A-Squared Theatre Workshop's production of Philip Kan Gotanda's "The Wind Cries Mary" takes the plot structure of Ibsen's proto-feminist classic, "Hedda Gabbler," and transposes the action to 1968 San Francisco, where Eiko, a second-generation Japanese-American woman, struggles with issues of race and gender against the backdrop of collegiate radicalism. The results are, for the most part, less interesting than the above would indicate, though there is much to like about this production, most notably its cast.
As Eiko, Helen Young gives us a woman who is wonderfully complex and conflicted without ever compromising subtlety or dignity. Eiko disdains her Japanese heritage while secretly honoring it, slams rock 'n' roll while secretly loving it, and shows fierce loyalty to her husband despite not respecting him.
Like Hedda Gabbler, Eiko is a strong woman who is not allowed to show her strength, and is defined by the men in her life: her dead father, her dimwitted bourgeois husband (conservative Caucasian "Japanophile" played by Michael Doolin), her brilliant, but dissolute former lover (Allen Hope Sermonia in a high-quality rendition of the standard "crazy counterculture sixties guy" stock type) and a ruthless sexual blackmailer (Joe Yau). The play is at its best when slyly commenting on the primitive gender dynamics of the supposedly enlightened sixties radicals.
Director Ghuon "Max" Chung does a great job with his actors and period milieu (including a great rock soundtrack) but cannot overcome the script's inherent tendencies toward bad pacing and stilted, hopelessly cerebral dialogue (yes, the characters are mostly college professors, but come on). Despite the flaws of this particular piece, A Squared is a company with great potential.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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