There are a lot of big-fish stories out there. Jonah and the whale. "Moby Dick." "The Old Man and the Sea." Kayden Asiu and the ulua. Kay what? He's the protagonist in "Ulua: The Musical," the Lee Cataluna play (with score by Sean T.C. O'Malley), first produced by Kumu Kahua Theatre at McKinley High School in 1999 and now on stage at the company's cozy Chinatown digs.

True to form, the man facing the fish is on a spiritual quest for self-discovery. Kayden Asiu (pronounced "kay den, I see you") is a Honolulu boy, fleeing his neurotic fiancee and a soul-numbing career as a cell-phone salesman for laid-back Maui life. His unceremonious arrival on the Neighbor Island finds him doing labor with a country touch: stone masonry. It's on Maui that his co-workers introduce him to the joys of fishing, and his journey begins in earnest.

To better know himself, Kayden, played with good spirit and range by up-and-coming actor Jason Kanda, must first traverse the obstacles, well-intentioned advice and pitfalls that all heroes encounter. Along the way, he's embraced, chided and egged on by his stonemason sidekicks: the intense Butchie (Jabez Armodia) and easygoing Clyson (Wil Kahele), who lend some of the play's most rollicking moments.

Kayden must deal with the arrival of the woman he left behind, Lylas, whose tics are portrayed comically by local improv veteran Meredith Desha. And he contends with an unexpected mutual attraction to Butchie's country sweetie, Charmaine, a supporting role elevated by the talented Danel Verdugo. Rounding out the cast is Raylani (Nani-lisa Pascua), Clyson's wife and matron to the younger women.

While most big-fish stories involve a mythic struggle with the underwater beast, in Cataluna's version it's really human interactions that swell Kayden's progress. The fish has its stage time but never really rises to mythic proportions. Instead, fishing as metaphor for sexual and romantic conquest becomes more of a thin literary conceit, stretching over the length of the play as over the top of water, never quite delivering its depths.

And the depths — or at least hints of them — are there. "Ulua" offers several ambitious subtexts, enough perhaps for a handful of plays: the tension between Honolulu and neighboring towns; the nagging question of partner versus soul mate; the disconnect between wedding plans and marriage, romance and reality; the awkward earnestness of male bonding. But they're more like fins skimming the surface than fish pulled gasping from the sea.

The weaknesses of "Ulua" may boil down to inefficiency. Its musical numbers are sometimes catchy, even exuberant, but generally don't develop plot and character — with notable exceptions. For one, "Opihi Girl," a charming and unlikely duet by Clyson and Butchie, sends the narrative careening to its climax.

At best, Cataluna's sharp wit is broadly entertaining, providing consistent laughs and insights into human foibles. She's keen to the nuances of local life, and little of this subtlety is lost on the audience. The playwright (and Advertiser columnist) happily resists the predictable but still leaves us relatively empty-handed at the play's close. Then again, that's the mystery of the sea: There's still a fish or two out there for the catching.

Freelance writer Marie Carvalho covers art, literature and theater.