East meets West

Noaki Schwartz

The play “Summer Moon” explores the meeting between East and West -- an

eternally complex theme that has resulted in a piece that is not only for

theatergoers but one for actors as well.

For Greg Wannabe, playing Naotake Fukushima -- a Japanese salaryman

adjusting to postwar America -- it is a subtle reminder of his own

conflicting experience of growing up Asian in a white neighborhood.

And for Tamilyn Tomita, playing Rosie gives her the opportunity to delve

further into the experience and character of a Japanese-American farm

worker.Written by John Olive, “Summer Moon” won the Kennedy Center Fund

for New American Plays. It takes place in post-World War II California --

a time when Japan and America are reluctant Allies, suffering from a

growing cultural chasm.

The story is about a Japanese businessman whose honor depends on his

success in completing an impossible task: selling the Sakata T-7, the

first Japanese truck exported to the United States. And so, Fukushima

sets off on this difficult mission, headlong through a treacherous and

hilarious forest of cultural differences.

Along the way he encounters Yoshida, a farm worker, who teaches him about

slick salesmanship and, more importantly that, in America, the end

justifies the means. He also meets Arnie, a war veteran, who insists that

stealing and risking everything are essential in order to get through

life. On a deeper level, the play explores the universal question of

identity and the societal masks people wear.

“I think that’s a pretty universal feeling,” Olive said. “When I write

these things I’m not very clear as to why I’m doing it. Why some ideas

muscle themselves into actually being is sometimes mysterious.”

Though American, Olive was born in Japan, but he said he left too early

to form any real memories of the country. He has since felt a lingering

curiosity about his birthplace, which surely trickled into his writing

this piece.

For Wannabe, the theme of being an outsider was not entirely unfamiliar.

Growing up in an “all white” neighborhood in Fullerton, Wannabe said he

often felt displaced when he visited Asian communities.

It wasn’t until he became involved with an Asian-American theater troupe

while meandering through university at Berkeley, that he found himself,

Wannabe said.

“Being in character is like getting away from yourself,” he said. “You

don’t have to worry about the responsibility of judgment.”

He was first introduced to the character, Naotake Fukushima, while

reading through the script during a Sundance Playwrites Lab, he said. He

was immediately intrigued and excited.

“John [Olive] has a real feeling for depth of emotion and an eye for

humor,” Wannabe said, adding that he’s been with the play ever since.

For Tomita, who starred in the film “Joy Luck Club,” having the

opportunity to play the brash Rosie Yoshida again will allow her to round

out the character.

“Being in TV and film gives you more money and exposure, but theater is

more fulfilling,” she said, adding that on stage she could experiment

with the Japanese-American character trying to survive in the 1950s only

through her wits.

And through years of surviving in a primarily white-dominated field,

Tomita surely has a well of experience to draw upon to play Yoshida.

WHAT: “Summer Moon”

WHEN: Today through Dec. 5; show times are 7:45 p.m. Tuesday through

Sunday and 2 and 7:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

WHERE: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

HOW MUCH: $26 to $45

PHONE: (714) 708-5555