Theater Review

Tom Titus

Upstairs, on the mainstage, a young black man seeks to buy the land his

ancestors once worked as slaves in “The Piano Lesson.” Downstairs, on the

Second Stage, a young Nisei woman yearns to buy the land her family once

owned and lost during World War II in “The Summer Moon.”

These common plot lines curiously link South Coast Repertory’s two

current attractions, but beyond these similarities the two plays are

worlds apart. John Olive’s “Summer Moon” focuses not on the past, as much

of the superior “Piano Lesson” does, but on the future -- the future of

the Japanese automobile industry in America.

In Olive’s personalized account, directed by Mark Rucker, Naotake

Fukushima is, in effect, a sacrificial lamb, a young man sent to the

United States in 1958 by a fictional auto company to open the market for

Japanese vehicles. He isn’t expected to succeed, but, as we all know, the

efforts of his real-life compatriots were abundantly fruitful.

In Olive’s play -- which spends its first half grounded in reality and

its second aloft on the fringe of fantasy -- Fukushima enlists the aid of

two Americans, the aforementioned Nisei, who disclaims her heritage and

her shellshocked estranged husband, his brains scrambled in World War II.

It’s an unlikely alliance, and one which works nicely in the first act

but strains credulity in the second. Olive endows Naotake, the

strait-laced, traditionalist businessman, and the brash, entrepreneurial

Rosie with contrasting qualities that endear them to an audience --

unlike the later developments between the walking time-bomb Arnie and the

near-helpless Naotake, whom Arnie continually refers to as “Taco.”

Greg Watanabe superbly fleshes out the role of the Japanese auto pioneer,

both as character and narrator, projecting a sense of natural discomfort

one of his nationality would feel in the USA 13 years after Hiroshima.

His scenes with Rosie are honest and heart-tugging, as opposed to the

frenetic farce created when Arnie enters the picture.

As the feisty Rosie, Tamlyn Tomita makes some splendid character choices,

at once disavowing her Japanese heritage and vowing to restore it. She is

particularly appealing as she attaches herself to Watanabe’s character

as, gradually, friend, business partner and lover.

John K. Linton’s loose cannon Arnie disrupts the rhythm of the piece,

throwing the play into a different and less-credible area. Linton attacks

his role with manic enthusiasm, but ultimately his presence detracts from

the production, veering it off into an unwelcome farcical vein.

The simple setting by Nephelie Andonyadis -- with mounds of earth serving

as Japanese cars and trucks -- is nicely abetted by Geoff Korf’s lighting

and the rear screen projections which illustrate the story.

“The Summer Moon” focuses on an element of America’s history not often

detailed, and its proximity to the war provides the play with an innate

dramatic intensity. Like “The Piano Lesson” upstairs, Olive’s play is

enriched by events of the past.

CUTLINE: Greg Watanabe reacts with distaste to a burrito as Tamlyn Tomita

enjoys the moment in “The Summer Moon” on the Second Stage of South Coast

Repertory.WHAT: “The Summer Moon”WHERE: Second Stage of South Coast

Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa MesaWHEN: Tuesdays through

Sundays at 7:45 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. until

Dec. 5HOW MUCH: $26-$45PHONE: (714) 708-5555