For nearly 20 years, Toraichi Kono worked for Charlie Chaplin during the period when the silent film star rose to prominence and notoriety. Originally hired as a driver, Kono became one of Chaplin’s most trusted confidantes: acting as his a social secretary, assisting with film production, and even playing a valet in three of Chaplin’s pictures. Serving as a role model for other Japanese immigrants, Kono’s starry life was eventually upended by tragedy on the home front and a fishy arrest by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI for suspected espionage. Los Angeles based Asian American playwright Philip W. Chung has now melded the world of Hollywood with the immigrant experience in his captivating new work, My Man Kono, highlighting this man’s fascinating story.
Kono is presented as a rich and well-rounded character. We see his early days in Japan as a charming film flam man wooing and winning over the woman of his dreams against his parents wishes. We celebrate his rise in a flashy and influential California circle while regretting his time away from loved ones. Dinh James Doan has replaced Brian Lee Huynh in this pivotal role for the remainder of the play’s run. He was still not completely at ease with the broad demands during Saturday’s performance, but there were only a few scenes in which he didn’t fully connect with the fine ensemble bolstering him. Conlan Ledwith pulls off the physicality, charm, and smugness of Chaplin on screen and off also portraying the judge who holds Kono’s future in his hands. Robert Meksin imbues lawyer Wayne Collins with the right amounts of warmth and gravity and Cody Leroy Wilson gives the buffoonish Alva Blake much needed grounding. Emma Kikue is clearly having fun playing all of Chaplin’s wives including Paulette Goddard who drove a wedge between Chaplin and Kono. Kiyou Takami does what she can with the underwritten part of Kono’s suffering wife Isami, countering her husband’s thirst for fame and fortune with one driven by honor and family. James Patrick Nelson plays a variety of almost clownish enforcement heavies, while Jae Woo rounds out the cast playing suspected spy Itaru Tachibana among others.
Director Jeff Liu has worked closely with set designer Sheryl Liu to make the most of the intentionally shallow configuration of the black box space. Grey blocks with strategic cutouts are combined with Cinthia Chen’s projections to serve as everything from Chaplin’s elegant homes to a drab courtroom and represent geographically areas from across the US and Japan. Sometimes the actors literally pop-up from the top or poke out through a window to grab attention. Lighting designer Asami Morita supports this spirited concept.
Presented by Pan Asian Repertory as part of their 48th season, My Man Kono is a wildly engaging and informative piece of theater. Sending American citizens — many of whom had offspring in our military — to internment camps because of their heritage is one of the most disgraceful chapters in our history. Shameful questioning of what it means to be an American patriot reverberate in the present. To see this period through the eyes of someone who was close to a Hollywood legend is an ingenious way to draw in a wider audience. This World Premiere continues through March 9 at the A.R.T./NY Mezzanine Theatre on the second floor of 502 west 53rd Street. Reserved seats are available at https://www.panasianrep.org/my-man-kono and are $35 for students, $60 for seniors and $70 for adults.
The Unforgettable Line 