Taking in a remounted production is something like visiting a restaurant to order the same meal. You wouldn't do it if the first experience wasn't a good one. And the second time around is never exactly the same as the first.

It all depends on the ingredients and the timing.

The new ingredient in the revival of "Tea" at Kumu Kahua Theatre is Kati Kuroda in the role of Setsuko Banks, one of the five Japanese war brides who followed their husbands to Junction City, Kan., to start a new life. Setsuko is the only one to have married a black man and is the acknowledged social worker among the group.

"Tea," by Velina Hasu Houston, enjoyed a solid run last September, when it opened the Kumu Kahua season 15 years after it was last produced there. The story was assembled from the playwright's own experience as the child of an "international marriage" (a term preferred over "war bride") and her interviews with many similar women.

Kuroda directed last year's production and now joins the cast to take the role originally played by Blossom Lam.

To her considerable credit, Kuroda disappears into the role, blending into the original ensemble cast without a ripple. In fact, with a recent successful production under their belts to temper the adrenaline rush of opening night, the entire production feels smoother and more integrated.

The characters retain their distinct personalities, but the group effort takes precedence over any individual and the play benefits from a ritualistic tone that beautifully underscores the action.

Four women with similar origins and experiences, but who are not close friends, gather at the home of Himiko Hamilton, one of their countrywomen who recently committed suicide. Life in an army town on the outskirts of Fort Riley hasn't been easy for the women — misfits in the community, misunderstood by their husbands, estranged from their mixed-race children.

The visit to the dead woman's house becomes a ceremony to ease Himiko's soul on its journey to the next world. As they bicker over details and chide each other over personal failings, they ultimately gain strength from the shared experience.

But Himiko's spirit, played with smoldering anger and intensity by Tess Yong, is anything but peaceful. She hovers unseen among the living women, pacing, grimacing and all but snarling like a provoked tigress.

Neither was Himiko passive while she was alive, drinking too much, wearing an incongruous blond wig and suffering from her husband's beatings until she returned his violence in kind. While Yong's performance is marked with charged energy, it is less raw than it was last season — more of a controlled burn than sudden bursts of flame. The performance makes one want to compare scripts to assure that the lines have remained the same.

Karen Kuioka Hironaga provides much of the comic relief as Teruko Machelli, devoted to "Sugar Pie," her large, country boy Texan husband, and grappling with everyday problems like restaurants and car washes.

Denise-Aiko Chinen adds interest as Atsuko Yamamoto, proud that her husband is Japanese-American and that her children are racially pure, but unable to recognize that her pride is read as bigotry.

Christine Yano plays Chizuye Juarez, widow of a Mexican-American soldier, who has become independent in her effort to become Americanized.

With Kuroda replacing Lam, the age range among the cast has narrowed. While still noticeable, the characters are strong enough for this not to be distracting.

But the play is more than reminiscences over tea-time tinkering. Two of the most interesting scenes have the women taking on the personas of their husbands and then their children. The device adds interest to the women's characters and neatly underscores their unawareness of how deep their isolation goes.

Ultimately, the women draw strength from sharing tea, although one gets the sense that they will forever remain trapped between two cultures. But they are survivors who bear their situation with personal grace.

Finding new values and insights in a second viewing indicates good writing and intelligent staging. This Kumu Kahua remount of "Tea" is equal to the original and merits a revisit.