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review Observe the social bargain of a restaurant -- especially one in which immigrant owners serve English-fluent patrons. There’s a greeting, some friendly servitude, an intersection of thank-yous and currency. Then the meal ends. The customer is satisfied; the immigrant is still hungry, for the exploitation brings neither friendship nor understanding. The society pretends not to care. But care Aasif Mandvi does -- and theatre is richer for it. Mandvi is the owner and operator of "Sakina’s Restaurant", a fantastic one-man show currently running at the Odyssey. This play won two 1999 Obies in New York, and it clearly deserved both of them. The story of an Indian immigrant and the relatives who sponsor him, "Sakina’s Restaurant" guides us into the heart of the American experience with acuity. It’s a fun show and a touching show. At first, it seems to be purely the story of, well, a guy named Aasif, who boards a jet with dreams of the intriguing America before him – and of Sakina’s Restaurant, located in Manhattan at glamorous 400 E. 6th Street. When Aasif arrives, we meet five more characters: Hakim and his wife Farida, the owners; Sakina, their teenage daughter; Allah, her betrothed future husband; and Sakina’s Game Boy-infatuated little brother (whose name I confess I didn’t catch). All these characters are but clay for Mandvi’s strong acting and storytelling skills. Possessed of awesome technique, Mandvi has no problem pulling the audience to the forefront of their seats. (Yes, he’s performed this show maybe 200 times by now – but his perfectly measured performance displays lots of craft.) His portraits are unflinching, and filled with both humor and drama; just when you see a cliché or an easy out coming, Mandvi presses on for a couple more minutes to find a deeper moment. Using his handsome, expressive face and agile body, he plays women as well as he does men – and he does the whole show with a minimum of props. It’s a credit to Mandvi, director Kim Hughes and lighting designer Ryan E. McMahon that 100 intermissionless minutes pass by seamlessly – and seemingly without flaws. (McMahon’s lighting is particularly amazing. It guides the story along, but it never instructs; it creeps up fluidly, working with Mandvi as effectively as a second actor.) Mandvi tells a series of Indian parables during his transitions from character to character; they’re more or less offered in his own persona. Initially, they don’t seem to add up to much; in fact, they preface a final, greater parable, which closes the evening in a manner both moving and profound. The dreams and aspirations of American immigrants are compelling not because of their naivete or perceived innocence, but because they are often infused with more heart than our own. We dismiss those dreams and aspirations as a fact of our brutal culture; "Sakina’s Restaurant" honors them. On this Wednesday night, the expensively dressed Westside audience gave Mandvi’s show two hearty ovations – perhaps in recognition of the dramas unfolding within the kitchens they never see. "Sakina’s Restaurant,"
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