Yamanaka script insightful but lengthy

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Harry-O (Harrison Kawate) and daughter Toni (Linda Au) share some quality time during a pig hunt in Kumu Kahua's "Heads by Harry," based on the novel by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. Brad Goda 'Heads by Harry' A play based on Lois-Ann Yamanaka's novel, adapted for the stage by Keith Kashiwada and John Wat and produced by Kumu Kahua 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through April 13 Kumu Kahua $16 general, $13 seniors and groups of 10 or more, $10 students (on Thursdays, $13 general, $11 seniors, $5 students and the unemployed) 536-4441

Playing on Kumu Kahua's "Mamo Street" stage, the play deals with local tensions that involve favoritism of sons over daughters, cliques between Hilo High and Waiakea High pedigrees, obligations and expectations, and discrimination against certain sexual persuasions.

The central figure is Toni Yagyuu (Linda Au), who actually is Antoinette. She hunts pigs with her taxidermist father Harry O (Harrison K. Kawate), who also has a gay son, Sheldon (Ryan I. Sueoka) and a flirtatious daughter Bunny (Ginger M. Gohier).

Toni, who is really the apple of her father's eye, also is the most problematic. Father and daughter hunt together and talk story often, but she's really the black sheep of the family. Daddy wants her to succeed and carry on his business, but she turns out to be a poor student who flunks out at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. She can't even keep her job as a lei greeter at Hilo Hattie's.

Unable to live up to expectations of her mother (Jodie Taira) and father, she's condemned as a useless failure.

Toni appears in three forms — as the character on stage, as an omnipresent narrator (played by Novelynn Rubsamen) whose "asides" are relevant to the staged dialogue, and as an unseen voice heard over the house sound system. The technique reflects the literary, highly narrative aspect of the Yamanaka script, but on stage, the results are awkward and peculiar.

The Yagyuus are good friends of the Santos clan, which includes two brothers, Maverick (Julius Ledda) and Wyatt (Moses Goods III). These two spend a lot of time with their dad Lionel (Norman M. Mu–oz) and mom Mei Ling (Nani Morita) watching movies together or partying on the sidewalk in front of the Harry O taxidermy shop.

Maverick is aptly named, a free-spirited good-looker who attracts the affection of all three Yagyuu children at separate times, yielding a curious situation.

As Toni, Au projects a genuine frustration and shed real tears during hurtful moments on opening night. Kawate is visibly fatherly and emotionally hateful, and eventually becomes the master of wisdom ("quitters never prosper," he says). As the gay sibling, Sueoka overplays but delights, with body language part of his charm. Ledda and Goods as the Santos brothers are appropriately combative and explosive — crude to the max. As the haole boy, Joel B.S. Matsunaga is rightfully cute.

I loved the straight-from-life script details — Cafe 100 for snacking, KTA market for shopping, Mamo Theatre for movie-watching, Kurahara's for clothing. Adapted by Keith Kashiwada (who also directed) and John Wat, it all strives to maintain sense and scenes from the Yamanaka novel, and, for the most part, it succeeds. But in its nearly three-hour running time, it fails to fully develop characters (save the tension between Toni and daddy), so trims would be prudent.

The period costumes, assembled by Ann Asakura, include sleeveless blouses that used to be sold at Vimi's, straw-wedges, bivouac camouflage uniforms, and thrift shop striped tops from another era.

Four real stuffed heads — pigs, deer — are part of Natalie Mihana McKinney's and Jungah Han's otherwise spartan set design, ably lighted by Gerald Kawaoka.

Segments are frequently hilarious, and it's stuffed with nostalgia ... but I wasn't as wild about Harry as I thought I'd be.