Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

The concept is amusing enough. Certainly there’s humor in the banter and butting heads of the two characters. From the opening line, Justin talks at high speed non-stop for at least ten minutes. Padma breaks her years of silence as well as Justin’s monologue. Thanks to the talented actors, sparks fly. Their give-and-take wills the audience on a quest to learn more about them. They are charming and adept actors. The claustrophobic setting requires them to be so.

At points the script lets them down. Sometimes it warp-drives over details, much like Justin who is “just the bullet points.” Other times it system-crashes, stalling on the technology vs. simplicity divide. So when the point of urgency arrives, it arrives too soon and too late. That’s not the Buddhist duality that one would hope for.

Mostly the actors are constrained by director Diane Rodriguez. She doesn’t trust that Liang is naturally charming, so she has him amp up his likeability; sometimes it grates. Miyori also is not allowed to imbue Padma with her trademark. For one who’s a master in layering her characters, it’s quite a shame. A highlight of the play is when Padma levitates; one wishes that the actors were given a chance to soar as well. While the setting is claustrophobic, the hold on these wonderful actors need not be so tight.

The work does offer heady fuel for thought. What are our priorities? What is the zenith of existence? Are we are our own caves? It does inspire its audience members to think about their own journeys. East West Players’ theme for this season is “Art is…”. If art is a flame for investigation then Cave Quest succeeds on that level. As a viewing experience, however, we might ask for fewer shortcuts on the collective journey.