Multiple casting, modern remarks mar fine production

The University of Hawaii at Manoa theater program is unique in Hawaii for its authentically staged productions of traditional "jingju" (Beijing opera) in English. Student actors spend more than six months studying traditional Chinese stage techniques, and the student musicians undergo similarly rigorous training. The costumes come from China, and the makeup and accessories are equally credible. It’s as close as Hawaii audiences can get to experiencing jingju on a local stage.

"Lady Mu and the Yang Family Generals" lives up to the expectations set by previous productions. The story picks up 20 years after Yang family matriarch, She Tai­jun, and her granddaughter-in-law, Lady Mu Gui­ying, led the Yang forces to victory after the heroic deaths of most of the Yang men. The Xi Xia kingdom is once again threatening the Song empire. If Wang Lun, the boastful son of Imperial Minister Wang Qiang, a powerful enemy of the Yang clan, is named supreme commander of the Song troops, the Wang will control the empire. Imperial Minister Kou Zhun, a friend of the Yang, persuades the emperor to hold a martial competition instead.

Lady Mu’s teenage children, son Wen­guang and daughter Jin­hua, win the competition, but the emperor calls on Lady Mu to come out of retirement and take command instead.

As with some previous Kennedy Theatre productions, many roles are double-cast and cast without regard to gender. A female character might be played by a female one night and by a male the next, and vice versa.

Fortunately for the public, a few characters are played by the same talented actors in every show. Justin Fra­giao is animated and expressive as noble Kou Zhun. Zachary Rhys Loscalzo is an effective comic figure as foolish and boastful Wang Lun. Amanda Stone dominates several scenes as brave but overconfident Wen­guang. Keila Ching does showstopping work as an unnamed Yang general who beats four Xi Xia soldiers single-handedly in martial arts combat; Ching caps an outstanding performance by sinking to the stage in a perfect cheerleader’s split.

Other standouts on opening night Thursday will reprise their roles Friday and Sunday. Ruby MacDougall (Jinhua) meshes convincingly with Stone throughout; a scene in which sister and brother argue about which one should be supreme commander — and why — is particularly engaging.

Devon K. Izumigawa (Gatekeeper) combines agility with comic skills in a lengthy but riveting martial arts scene.

The biggest problem with the show is the multiple casting of Lady Mu. Yining Lin gave a winning performance on opening night. She is delightfully expressive, emotive and enticingly feminine. Her commanding stage presence kept Lady Mu from being overshadowed by the colorful and energetic characters of Wen­guang and Jinhua.

When Sami L.A. Akuna — a much larger person — takes over the role of Lady Mu several scenes after intermission, wearing a completely different costume, the natural reaction is to wonder who that giant stranger is and what happened to petite, feminine Lady Mu.

It’s an example of casting that works better as an educational opportunity for the students than as jingju for public entertainment.

The use of modern anachronisms in an early scene also distracts. When a character suddenly makes a reference to his "okole" or announces "I’ve fallen and I can’t get up," it yanks the show out of the Chinese milieu that director Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak and her cast and production team have so painstakingly created.