My Man Kono

Tweet

The world premiere of Philip W. Chung’s My Man Kono tells the fascinating but little known true story of Toraichi Kono, chauffeur, valet and private secretary to Charlie Chaplin, who was caught up in the anti-Japanese sentiment of the 1940s after Pearl Harbor. The Pan Asian Repertory production seems like a work in progress as the play as of now has too much data, too many characters and too many scenes. Directed by Jeff Liu, four of the eight actors reappear in between 10 and 13 roles each, making the play a little difficult to follow. Nevertheless, the story of Toraichi Kono, once the most famous Japanese member of the Hollywood community, and his fall from grace remains an absorbing tale.

After a prologue which establishes Kono’s importance to Chaplin during the 17 years that he worked for him as his right hand man, the play moves to Kono’s interrogation and trial for espionage in 1947 after six years of incarceration in a series of American internment camps. In telling Wayne Collins, his defending attorney, his life story, Kono reviews both his rise to Hollywood fame from 1916 – 1932 during the years that Chaplin made The Kid, Shoulder Arms and Modern Times, and circumstances surrounding his arrest by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Living in Seattle from 1903 – 1915, Kono worked at various jobs enabling him to send for his fiancé Isami in Japan. In 1915 they moved to Los Angeles, and Kono answered an advertisement to become Chaplin’s chauffeur. The film star found him so dependable and talented that he put him in three movies and eventually made him his valet and private secretary, handling his appointments and correspondence. As a result of his job responsibilities, Kono met a great many world leaders and Hollywood celebrities. All this came to an end when actress Paulette Goddard entered Chaplin’s orbit and demanded that she oversee all of Kono’s dealings at which point he resigns.

In the second half of the play, we discover that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover appointed a special prosecutor due to what was considered a sensitive case after Pearl Harbor. It transpires that it was Kono’s acquaintance with Japanese commander Tachibana who he first met in Japan on a tour with Chaplin and who had then moved to LA as a spy and opportunist Alva Blake which led to Kono’s arrest and incarceration, though he was never charged with espionage even after six years. Blake and Tachibana had been involved in an attempt to pass U.S naval secrets to the Japanese military, an event to which Kono was not privy.

While Tachibana had been deported, Blake testifies only to try to make himself look heroic. However, aside from these unwise friendships, he made several poor choices which were held against him, though he did them for the most innocent reasons. The court found it suspicious that none of Kono’s former Hollywood friends, Chaplin included, came forward for his defense. In fact, the entire film community turned their back on him, an example of prejudice against Asians. We see the trial, actually designated as a hearing, play out leading to the outcome for Kono.

Under Liu’s direction, the Japanese characters tend to be low-key and unemotional while the American characters are mainly caricatures and exaggerations. In the title role, Brian Lee Huynh is understated but commanding. As his wife Isami and later the US prosecuting attorney, Kiyo Takami is equally unemotional but forceful. As directed, Robert Meksin as Kono’s lawyer Wayne Collins lacks the gravitas required for this role. The Hollywood celebrities (Conlan Ledwith as Charlie Chaplin, and Emma Kikue as film stars Mary Pickford, Virginia Cherrill and Paulette Goddard who is later Chaplin’s third wife) are not convincing, while Cody LeRoy Wilson as con artist Alva Blake and James Patrick Nelson as FBI Agent R. Horn are exaggerated like parodies of Warner Brothers gangster movies of the 1930s. As the devious Japanese Commander Itaru Tachibana who proves to be Kono’s nemesis, Jae Woo plays it close to the vest, suggesting more than he is allowed to say.

Sheryl Liu’s set design allows for easy transitions between the many scenes, mainly reenactments of past events in Kono’s story, but fails to create much atmosphere, while Cinthia Chen’s projection design offers period detail but is not used enough to offset the bland walls of the set. The period appropriate costumes by Karen Boyer recall the drab look of the war years. Asami Morita’s lighting design keeps audience attention on the action center stage. Howard Ho’s sound design offers period music and songs of the eras depicted.

Philip W. Chung’s My Man Kono is an interesting attempt to tell the story of Toraichi Kono, a shocking case of racial injustice against Asian-Americans. To be more successful, the script probably needs reshaping with some characters eliminated and others fleshed out. The play tries to depict so many scenes in Kono’s life that we lose focus on the real drama of his arrest and trial. Nevertheless, in this form, the play is still absorbing and poignant, though the chronology is a bit convoluted.

My Man Kono (through March 9, 2025)

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre

A.R.T./NY Mezzanine Theatre, 502 W. 53^rd Street, 2^nd Floor, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.panasianrep.org

Running time: two hours and five minutes including one intermission