Everyone Ste "Long"ing for Something — FOLKS YOU MEET IN LONGS by KKT

I need for pay bettah attention next time I go Longs, cuz I been missing out on all kine characters, for realz! Wednesday night time, I wen see da preview for dis supah funny play, written by none oddah den Lee Cataluna, called Folks You Meet In Longs. Ho, sistah get skills. She know how for capture one living portrait of local people wit both humor and irony (an more den little bit humanity) all wit just one three-minute monologue each. And not just her. The actors dat go play all da different local “Folks”—dey know how for do em real good too. Get da voice, da Pidgin kine talk all different depend on the character, and da physicality whether is mahu, tita, one sass teen, or whatevahs. You know wat, I tink you gon like em even bettah den my mainland haole (but been here eight years already) attempt at one authentic local kine write-up for da buggah.

Charlotte Dias and Blossom Lam Hoffman

So, yah, pardon my alter ego, but that’s what happens when I’m overexposed to the sound of language that has flavor you can taste, like the pickled mango Sherry ‘Sistah Sherry’ Clifton’s character has been searching for at every Longs on the island. Each cast member takes on multiple roles—except Dawn Gohara, who plays the recurring Longs clerk with all the “meaningful” commentary. In Gohara’s first monologue, she tells us about the different people she sees come into longs and what they hope to find, what they bring in and what they take with them when they go, but she tells us, “I don’t say nothing.” Her character’s sections are written with an unassuming insight about human nature gained through years of observation. There is a matter-of-fact quality to her delivery, which makes sense for her character, but doesn’t always translate as captivating for the audience.

Jaedee-Kae Vergara got the first huge laughs of the night as “Janessa's friend” telling the shame character of Stephanie Keiko Kong all the different ways to take care of the hickeys she know ste hiding under dat turtleneck sweater. I never saw the first production of this show at Kumu, but one thing I liked about this production (which may or may not have been done before) was the effective use of silent actors to stand in as the “audience” on some of the monologues, creating a scene rather than always just a lonesome character on stage.

Aito Simpson Steele and Moses Goods III

Moses Goods III also managed to bring the house down a couple times, showing his range across different roles, like coffee filter mahu and car wash stud, and obviously having fun doing it, which is always contagious for an audience.

Some of the characters stood out more than others in the steady parade, like the lady (played by Charlotte Dias) who gets her jollys by going to McKinley car wash three times a week to watch the good, strong boys clean her car; and the woman (played by Blossom Lam Hoffman) whose husband’s futs send her dreaming to a fantasy world where she’s Mrs. Longs looking down from her Longs apartment in the clouds; or the guy (played by Aito Simpson Steele) who tells his girlfriend, “babes, you my babes”; not to mention the poor guy (played by Harrison Kawate) who barely makes it to his father’s front door before the lemon chicken takes its revenge on his bowels. But it’s not all laughs, especially with Steele’s portrayal of Tsukebe Uncle Richard—appropriately tsukebe. There’s plenty other good ones, but no time for mention em all, so you just gon have to see for yourself.

There’s a lot to enjoy with such a strong cast and great characters. But don’t wait like you usually do with Kumu shows, because this one (which isn’t playing at Kumu but instead at Tenney Theatre) is only running two weekends. The show is a benefit for Kumu Kahua Theatre: It runs Jul 21–31, 2011, Thu–Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm. Tickets are $35.00

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*Photos taken from Kumu Kahua Theatre's Facebook album Folks You Meet in Longs Rehearsal, 7/20/11.