The Legend of the White Snake

Reviewed By Dink O'Neal

"The Legend of the White Snake "


Presented by Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock and the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks at the Sylvan Amphitheater in Yosemite Park, 1840 Yosemite Dr., Eagle Rock. Thu.-Sat. 7 p.m. Jul. 21-Aug. 13. $10 suggested donation. (323) 226-1617.
Nestled against a shady hillside behind the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts and its adjacent sports fields and public pool, this space proffers a rustically intimate, family-friendly setting. Playwright-director Henry Ong's ambitious production, based on a Chinese mythical tale, certainly can't be indicted for underutilizing every aspect of this venue. The cast makes great of the stone steps and seating areas above and around the audience, as well as the stage, of course.


In this classic story, two sibling snakes take human form after a millennium of meditation. Traveling from their spiritual home to Earth, the elder, White Snake, falls in love with and weds a mortal. Trouble occurs when a rigidly moralistic monk, Fa Hai, arrives to force the two women to return to their original forms by poisoning the matrimonial relationship. Elements of Chinese martial arts and traditional dance credited to Monica Favand, Craig Ng, and Melissa Prouty accompanied by Dennis Yen's excellent sound design and original musical compositions provide the expected Asian ambiance.


Where Ong and his troupe encounter trouble is in pacing. Instead of scenes, regardless of playing location, moving fluidly, the feeling is one of constant stop and start. We don't know what's coming next, so it's confusing when the actors appear to be operating under the same notion. Equally problematic is the inconsistent range of performances. At one end of the spectrum is Angelina Cheng delicately portraying the title role while Andrea Apuy imbues younger sister Little Green with an appealing sense of spunk. Leonard Wu gives a consistently strong depiction of Hsu Xian, the unsuspecting bridegroom whose world is shattered upon learning the true identity of his beloved. The highlight of the show, however, is ensemble member Charles Kim, who brings a uniquely comic individuality to each of several supporting parts.


On the other hand, a sense of ponderous deliberation saturates the performances of Kennedy Kabasares' narrator role, Craig Ng's take on the evil priest, and ensemble members Louisa Abernathy and Regina Cheng-Sheu. Particularly grating are collisions of philosophically based dialogue with more anachronistic terminology, including two entirely gratuitous instances of profanity.