TheatreWorks presented one of its best productions of the current season, with a well-rounded close-knit cast, in A. R. Gurney's Far East. Mr. Gurney has constructed a finely written play that zips along at high speed. This was the West Coast premier of this dramatic comedy by one of America's best playwrights. The play is a lithe, absorbing and thoughtful study of the pressure to keep to one's own kind.

The play is set in the mid 1950s in Japan and concerns the complicated relationships between eager junior officer "Sparky" Watts, his seasoned captain, James Anderson, Julia, the captain's attractive and bored wife, and the Japanese woman who works on the base with whom Sparky is involved.

There are also sub-plots involving Sparky's roommate and friend, a young ensign who has become enmeshed in a scandal involving a deadly security breach and the ensign's hidden homosexuality.

The navy has tried everything to break up the relationship since Sparky has declared love for the Japanese woman. Julie even coerces Sparky into joining her for weekly dance lessons and she becomes increasingly irritated by Sparky's affair as she becomes more and more attracted to the young officer.

The playwright never lets his play become over melodramatic and the director Jules Aaron keeps the pace fast. I saw the play at the Lincoln Center in June of 1999 with Michael Hayden, Lisa Emery, Connor Trinneer and James Rebhorn. The play in New York was slower and not as crisp as this superior production.

One of the Bay Area's most talented actors, Darren Bridgett, played Sparky and, where Michael Hayden played the role with a certain boyish charm in New York, Darren took a more mature and adult approach to the role. Mr. Bridgett has a captivating manner and a soothing voice that helped him in some of the lighter scenes.

Julie Eccles, who has proven herself as an actress of great versatility, was wonderful as the captain's wife. Her scenes with her husband were equally strong on authentic emotion. Her best scene came in the second act when she talked about her life before marrying the captain. Beautifully acted.

Newcomer Brian Gillespie played the gay officer and was efficient in his role. Michael Keys Hall, a Bay Area veteran actor, played the base commander and he did an excellent job as the old school Naval officer.

The play was done Kabuki style with a kimono clad Reader, played by agile Carie Yonekawa, who was admirable in the role. She narrated and spoke a number of Western and Japanese roles from her downstage left perch. There are also two Noh theater styled stagehands who played various silent parts. The set was a blue centered square on a wooden platform and most of the action took place around just one piece of furniture. There was also a taiko drummer who beat out the end of dramatic climaxes.

The production played at the Lucie Stern Theater in Palo Alto and it ran through April 8th. The next production will be Floyd Collins, opening April 11 and running through May 6. Tickets are $20-$38 and can be obtained by calling (650)903-6000 or go to www.theatreworks.org.

- Richard Connema