SUMO (c) Joan Marcus
Theater: SUMO
At the Public Theater (Ma-Yi Theater Co-Production)
One of the most exciting purposes of theater is its ability to transport us to a unique and specific world most of us would never find ourselves in, and this is why the audience the night I saw Lisa Sanaye Dring’s play SUMO in the Anspacher Theater always felt like they were on the edge of their seat whenever a new scene started. SUMO (pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable, adding more peculiarity to non-Asian ears), doesn’t specify its time frame, and for a while, it does feel like it could take place back in feudal Japan or modern-day Tokyo (although it becomes clearer as the play proceeds). Dring starts with three narrators who introduce us to the world, what is expected and what is forbidden in the sport of sumo, but she mainly abandons this conceit once the play gets going. We are in a training center run by superstar wrestler Mitsuo (David Shih) as he imparts wisdom and life lessons along with techniques. Enter this almost cult-like living quarters is newbie Akio (Scott Keiji Takeda), who has always dreamed about being a sumo star, but as is always the case, a plebe is treated more like an indentured servant: cleaning, cooking and serving food—and helping to bathe some of them, even as they make fun of him and treat Akio as an untouchable. Akio’s rise in the ranks of the sumo hierarchy is the familiar plot of Dring’s play, and it follows the usual sports film tropes of an athlete struggling, overcoming, triumphing and finally reassessing the given sport. But thankfully on top of this trajectory, the play slyly investigates the toxic male environment that most male contact sports seem to thrive on as well as themes of insecurity, of achieving ones’ dream (as well as “almost” achieving ones’ dream), of sexual identity and mostly of how one must compromise in order to stay on top. Director Ralph B. Peña’s impressive production starts slowly as he introduces the cast and the politics of the training camp, but once the play focuses more on the competitions, the play is smoothly swift and engaging. This is all due to the charismatic and confident cast, which includes Kris Bona, Red Concepción, Michael Hisamoto, Earl T. Kim, Paco Tolson, Viet Vo and, especially, Ahmad Kamal, whose character gets a satisfying secondary plot arc. SUMO’S story may feel like any underdog sports tale, but this world is so vividly brought to life that it’s one of the more entertaining Off-Broadway shows this season.
