Folk Tales of Magical Adventures

There’s enough promise in “Tales From the East: The Adventures of Urashima &Peach; Boy” to make its missteps all the more frustrating.

The two tales at Secret Rose Theatre in North Hollywood--one about a fisherman whose visit to a magical undersea kingdom exacts an unexpected price, the other about a boy, born from a peach, who becomes a hobgoblin hunter--are performed by a cast of Asian American adult actors, with a semblance of traditional Japanese theater elements in some of the movement, comedy, costume and design.

The colorful folk tales are not allowed to stand on their own merits, however. Writers Kaz Mata-Mura and Mike Rademaekers, who also directs, have diluted them with two onlookers (Chris Showerman and Rademaekers, playing children) to serve as both narrators and confused commentators.

The pair’s too-frequent interruptions--Rademaekers’ loud questions, asked with what is supposed to be a young child’s eagerness, and Showerman’s lower-key corny jokes and pseudo impatience--are meant to add laughs and to explain words or actions in the stories. The banter also serves as cover for costume changes or breaks between scenes.

In moderation it could be entertaining; kept up continuously, it not only distracts but also bespeaks a lack of faith in the audience’s ability to appreciate the tales themselves.

That lack of faith invites unfortunate pandering, as in Rademaekers’ loud aside, “Grandpa has a big butt,” when an actress holds up a large pair of briefs.

The stories are vivid enough to be given center stage in spirit, not just in fact, and the cast--Vic Miyahira, Matthew Chung, Hiroko Imai, Kiko Kiko, Paul S. Lee, Ian Shen, Kayo, Ren Urano and dancer Myu Myu--looks as if it can deliver without so much “help” from the sidelines.

* “Tales From the East: The Adventures of Urashima & Peach Boy,” Secret Rose Theatre, 11246 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, Sundays, 11 a.m. Ends Feb. 11. $10, adults; $7, children. (818) 766-3691. Running time: 1 hour.