Cuz That's What the Play's About — ONE COMEDY OF ERRAS at KKT

Shawn Anthony Thomsen is not only my friend, but also one of my theatre heroes. Not the kind of hero that basks in the glory of constant praise with puffed-out chest and arms akimbo. The kind of hero that works long and hard, day after day, for all the right reasons. The kind with a touch of genius tempered by a dash of humility. A seriously gifted sense of humor balanced by an acute sense of seriousness.

Photo by Jonathan Reyn (stolen from Shawn Thomsen's facebook page)

OK, he’s not dead or anything. He’s just directing his first show at Kumu Kahua Theatre. And, in my obviously biased opinion, he kills it. Given a script loaded with stereotypical and not-so-stereotypical Honolulu characters, twists and turns, talktalktalk, hitting, yelling, singing, insulting, and then some, it’s hard to imagine a director actually adding and layering. But that’s exactly what Thomsen does. He embraces Taurie Kinoshita’s One Comedy of Erras, wraps his arms around it, caresses it, shapes it, leaves his fingerprints all over it. In the tradition of Kumu’s Artistic Director Harry Wong III, Thomsen makes theatre that is a celebration of the artform and the unique qualities of this particular play.

What I especially enjoyed about this production is the way themes are magnified and compounded through the choices made.

Hawai‘i is a place where people keep time a little differently than, say, in Hartford, Connecticut. What’s the rush? Why not relax a little longer, talk story, enjoy good company? From the very beginning, it’s clear that this production is in no rush to get where it’ll somehow eventually end up. And that makes sense. That’s what the play’s about. Realizing this, the second act delightfully rolls out one scene after another, each more elaborate and unexpected than the previous.

Hawai‘i is a place where all types of people are accepted for who they are and who they choose to be. We no judge, K. We not all stuckedy uppity, “you not the right kine person for this kine part cuz you no look, act, dress the right way.” That’s what the play’s about.

Hawai‘i is a place where we know how to laugh, but where we also care, a lot. That’s what the play’s about.

There’s only one weekend left to see this show, and it’ll probably be all sold out before long cuz everyone like wait till the last minute cuz all ste on Hawai‘i time, and so I almost didn’t bother writing a review. But then I thought, why not? Only take a little bit time for sit and think and tell my one opinion. And so here it is. Cuz that’s what Enter Offstage is about.

Runs through 9/30 at Kumu Kahua Theatre