Far East

By Richard Zoglin

"Sparky" Watts (Michael Hayden), a Navy lieutenant stationed in Japan in 1954, has a poop deck full of problems. He's trying to hide a Japanese girlfriend from his stuffy family back home. His roommate is being blackmailed into passing military secrets. The tart wife of his commanding officer is putting moves on him. Gurney, the prolific chronicler of Wasp life (The Dining Room, Love Letters), seems a bit out of his depth in this plotty drama, which raises (but doesn't grapple with) issues ranging from homosexuality in the military to the origins of Vietnam. But the compact grace of his writing and Daniel Sullivan's delicate direction make it a diverting reminder of the kind of play that doesn't get written much anymore.

--By Richard Zoglin