26 — Wednesday, October 30, 1991 — North Shore News

TO HEAT RE

F.0.B., at the Firehall Arts
Centre, To Nov 10. Phone
689-0926.

O.B. No, it’s not
“son ofa...” witha
- lisp, it’s Fresh Off the

Boat. But the term is as
loaded! and negative as its
cussing relative.

In case you are not familiar with
its definitions they are spelled out
explicitly in the opening scene of
this Firehall Arts Centre produc-
tion: “F.O.B...clumsy, ugly,
greasy. F.O.B. Loud, stupid, four-
eyed F.O.B...” The actor (Jay Ono)
even manages to make the au-
dience titter at these cruel labels.

David Henry Hwang’s play il-
luminates the difficulties minorities
face assimilating into American
culture while maintaining a shred
of their own in the process.

F.0.B. is very watchable and a
little predictable. It doesn’t try to
achieve too much in one evening.
In fact, the whole play takes place
in one evening in the back of —
what else — a Chinese restaurant.

The scenario goes something
like this: Steven (Tom Wong), a
young wealthy Chinese exchange
student from Hong Kong, is study-
cing in Los Angeles. Here he meets
.two Chinese Americans. Cne is
Grace (Margaret Cheung), who:

has been in America since the age
of 10 and Dale (jay Ono}, her -
cousin, who was born on Ameti-
can soil but is of Chinese ancestry.
_ Grace becomes the mid- ~
dlewoman between these twa
men who, by the way, are both
vying for her affection. She is a

sort of bridge between the Chinese ~

-. culture of old and the new Ameri-
_ can culture, and she struggles to
keep them — and her suitors — in

~ balance. -

Dale, a breezy all-American
Chinese American, scorns Steve,
and even mimics his stilted English
and outmoded ways. He in fact
mocks his own ancestry.

But Hwang throws a wrench i in
the realism. He introduces a
mythic element.

Steve transforms into Gwan
Gung. god of fighters; writers and
prostitutes, come to remind New
. World immigrants to honor him.

But most of them don’t know him

from a hole in the ground, even
- though he is.their patron saint..

\n other surreal moments Grace

Barbara Black
THEATRE REVIEW

alistic aspects of America he also
draws out the Chinese people's
peculiar obsession for material
success, And while the Chinese
culture has a rich mythology, the
Americans embrace democratic
ideas of equality and in-

dependence.

The play doesn’t moralize, but
shows through the characters’ in-
teractions how each one struggles
with his or her cultural identity.
Hwang also injects a comic ele-

ment to flesh out the culture clash.

There is a funny sequence in
which Dale does his utmost to
convince Steve not to drive the
threesome to a mavie. Dale fears
Steve’s ancestry will impair his
driving ability. And the scene
where Steve and Dale do the
“noodle showdown’’ is also en-
joyable.

F.O.B. is another product of the
Firehall’s policy to showcase work
that reflects Canada’s mosaic of
people from different cultures. It
continues to Nav. 10.

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becomes Fa Mu Lan, the woman - §

warrior who ‘wins by waiting:’”:
There are elements of Chinese
opera in these mythic moments,
which, in principle, are interesting,

but in practice come off a bit stiffly -

and overstated.

Hwang is smart not to favor one
. culture over the other in this play.
While he shows che crass, materi-

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