You wouldn't necessarily expect the next great classic piece of American theater to debut in Portland. But Portland's theater scene may not be able to continue as one of America's best kept secrets much longer. Months after hosting Storm Large's phenomenal one woman show Crazy Enough (now bound for New York and ultimately book store shelves across America), Portland Center Stage is again the epicenter for another piece of important theater destined for life far beyond the Armory walls. This time around it's an adaptation of David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars.
Although previously adapted for the screen in 1999, Snow Falling on Cedars gets a completely new breath of life in the hands of writer Kevin McKeon. With this adaptation McKeon shows how deeply he understands the soul of Guterson's novel. Rather than getting mired in the historical context or overly entangled with the courtroom drama, McKeon focuses squarely on the interconnected relationships of the book's characters and how those change over time.
McKeon couldn't have found a better collaborator than Portland Center Stage's Chris Coleman. Coleman complements McKeon's adaptation with innovative staging that enables the actors and scenes to quickly transition from location to location. With so much ground covered in McKeon's adaptation it would be easy for Snow Falling on Cedars to become a jumbled mess, but Coleman, along with scenic designer William Bloodgood, do an amazing job of making it all look seamless.
The cast of Snow Falling on Cedars is also uniformly excellent. Lead actors Bruce Loke (Kabuo), Oliva Oguma (Hatsue) and Vince Nappo (Ishmael) are all exceptional. The play gives each actor a fairly long character arch to play and all of them handle this excellently. The Portland Center Stage production isn't one where the stars shine brighter than the supporting cast, and actors Scott Coopwood (Officer Powell) and Tobias Angersen (Nels) remind us just how much actors can do in supporting roles. Some of my favorite scenes in the play are focused around some of the supporting roles. An early scene has two officers pulling a body onto a boat from a fishing net. It's all done in pantomime and is so good you'd swear you could see the body.
Although Snow Falling on Cedars deals with some difficult issues (especially its examination of one of America's darkest movements, when Japanese Americans were sent off to internment camps), it isn't all dark or depressing. The play is peppered by some absolutely magical moments of tenderness and humor. It's this richly textured universe which helps make Snow Falling on Cedars work so well. Not only has McKeon captured the essence of the book, he has created a universe of characters that is so compelling in its own right that it feels unique and alive beyond the adapted work.
In many ways it's hard to believe that Snow Falling on Cedars is a new piece of work. The production has such a classic and timeless feel to it that I could easily be convinced that it was written by Arthur Miller or originally staged in the 1960s. Even with this classic feel it does have a modern sensibility about it. Chris Coleman's staging is at times minimalistic, with the actors given a lot of trust and the audience a lot of credit to fill in the gaps. The way in which scenes are woven and transitioned tailors this for modern tastes but preserves the show's timeless soul, an essential element that may lead to this play becoming a classic piece of theater.
Readers fell in love with Snow Falling on Cedars when it was first published, becoming an immediate bestseller, and is still widely read today. This stage adaptation has the potential for that same kind of success. I'd be surprised if this production doesn't find its way on New York stages (Broadway or Off Broadway) or if other theater companies don't find their way to this play for years to come. It's hard to believe that something like this is happening here in Portland, but it is and it would be a travesty not to catch it in its current run.
Snow Falling on Cedars runs at Portland Center Stage January 12 to February 7, 2010. Tickets start from $30.50, with student and under 30 discounts available. Rush tickets for Snow Falling on Cedars are $20. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with a 2:00 p.m. Sunday matinee and alternating Saturday 2:00 p.m. and Sunday 7:30 p.m. performance
David Guterson, author of Snow Falling on Cedars, will be donating all of his royalties from the production to the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community in support of their Nikkei Exclusion and Internment Memorial project.
The reviewer received complimentary tickets to this performance.
