Aloha Las Vegas

Book excerpt: Edward Sakamoto is one of Hawai'i's most popular playwrights. His skillfully constructed depictions of "local life" and command of stylized narrative devices have earned him recognition and acclaim both in the Islands and elsewhere in the U.S. The three plays collected here present an expertly dramatized panorama of life in Hawai'i from 1959 to 1994. A'ala Park explores a working-class milieu with honesty and humor in this gripping study of a young man stunted by a slum environment at the time of statehood. Stew Rice, juxtaposing the hopes of the late 1950s with the realities of the late 1970s, charts the fortunes of three highschool buddies and the consequences of their individual decisions to leave or remain in Hawai'i. Aloha Las Vegas centers on a retired baker, land rich but cash poor, who wrestles with the decision to relocate to Las Vegas in 1994. Sakamoto is quick to challenge easy affirmations and identifications. Beneath their feel-good humor and celebration of local language and culture, the plays have a depth and an unpredictability. As Dennis Carroll observes in his Introduction, all of them center on the theme of "Hawai'i versus the mainland" and the challenges of relocation--the ambiguities of the definition of "home" and whether it can ever be recovered or regained--and the special qualities of local life that can or cannot be transplanted. This theme is relevant to all Americans familiar with the immigrant experience, not only those living in Hawai'i. A glossary of pidgin words and terms is included. Edward Sakamoto's trilogy Hawai'i No Ka Oi is available from Lightning Press. Booksellers: To order, please contact: Ingram Book Co., P.O. Box 3006, La Vergne, TN 37086. Phone: 888-884-6472/Fax: 800-876-0186. Individuals: Please order through your local bookseller.