‘Eva’ remains the same
By John Berger
Special to the Star-BulletinSOME people can hear the same joke a dozen times and laugh uproariously at each telling. Others find it stale long before. Diamond Head Theatre's summer rerun production of "Happily Eva Afta" is at least the sixth time that one of Lisa Matsumoto's interchangeable plays has been staged since the original script was conceived as a college theater class project in 1989. There's nothing new in this restaging of the third play in the series but the talented and enthusiastic cast keeps staleness at bay.
Happily Eva Afta: 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays, through July 26; Diamond Head Theatre. Tickets $10-$40, call 734-0274.
Eddie Gudoy and his menehune crew --Mark Ikenaga, Grant Hashiba, Neil N. Furukawa, Keenan K. Kawamura and Mitchell Mung Lim -- are key components. They're sharp, well-synchronized and a great team of character actors.
The sextet is nicely balanced by the six airheaded dancing princesses. Jaydence M. Goya stands out as spunky little Princess Dawn.
Matsumoto reprises her stock role of Da Wicked Queen. Talented and versatile Patrick Fujioka returns as Da Mean Mongoose. The hapless mongoose gets kicked out of the story; Fujioka returns as insufferable Prince Charming.
Most of the songs serve mostly to stall the action, but Fujioka's big duet with Matsumoto, "Wea Would You Be Without Me," is a notable exception. Sonia Infante's choreography adds to its impact.
Three comic song-and-dance segments with the menehune, dancing princesses, and Da T'ree Fairies (Mara Bacon, Zan M. De Peralta and Hymie J. Huckso) also add rather than detract from the flow of the story. The fairies dance faux hula; sexy spitfire De Peralta trumps the bunch.
Andrew Keoni Lai and BullDog do show-stealing work as Cinderella's evil Filipina stepsisters Tantaran and Hauna. Other comic stars are Ron Encarnacion (Miguel), Dwayne T. Fujitani (Won Cute Guy), Clint R. Sekioka (Chah Ming Won), Alec Shimizu (One Noddah Hunta), Jill Yuri Shimabukuro (Queen Nose High Up) and Thomas Villegas (Manuel).
The humor is simple and repetitive with occasional bits of slapstick. The Chinese, Filipino and "haole" characters are cliches.
Joseph D. Dodd's giant books, Stephen Clear's lighting, and a little imagination defines the locale.
