her father. In his version, the place is a tonic for aged parents, many of whom experience the first real joy in their lives from playing the slot machines.

"Aloha Las Vegas" is like the oxtail stew Gracie prepares for the extended family. It tastes even better when it is reheated.