The reason I continue writing Fringe reviews after almost two decades is the occasional opportunity to experience a diamond-in-the-rough that rises above the sea of disposable spoofs. "Tanabata," the new musical from writer/composer Andrew Heidorn and director Jason Wiggins, is the type of potent production that keeps me powering through in hopes of discovering a show like this with the potential to live on far beyond Orlando’s festival.
Set in early 1990s San Francisco, "Tanabata" tells the story of Ren (Heidorn) and Mei (Robin Chinn), 20-something Japanese-Americans who both dream of careers in the arts. The appealing pair meet cute over an ATM and quickly fall for each other while attending a cultural festival. Alas, the pressures of helping run their families’ respective restaurant-related businesses and the lingering shadow of World War II American internment camps threaten to keep these lovers star-crossed.
Heidorn’s hummable pop-rock songs (played live with panache by Sean McKinley, Allison Wong and Ricky Duncan) integrate elements from both West Coast street buskers and traditional Far Eastern tonality, creating a joyfully original score that’s like an Asian-American Once. Lyrics do a good job of both illuminating character and advancing plot, and there’s just enough tightly written dialogue to bridge between the musical numbers.
Wiggins directs the chemistry-filled cast to behave like real people, rather than musical theater clichés, and does an excellent job of directing dynamic stage pictures on a set smartly assembled from spray-painted milk crates and bamboo poles. The diverse ensemble (Samantha Uhrig, Kristin Paradero, Josh Ball, Francis Phimphivong) enhances the sense of community, although Philip Prete’s pedestrian choreography sometimes overcrowds the cramped stage.
I was barely three verses into the opening number of this vibrant, vital show before I realized that there are far worse musicals currently making big money on the boards in Manhattan. The plot may be age-old, but setting it within an often-overlooked AAPI culture gives the tale fresh energy and agency. If extended and expanded with additional characters (such as the off-stage relatives) and a more complex dramatic conflict that isn’t resolved so swiftly, I could see "Tanabata" evolving into Broadway’s first blockbuster musical hit by and about Nisei and Nikkei.
Orlando Fringe Festival: Tickets and times for "Tanabata"
