Review CALLING APHRODITE (Spe07)

The only shame about this production is that, at least on opening weekend, the audience meandered out of the theatre -- during intermission and after the bows -- in deep discussion not about the stagecraft but about the historical event that prompted the writing of this play. Said event is memorialized in a single word: Hiroshima. Audience members were pondering and debating, recalling and comparing. Although that's good for theatre, it's bad for these theatremakers because the stupendous work of each is inevitably overshadowed by discussions of the 1945 bombing and its aftereffects.

Velina Hasu Houston's script tells of the Hiroshima Maidens, the 20 young Japanese women flown by the U.S. Air Force to New York in 1955 for surgeries to repair at least the physical damage they suffered. But when did their psychic suffering begin, and will it ever end -- for them or for us? When we meet Keiko and her sister Shizuko in 1945, the former is delicate and lovely, the latter earthy and unhappy about living in Keiko's shadow. But Keiko is obsessed with beauty, worshipping the West and the Ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite.

At some point, under the delicate but highly stylized direction of Shashin Desai, the play's points of balance shift. The light has gone out of Keiko and seems to glow in Shizuko. One hope fades, another optimism blossoms, in the days when America was the land of possibilities and Japan an isolated nation. Metaphors about light and beauty and human obsession abound -- done no small service by the designs of Don Llewellyn (set), Kevin O'Brien (visual), and Jeremy Pivnick (light). Glen A. Dunzweiler's sound design is a spellbinding mix of Japanese music, nature, and of course the explosion.

The actors, whose hard work looks so effortless in this arena, finely etch their nationalities and periods. Kym Hoy as Keiko and Vivian Bang as Shizuko convincingly play siblings, their rivalry and inseparability intact. Brenda Hattingh is the goddess Aphrodite, heartily spiritual when revealing herself, amazingly still when being a statue. Blake Kushi and Barry Lynch provide warmth as the protective medical practitioners.

Although the evening offers no huge revelations, no surprises, it provides a charmingly brief, surprisingly comfortable, exquisitely poetic walk in another's zori.

Presented by and at International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center,
300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Aug. 31-Sep. 23.
(562) 436-4610. www.ictlongbeach.org.

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	Review: Calling Aphrodite Calling Aphrodite By Dany Margolies (Back Stage West) The only shame about this production is that, at least on opening weekend, the audience meandered out of the theatre -- during intermission and after the bows -- in deep discussion not about the stagecraft but about the historical event that prompted the writing of this play. Said event is memorialized in a single word: Hiroshima. Audience members were pondering and debating, recalling and comparing. Although that's good for theatre, it's bad for these theatremakers because the stupendous work of each is inevitably overshadowed by discussions of the 1945 bombing and its aftereffects. Velina Hasu Houston's script tells of the Hiroshima Maidens, the 20 young Japanese women flown by the U.S. Air Force to New York in 1955 for surgeries to repair at least the physical damage they suffered. But when did their psychic suffering begin, and will it ever end -- for them or for us? When we meet Keiko and her sister Shizuko in 1945, the former is delicate and lovely, the latter earthy and unhappy about living in Keiko's shadow. But Keiko is obsessed with beauty, worshipping the West and the Ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite. At some point, under the delicate but highly stylized direction of Shashin Desai, the play's points of balance shift. The light has gone out of Keiko and seems to glow in Shizuko. One hope fades, another optimism blossoms, in the days when America was the land of possibilities and Japan an isolated nation. Metaphors about light and beauty and human obsession abound -- done no small service by the designs of Don Llewellyn (set), Kevin O'Brien (visual), and Jeremy Pivnick (light). Glen A. Dunzweiler's sound design is a spellbinding mix of Japanese music, nature, and of course the explosion. The actors, whose hard work looks so effortless in this arena, finely etch their nationalities and periods. Kym Hoy as Keiko and Vivian Bang as Shizuko convincingly play siblings, their rivalry and inseparability intact. Brenda Hattingh is the goddess Aphrodite, heartily spiritual when revealing herself, amazingly still when being a statue. Blake Kushi and Barry Lynch provide warmth as the protective medical practitioners. Although the evening offers no huge revelations, no surprises, it provides a charmingly brief, surprisingly comfortable, exquisitely poetic walk in another's zori. Presented by and at International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Aug. 31-Sep. 23. (562) 436-4610. www.ictlongbeach.org. Home \| News \| Calendar \| Directory \| Plays \| Library/Storefront Copyright 2007, Roger W. Tang Questions? Email

Review: Calling Aphrodite