Theater in Review: Good Enemy (Audible Theater at Minetta Lane Theatre)Most parents have secrets that their children don't know about, but the facts that Howard, a middle-aged Chinese American, have kept from his daughter Momo include some real bombshells. Momo, a graduate student living in Brooklyn, is stunned to see her widowed father, the proprietor of a strictly legit California massage parlor, on her doorstep; she is even more surprised to learn that has driven cross-country with Dave, her ex-boyfriend, a geeky aspiring filmmaker. (Dave thinks there's a feature film in Howard's life story, even though he is hazy on the details.) Parent and child have grown estranged since the death of Jiahua, Howard's wife and Momo's mother, and, over the course of a fast-moving evening, we find out why. In Good Enemy, playwright Yilong Liu manages his two-track plot with undeniable verve. In the present, we see Howard attempting to reconnect with Momo without revealing anything about his personal history; this approach consists of well-intentioned kibitzing that drives the independent-minded Momo to distraction. In scenes set in 1984, we see Howard's younger self, Hao, being recruited by the state police to spy on nightclubs where young people congregate and share "subversive" ideas. The Mao years are over, and China is tentatively beginning to Westernize, but the authorities want to keep tight control, lest too much freedom, otherwise known as "the offense of hooliganism" destabilize the social order. Hao is deeply uncomfortable with this deception, especially when he connects with the beautiful and free-thinking Jiahua. "What's wrong with dancing and listening to romantic songs?," she argues. "Aren't we supposed to be 'opening up' to the world?" The real opening up happens between her and Hao, who gradually develop feelings for each other. But their delicate relationship, built on a foundation of lies, explodes when Xiong, Hao's superior, stages an unexpected raid on the club, and a dark secret from Hao's past -- having to do with the shameful episode, during the Cultural Revolution, that drove him to the brink of suicide -- is brought to light. One of the strengths of Good Enemy is that Momo isn't another aggrieved child complaining about her withholding father; instead, it is Howard who is desperate to hold onto her even as he perpetuates the silence that separates them. As the plot jumps back and forth between then and now, it's easy to get caught in Hao/Howard's complex relations with the women in his life, both of which are underpinned by ticking bomb secrets. At the same time, the slickness of the play's plotting, is also a something of a debit; considering the terrible, soul-scarring information on which Howard is sitting, the treatment sometimes feels superficial. It's fair to say that, as of now, Liu's character portraits are not yet on a level with his plotting skills. The opening scenes, featuring Howard and Dave bantering on the road, are a largely flat attempt at humor. Howard's halting conversations with Momo's white boyfriend (known as "White Boyfriend"), who speaks only a few words of Chinese, start out amusingly but grow labored. Sometimes, the characters' reactions seem weirdly inappropriate; the moment when Hao and Jiahua are locked in the interrogation room, facing prison or worse, may not be ideal for hashing out their relationship problems. (Hao: "You are sending me a lot of mixed signals." Jiahua: That's because I'm feeling a lot of mixed things." Pay attention people! You've been arrested!) And even the playwright has trouble piercing the veil of silence around Howard; for example, when he suddenly pulls a gun on Dave, it isn't really credible. This may explain why that fine actor Francis Jue occasionally hits some false notes as Howard; there's a layer of profound pain inside the character that eludes both actor and author. Tim Liu does rather better as Hao, who's self-loathing lies much closer to the surface. Jeena Yi is captivating as Jiahua, whose live-for-today philosophy both fascinates and frightens Hao. Ron Domingo is solid as Xiong, his prurient interest in Hao's undercover activities signaling that he has secrets of his own. As White Boyfriend, Ryan Spahn gracefully handles the overworked comedy of miscommunication. Geena Quintos is charming in the underwritten role of Momo and Alec Silver does what he can with the disposable role of Dave. If Chay Yew's direction emphasizes a brisk pace over incisive characterizations, that's probably a sensible decision in this case. Junghyun Georgia Lee's surprisingly nondescript set -- a detail-free space with a series of portals upstage lined in LED lighting -- is given some welcome visual interest by Reza Behjat's colorful lighting. Mel Ng's costumes do a solid job of distinguishing the play's time frames. Mikhail Fiksel's sound design includes such key effects as a babbling river, an impressive car crash, and the Van Halen hit "Jump." Whatever is wrong with Good Enemy, it certainly isn't dull and it's to Liu's credit that he is willing to take on such ambitious material. I hope he revisits it as his skills progress, as they undoubtedly will. --David Barbour 
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