Missing children depicted on milk cartons are a somber and seemingly long-term fixture on the American cultural landscape. Tommy identifies with them. The young boy is not missing as they are, for his mother has died and he lives with his father. He is, however, unable to connect with either a culture or his family and is therefore feeling lost. He calls the missing children "milk boys." After a trip from his home in Canada to his family's homeland of India, he thinks of himself as "rice boy." It doesn't help him that his family seems equally lost—shown by themes of being off kilter and detached—trying to hold on to cultures and relationships by rote rather than emotional connection, living in insularity and denial.
Written by Sunil Kuruvilla and directed by Chay Yew, this lyrical work ebbs and flows between Tommy's memories of a sultry summer in India and his miseries during a frigid winter in Canada. Kuruvilla provides intricately detailed writing: realistically drawn characters, recurring motifs, a warm understanding of psychology. Yew colors the script with a visually vibrant but emotionally delicate palette.
Ravi Kapoor plays Tommy with boyish vigor but ageless craft, his work lively yet unforced, his mindset inquiring. As Tommy's cousin, Lina Patel is luminous and gentle, revealing the innocence of her character as something to be cherished yet dreaded. Purva Bedi is lovely, serene as Tommy's mother and strong-willed as the family's servant. Meera Simhan is the unhappily married Auntie. Noor Shic is the matriarch Granny; Christopher S. Wells doubles as a Mennonite Farmer and as the white father Tommy tries to adopt as his own; Subash Kundanmal plays Father; Shelly Desai plays Uncle, and Ossie Mair plays various vendors in town.
Missing nothing, the sound design, by John Zalewski, is exquisite. We are surrounded by gentle birdcalls and rustlings. (Is it possible we hear certain species of birds in the morning scenes, others in the evenings?) A few other items are "missing" in this production, however, but could be readily resolved. Too much of the dialogue of Tommy's male relatives is nearly incomprehensible for lack of enunciation by the actors. The lighting design, by José López, illuminates the stage primarily from the sides, which certainly reinforces the symbolic dichotomies in the script but also hides some of the actors' expressiveness. Portions of the house lights also remain up during the action, which keeps the audience from full involvement in the onstage experience. Unfolding without an intermission, the script could be trimmed, although its repetitions are mesmerizing and play like the refrain of a song. On the whole, however, this production is a find.
"Rice Boy," presented by Taper, Too at the Actors' Gang, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Tues.-Sun. 8 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 2 p.m. Apr. 26-May 13. $20. (213) 628-2772.