Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Three Year Swim Club

I saw one of the preview performances, and this play was one of the most touching productions I have attended.  It is based on a true story, about Soichi Sakamoto, an elementary school teacher in Hawaii, back in 1937, who decides to start a swim club for the plantation workers.  Four of his pupils become world class swimmers - and it is these four swimmers that the play focuses on - along with the coach, and his wife, Mary.

These are "plantation" kids, who are told, basically, to just accept their fate as plantation workers, but Coach Sakamoto teaches them to dream and to aspire.  With focus, dedication and effort, anything is possible.  The play is inspirational, emotional, and touching.  It moved me, tremendously.  I probably reacted more strongly than others might because it home with me.  Not that I have any Hawaiian roots, but I've grown up around enough people who have roots in Hawaii - and between the "pidgen lite" that is spoken in the play, and the historical context of the environment these kids and their coach lived - I was probably able to catch a lot of nuances that others who don't have this reference will miss. 

Regardless, the storyline is great, the dialogue is crisp, the acting is suberb, and the direction is wonderful.  The play runs until March 11.  Catch it if you can.

Click here for a full review I posted on the Yahoo Contributor Network

For more information, visit their website:  http://www.eastwestplayers.org/on_the_stage/swim.htm