In the beginning there was “Krishnan’s Dairy,” a one-man show interweaving the story of an Indian immigrant shopkeeper and his homesick wife with the romance of Shah Jahan and the beloved consort in whose memory he built the Taj Mahal.
Over two decades later, for the Hindu harvest festival of Onam, that man’s widow of 23 years finds herself rustling up dhal (which starts with rice and lentils) for 100 or so unexpected visitors in the storage room of the convenience store (that would be the “dairy”) she took over when her husband was killed by an intruder.
Welcome to “Mrs. Krishnan’s Party,” the latest production of Indian Ink, at a guess the liveliest theater company in Auckland, New Zealand, coming Friday to the stage of the Castle Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center for one night only. And Mrs. Krishnan’s guests, which is to say the public, will be right on stage with her, and not just to watch.
“Tonight we are all one people — Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, agnostic, capitalist, communist — all one tribe, united in this time and space, which, in Eastern philosophy, is possibly an illusion,” announces the 20-something emcee James, who is also Mrs. K’s lodger.
“What is real is what we feel. Who’s been to Onam before? Not many of you, eh? Sweet. Well, it’s like Christmas and Easter and Diwali all rolled into one.”
Be advised there will be dancing, and we of the Valley Isle will be falling down on the job if we don’t raise the roof at least a little.
In short, this is immersive theater, the genre that can paralyze introverts and set extroverts on fire. Whether we choose places of honor at the top table, seats in the bleachers with the self-selected wallflowers, or no chairs at all as free-ranging “party animals,” we’re part of the show.
“Dhoti kurta” or sari optional but definitely a plus. Choose locations advisedly. In the center of things you might be asked your name or get handed a can opener. Prepare to shed a tear or two when Mrs. K starts slicing onions.
Over the past two decades and counting, Indian Ink co-founders Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis have created a repertory of nine hit plays (sample titles: “The Dentist’s Chair,” “Guru of Chai” and “Kiss the Fish”). What drives their work is the philosophy of the “serious laugh” — “opening mouths with laughter,” as they have put it, “in order to slip something serious in along with a love of mask and story.”
There seem to have been lots of masks in “Krishnan’s Dairy,” though there are none in the current sequel. Still, the laughter and the seriousness are here, in the personal histories of lead characters who misjudge what they mean to each other, what they mean to other people, where they belong and what’s in it for them if they bury illusions that have been turning to ashes in their mouths.
On the evidence of the script and video clips, Rajan and Lewis deliver wisdom of the ages (or common sense?) with a zany touch that is both fresh and graceful. So do the stars of “Mrs. Krishnan’s Party,” both in the springtime of their careers. Kalyani Nagarajan (cross yet giving as Mrs. K) and Justin Rogers (keyed up as James) were classmates in drama school and have the chemistry to show for it. That Nagarajan is way underage for her part seems hardly to matter.
As in “Krishnan’s Dairy,” the here and now of the action mirrors the long ago and faraway. In the earlier case the point of reference was historical; in this case it’s myth. James, floundering in college but going places as “DJ Jimmy J,” welcomes the crowd in a budget-busting saffron vest, emerald Aladdin pants and the gilt-flowered crown of King Maveli, an upstart demon who challenged the almighty Vishnu and lost, yet paradoxically won a kind of victory for humankind, too.
Never got the memo? Never fear. In good time, Mrs. Krishnan explains everything. Mind you, she has her reservations about James as a Malveli in sunglasses — a detail James has copied from the Maveli he locked eyes with celebrating Onam on a visit to Kerala, the faraway homeland Mrs. K still dreams of going back to.
“He was like the King of Love,” James explains, jazzed by the memory of that Flower Power moment.
“He’s supposed to be returning from the underworld,” scoffs Mrs. K. “Not Hawaii.”
Is that a serious laugh? Maybe not, but you can bet your sweet okole, on Maui that’s a zinger that lands.
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‘MRS. KRISHNAN’S PARTY’
>> Where: Castle Theater, Maui Arts & Cultural Center
>> When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
>> Cost: $45-$65
>> Info: 242-7469 or mauiarts.com
SPOTLIGHT
‘OUT OF ORDER’
Yet again, it’s time for top Maui thespians to brush up their Shakespeare — or at least on their King’s or Queen’s English. Hard on the heels of local productions of the recent U.K.-themed Broadway hits “Matilda” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” here comes a vintage slice of British politics in the form of Ray Cooney’s knockabout “Out of Order,” originally produced as “Whose Wife Is It Anyway?” in 1990. The acidulous Dale Button stars as Richard Willey, sleazeball extraordinaire, who sits at the right hand of Margaret Thatcher. Hopelessly entangled in illicit interoffice hanky-panky, he digs his grave deeper with every harebrained attempt to cover up. Don’t you love farce? Cooney supplies the multiple doors, closet and surly hotel staff. For good measure he throws in a casement window that keeps dropping like the blade of the guillotine in the Terror. Watch for Alan Muniz in the bravura role of The Body. Bring Kleenex and laugh till you cry. David Belew directs. — “Out of Order” opens Friday at ProArts Playhouse, 1280 S. Kihei Road, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through March 22. Tickets: $27; 463-6550 or proartsmaui.com.
‘THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK’
A big role for Capathia Jenkins on Broadway was the Washing Machine in “Caroline, or Change,” a slab of laundry room magic realism from the baroque imagination of Tony Kushner as in “Angels in America” (music by Jeannine Tesori). As a concert artist, Jenkins has more glamorous opportunities. Stepping onstage for her Maui Pops debut, she won a standing ovation for presence alone. Already she’s back for a return engagement, exploring “The Great American Songbook” with Tony DeSare (vocals and piano). With Gershwin, Kern, Berlin and Rodgers on the playlist, it’s the sort of Champagne program you might have swooned over back in the day at one of Manhattan’s swankiest cabarets. If you missed Jenkins last time, don’t make that mistake again. — Maui Pops:“The Great American Songbook,” Capathia Jenkins, Tony DeSare, 3 p.m. March 8 at Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater. Tickets: $22-$60, 242-7469 or mauiarts.com.
Matthew Gurewitsch comes to Hawaii from three decades in New York as a cultural commentator for The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and other media. Browse his archive at beyondcriticism.com.
