Kataki (The Enemy)
There are many admirable aspects of this production, but most striking is the performance of Yas Takahashi. His portrayal of one of the two characters in the play, a Japanese soldier stranded on a lone Pacific island, is absolutely splendid. He has great stage presence, concentration and fervor; a nimbleness of body; a fire in the eyes. Speaking only Japanese, of which I know not one word, he is still able still to enable me to grasp his life. His emotional choices are courageous and varied. Yas Takahashi is an outstanding actor of great appeal.
His counterbalance, Fernando Aldaz, seems perfectly cast as the young, naive, true-blooded, all-American airman parachuting from a burning plane. Unfortunately, I could not tell if this actor did well or not, as I missed most of what he said due to faulty diction and vocal volume. It wasn’t just me, sitting in the first row; other members of the audience complained. It is so sad that, in this town, actors, grooming themselves primarily for TV and film, are oblivious to the needs of live performance.
The set by Potsch Boyd was absolutely fabulous, and Peter Haskell, director, must be congratulated on making use of it so ingeniously. One sensed the gentle hand of a master coach leading these two actors to truly relate to one another.
The stage fights were creative and exciting, thanks to Louis Roth.
The play is poignant and meaningful, if a bit dated. It didn’t take much imagination to predict where it was going, and I do wish the intermission might have been done away with. The first part of the second act was redundant, having lost much of the momentum that proceeded.
All in all, Kataki is a good evening in the theatre, and definitely worth seeing.
McCadden Place Theatre
1157 N. McCadden Place
Los Angeles, Ca. 90038
Friday & Saturday at 8 Sunday at 2
Presented by Prince Livingston Players