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The Square by Elyse Sommer
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We like to think of this project as an experiment in collaboration, and a metaphor for American citizenship and society: many voices, common themes and the discovery of shared hopes in a world fraught with difference.
---Lisa Peterson |
(l-r) Henry Yuk, Ken Leung , Ching Valdes Aran, Joel De La Guente
(Photo: Nigel Teare)
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To further define the game plan for this quilt, each writer was assigned one of four themes -- tradition, destiny, order, chaos -- and a specific ethnic combination of from one to four characters. To contain everything within a single evening, everyone had to tell their stories in approximately ten minutes.
With the concept for The Square curated by the Asian-American playwright Chay Yew and director Lisa Peterson, I went to a press preview of this experiment in stretching the possibilities of cross-cultural collaboration with high hopes. As with any collection of short works, I did not expect sixteen perfect gems. On the other hand, I was not prepared to have the misses overwhelmingly outnumber the hits or the idea to take on an aura of pretentiousness. Unfortunately that is precisely the case.
The Examination by Craig Lucas is the only entry that, besides working perfectly within the larger concept, also has characters one might want to see again in a longer version. With a few deft touches, Lucas draws a picture of the instant romantic and emotional rapport between a young Chinese-American doctor (Ken Leung) and a new patient (Hamish Linklater). A brief appearance by the doctor's parents (Wa Ching Ho and Henry Yuk), whose old country ways embarrass and irritate the doctor, links the issues of assimilation and identity generally. Nothing, including the setting around the square, is forced.
David Henry Hwang's Jade Flower Pots and Bound Feet is an amusing sketch about a young woman (Fiona Gallagher) trying to capitalize on the interest in Asian-American book publishing. She is exposed as a fraud by an African-American editor (Saidah Arrika Ekulona) at a publishing company slyly named Amazon. Another humorous entry is Robert O'Hara's The Spot in which two women have a territorial spat over a bench in the square. It would spoil the fun to detail the surprise ending except to say that it does surprise.
The other plays approach their decades, themes and character configurations with a good deal of originality and the aimed for diversity -- Diana Son's Handsome is a Lady Chatterly's Lover Asian-American style, a good idea that doesn't hold up; a 1920s play involving a hair cut, Scissors by Chay Yew, touches on but never realizes the interesting relationship between a rich man and his barber. None, however, are excellent for their full ten minutes. By the time the square becomes rounded, the viewer is more exhausted than exhilarated.
The dozen actors involved do solid work throughout, with especially splendid turns from Michael Ray Escamilla, Fiona Gallagher, Ken Leung, Hamish Linklater and Henry Yuk. Ms. Peterson, with a strong assist from the production team, has pulled everything together quite fluidly. The theater has been set up so that the audience sits at each side of the stage -- a square which eventually turns into a symbolic circle -- and unlike many performances in the round, these actors are at all times directed to play to this configuration. Less successful is the chopped up approach to Mac Wellman's 5-part My Old Habit of Returning to Places. With the parts interspersed throughout the evening, it has the feel of incidental music that doesn't play particularly well -- nor does it make the best use of Ching Valdes-Aran's talents.
The audience is only given a list of the plays and their authors and players as they leave the theater. I suppose there's a point to this, but whatever it is, it does little to enhance the proceedings.
Perhaps this is just too big a mouthful to sustain two and a half hours. As it stands, one is left feeling that while the elaborate game plan seemed justified by the ambition of the project, all those rules proved too confining for the writers, giving this worthy project the stamp of having been written-by-committee.
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The Square
Conceived and curated by Lisa Peterson and Chay Yew Directed by Lisa Peterson The plays in order presented: MY OLD HABIT OF RETURNING TO PLACES PART I by Mac Wellman Old Woman, Ching Valdes-Aran UNTITLED by Han Ong First Man, Ken Leung; Second Man, Joel de la Fuente; Third Man, Henry Yuk; Dear Wife, Wai Ching Ho THE OLD CHINESE MAN by Philip Kan Gotanda Narrator, Janet Zarish; Old Man, Henry Yuk; Girl, Jennifer lkeda; Guy Hamish Linklater THE AUDITION by Maria Irene Fornes Lee, Ken Leung; Hiroshi ,Joel de la Fuente; Pablo, Michael Ray Escamilla JADE FLOWERPOTS AND BOUND FEET by David Henry Hwang Beth Williams, Saidah Arrika Ekuiona; Mei-Li, Fiona Gallagher EXAMINATION by Craig Lucas Doctor, Ken Leung; Eric, Hamish Linklater; Mother, Wai Ching Ho; Father Henry Yuk MY OLD HABIT OF RETHRNING TO PLACES PART II by Mac Wellman Old Woman, Ching Valdes-Aran; Young Man, Michael Ray Escamilla; Old Man, Henry Yuk HANDSOME by Diana Son Chee Kwan, Joel de la Fuente; Mrs. Baldwin, Janet Zarish SCISSORS by Chay Yew A, Henry Yuk; B, David Wilson Barnes KISMET, IN A SQUARE ON A WEDDING DAY IN SPRING by Bridget Carpenter Jin-He, Jennifer Ikeda EXCERPTS FROM THE DIARY OF A CHINESE ENVOY by Ping Chong Woman, Janet Zarish; Man, David Wilson Barnes; Readers, Joel de la Fuente- Wai Ching Ho- Jennifer lkeda- Ken Leung MY OLD HABIT OF RETURNING TO PLACES PART III by Mac Wellman Old Woman, Ching Valdes-Aran; Young Man, Michael Ray Escamilla THE SPOT by Robert O'Hara Shakella, Saidah Arrika Ekulona; Ming, Wai Ching Ho; Officer, Michael Ray Escamilla PEDIATRICS by Jose Rivera Pete, Hamish Linklater; Mike, David Wilson Barnes; Lizzy, Fiona Gallagher; Girl, Jennifer lkeda; Voice Wai Ching Ho MY OLD HABIT OF RETURNING TO PLACES PART IV by Mac Wellman Young Man, Michael Ray Escamilla; Old Man, Henry Yuk; The Company SILENT MOVIE by Jessica Hagedorn Emma, Janet Zarish; Luc, Fiona Gallagher; Man, David Wilson Barnes ANCHOR ARIA by Kia Corthron Agnes, Saidah Arrika Ekulona NEW by Constance Congdon Hiroko, Jennifer Ikeda; Monica, Fiona Gallagher MY OLD HABIT OF RETHRNING TO PLACES PART V By Mac Wellman Old Woman, Ching Valdes-Aran; The Company CRICKET by Alice Tuan Mr. Fon, Joel de la Fuente; Carlos, Michael Ray Escamilla; Vardush, Janet Zarish; Ms. Moon, Ching Valdes-Aran Set Design: Rachel Hauck Costume Design: Christiane Myers Lighting Design: James Vermeulen Sound Design: Fabian Obispo Dramaturg: ChayYew Running Time: 2 1/2 Hours including one intermission Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St. 212/239-6200 10/16/01-11/18/01; opening 10/27/01 Tuesday -Friday 8:00PM, Saturday 2:00PM & 8:00PM, Sunday 2:00PM -- $40 Reviewed by Elyse Sommer based on 10/24/01 performance |
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