By Sandy Yang
Daily Bruin Staff
Emotions swelling from love gone bad, love that could have been,
regret, dissatisfaction and negligence built up in 30 years time,
all explode in one night in East West Players’ newest
production, “Follies,” by musical master Stephen
Sondheim.
In the show, the narrative doesn’t seem to tell the story
anymore. Ask performer Denise Iketani and musical director Scott
Nagatani about “Follies'” theme, and you are met
with a temporary silence or stream of consciousness, never quite
hitting the question, “What is the play about?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Iketani, a dancer in
the musical and a UCLA alumna. “There’s a sadness that
time passed, which is touching.”
“One of the greatest things about “˜Follies,’
is nobody really knows what it’s about, even theater people
don’t know,” Nagatani said.
However, it is not a hopeless cause because there is a straight
narrative paving this momentum of emotion. The story takes place at
a 30-year reunion of a showgirls troupe called Follies. There,
Sally (Linda Dangcil) and Buddy (Robert Almodovar) meet up with old
friends Phyllis (Freda Foh Shen) and Ben (Sab Shimono). Old
feelings stir between old sweethearts Sally and Ben.
Thirty years ago, Ben broke Sally’s heart, and she
retreated to Buddy, who loves and eventually married Sally. But
Sally never got over Ben or the idea of Ben and risks losing
everything for the chance to rekindle that memory again.
Throughout the musical, the younger and older versions of these
characters share the same space. The story shows us what went wrong
in the past that haunts the characters 30 years later. In one
number, the older versions of the characters begin to yell at their
younger selves, condemning their past stupidity and naivete.
To carry the powerful feelings within the story, Nagatani had
much to do in six months time, working with 26 performers in 22
singing and dancing numbers. They range from over-the-top,
hilarious pieces by former divas to nostalgic songs that tell how
Buddy and Ben first met their wives, waiting too long for young
showgirls Sally and Phyllis to step out from their upstairs
dressing room.
All the while, Nagatani was interpreting the music and orchestra
and discovering the story’s intent.
“When Sally sings “˜Losing My Mind,’ it’s
about love that was never realized and she’s losing her mind,
singing, “˜The sun comes up, the coffee cup, I think about
you, no one knows I think about you,'” Nagatani said,
explaining the process of interpreting the music and words.
“This song is not a tragedy. I don’t want tears in
the beginning of the song. What I want to see is the struggle not
to lose your mind. That’s the emotion we see, otherwise the
song doesn’t build. Happiness and sadness come from the same
place. She’s sad because she knows the happiness of
it,” he continued.
Peeling away even more layers of “Follies,” you can
find yet another story, which is the triumph of Asian Pacific
American performers telling stories which are not unique to Asian
Pacific American culture.
Though this is a Sondheim work with characters named Benjamin
Stone and Phyllis Rogers, there were no adjustments made for the
Asian Pacific American cast because, as Nagatani puts it,
“Human emotions don’t change for people’s
colors.”
It’s a statement fitting for the goals of the East West
Players, the oldest Asian Pacific American theater in the country.
Its mission statement states, “East West Players is the
cultural bridge between the East and the West through an arts
agenda that addresses the needs of all audiences “¦ promoting
dialogue which is key to understanding our diverse
society.”
Their 1999-2000 season consisted of plays that dealt with an
urban “˜anti-romantic comedy” about “generAsian
1.5ers,” a man who converted from Confucian tradition to
Christianity and an interracial romance that takes place in Hawaii
during a war.
And of course, East West Players gives Asian American performers
a venue to work and develop their talent that is denied them in
mainstream mediums such as television and film. Iketani knew that
uncertainty ten years ago when she decided to pursue an acting
career after graduating from UCLA with a bachelor degree in
political science.
“There aren’t a lot of parts written for Asian
Pacific American people period, much less for women,” Iketani
said. “But I love doing this, and I pretty much make a living
at it.”
“At East West Players, we have a network of Asian American
(directors and performers), and we take a proactive approach.
We’re here, we’re professionals, we’re trained,
and if you give us the opportunity, we can do the work. It’s
not just a hobby, but a career,” she added.
“Follies” is East West Players’ last play of
the season. With nary a reference to the characters being Asian
Pacific American, this play seems to conclude that it’s
unnecessary to identify who Asians are. Rather, Asian Pacific
American performers can tell any human story with all its
complexities and tell it well.
“It’s great that Asian Americans get more chances to
get this kind of show where they can just be people and not
Asians,” Nagatani said.
THEATER: “Follies” runs through June 11 at the David
Henry Hwang theater in Little Tokyo. For tickets or information,
call (213) 625-7000.