Stage Reviews

The Joy Luck Club This year’s offering from Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra is a typically elaborate affair. In terms of production values, the play looks as handsome as anthing you’ll see from one of the region’s professional companies. It also features a cast of 24. The acting, while sometimes quite good, doesn’t consistently hit the high standard established by the show’s technical aspects. Some cast members deliver their lines more naturally or with greater authority than others; some make you feel their character’s tremendous loss when a family member dies; others can’t quite pull it off. Director Diane Fetterly marshals her forces effectively throughout this show; she also works the script’s recurrent motif of firm mothers and spunky daughters to good effect—and how often do we get to see a mother/daughter theme developed on stage these days? Susan Kim’s script (based on the bestseller by Amy Tan) deftly overlays the maternal elements with scenes of the daughters assimilating into American society, moving back and forth through time. This makes for a storyline that’s more episodic than linear, which Fetterly embraces rather than challenges. The Joy Luck Club moves to its own inward rhythms, rather than racing toward a predetermined, logical outcome. Never mind; there are more than enough surprises along the way to sustain your interest. 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday at Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad St., Nevada City. $12 adv., $14 at the door, $10 students/seniors. Call (530) 273-6362. Through Feb. 10. J.H.