Huck and Holden: Play It Again, Singh

In Woody Allen's hit Broadway comedy from 1969, Play It Again, Sam, a socially awkward Jewish New Yorker (guess who played him) took romantic advice from his vision of the ultimate male role model; Humphrey Bogart as Rick in Casablanca. Though nobody else could see him, Bogey helps him win the heart of the woman he loves by teaching him how to dress, what to say and how to act. Replace Casablanca's Rick with Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and sub a fish-out-of-water Hindu college student from India for the socially awkward Jewish New Yorker and you have a good idea where playwright Rajiv Joseph is going with his charming, goofy and frequently hilarious comedy of sex and romance, Huck and Holden.

Engineering student Navin (an extremely funny and sympathetic Nick Choksi) had his life all planned out for him. He was to get an education in America, stay out of trouble and remain a virgin until he returned to India to marry whomever his father chose. But he didn't plan on meeting Michelle (a fun and funky Cherise Boothe), a pretty, outspoken and sexually active voice student whose discovery of a library copy of the Kama Sutra has stimulated her interest in Indian… ahhh… culture.

Navin has been assigned to write a paper on two American literary rebels, Caulfield and Huckleberry Finn, and develops an immediate fascination with Salinger's anti-hero, who reminds him of Singh, a Sikh classmate of his back in Calcutta who was one of the cool kids. Navin's vision of a Singh/Holden combo (a slick and likeable Arjun Gupta) becomes his imaginary advisor in dealing with the conflict between what is expected of him and what he is tempted to explore. When Michelle invites Navin to a campus party, just as a friend, Singh helps him alleviate his overwhelming fear of socializing with a house full of coeds and his growing attraction to this free spirit who can speak openly about her sex life. (A loose thread in the script is that it's sometimes suggested, but never made certain, that Navin is especially uncomfortable being attracted to Michelle because she is black. Perhaps if the author spent more time with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is barely touched on in the play, it would be clearer if his issue was with all other races or if he felt a special danger with a black woman.)

When Michelle breaks up with her thick-headed player (as a 46-year-old white man I simply cannot write "playa") boyfriend, Torry (a charismatic LeRoy McClain), it not only increases the sexual and romantic tension between her and Navin, but helps launch a series of plot points that only make sense in this sort of comedy. I won't go into the reasons why Torry winds up giving Navin a lesson in how to "wax ass", nor will I try and explain why the 4-armed Hindu goddess Kali (wildly funny Nilaja Sun in a terrific costume by Rebecca Bernstein) makes an appearance as one bad-ass mutha. I'll just say it works. With the pen of Joseph, and the light, peppy direction of Giovanna Sardelli, scenes and dialogue that might border on the vulgar or racially insensitive, come off as charmingly innocent.

Joseph touches on some serious issues here, such as the cultural conflicts and tensions in both America and India, but they're only light taps which help bring bits of humanity to the characters. You most likely won't leave Huck and Holden discussing the relevance of the themes expounded upon by Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger as they relate to the racial integration of American college campuses. You'll more likely leave thinking, "Hey that was a blast! Let's get some pizza!"

Photo by Rana Faure: Nilaja Sun, Nick Choksi, Cherise Boothe and Arjun Gupta