The Great Leap
Reviewed by Katie Buenneke
East/West Players at the Pasadena Playhouse
Through December 1
Lauren Yee is a truly gifted playwright. In a way that feels unique and independent of her contemporaries and predecessors, she’s able to weave a personal story amongst irrefutable facts. She’s done this in King of the Yees, an autobiographical piece about her father, and in Cambodian Rock Band, which sets a different father-daughter story against the background of the Khmer Rouge’s genocide in the titular country.
The Great Leap, with a title derived from the 1958-1962 “Great Leap Forward” in China, takes place in two cities on different continents, and two times: San Francisco — and Beijing in 1989 and 1971. In 1989, a high schooler, Manford (Justin Chien) tries to convince Saul (James Eckhouse), the USF basketball coach, to let him play in the upcoming game between the USF team and the Beijing University team. Saul, full of white pride and ignorance, is sure his American team will trounce the Chinese team, coached by Wen Chang (Grant Chang). Eighteen years earlier, Saul had visited China, tried to coach the players, and returned home skeptical that the China could ever have a good basketball team, much less good basketball players. Before he left, Saul named Wen Chang, who was his translator, coach of the Beijing University team, a high-profile role Wen Chang neither asked for nor wanted — as he tells the audience about China under Chairman Mao’s rule, “Growing up, you did not want to be someone. You wanted to be the person three people behind someone. Because being someone could get you killed.”
Saul’s not too keen to let an overexcited teen join his team, but after Manford’s cousin Connie (Christine Lin) points out that the Beijing players are all going to be a lot taller than Saul is anticipating, Saul reluctantly lets Manford join his players. As Saul says before they get on their flight in June of 1989, “It’s China, four days, what could happen?”
Well, anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the broad strokes of contemporary Chinese history knows what’s going to happen, what’s inevitable, in June of 1989. Massive student protests, which the audience knows — but the characters don’t — will culminate in a fatal event at Tiananmen Square. Events that have added resonance today, in light of the protests in Hong Kong.
Yee gracefully interlaces history with a compelling story, combining factual and emotional truths into a gorgeous tapestry.
With material so rich, it’s a shame that the production being staged at the Pasadena Playhouse isn’t as strong as the text deserves. Eckhouse and especially Chang are great as the two coaches, but under B.D. Wong’s direction, the performances of the younger actors are noticeably weaker. Wong’s staging also leaves much to be desired, over-relying on a tendency for the actors to hit their marks and turn out to face the audience to deliver monologues. It feels clichéd, and it’s hard not to feel that this text merits a more thoughtful staging.
Lex Liang’s scenic design mostly relies on Hana S. Kim’s projections, which bring much-needed life to the drab stage. Leon Rothenberg’s sound design feels too feeble to effectively fill the Playhouse’s auditorium.
The Great Leap’s final image packs a potent emotional punch and lingers in the memory long after the house lights come up. It’s a shame the rest of the production isn’t as strong as the script, or that moment.
Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena; Tues.-Fri. at 8 p.m.; Sat. at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sun. at 2 p.m.; through Dec 1. PasadenaPlayhouse.org. Running time: two hours, with a 20-minute intermission.
