Edward Sakamoto is a playwright, not a marriage counselor, but his new play, "It’s All Relative," could easily save some relationships. His story about tangled relationships in a local Japanese-American family has broader themes that transcend ethnicity.

Shiro Miyamoto is retired and enjoying life, playing golf and going out drinking with his buddies. His wife, Kimi, is doing what she’s done for 50 years: washing his laundry, cooking his meals and bringing him beer when he yells for a cold one.

When the couple’s children — their unmarried daughter Flo, son Dean and daughter-in-law Elaine — plan a 50th anniversary party for them, Shiro thinks it’s a great idea; the bigger the better, as long as he isn’t paying for it.

Kimi tells the kids to save their money. She’s done serving her self-styled "samurai" husband. She wants a divorce.

Shiro can’t believe she’s serious and doesn’t see how his behavior over the years created the problem.

The younger generations have problems of their own. Dean, a high school English teacher, is frustrated by his students’ lack of interest in Keats and Shakespeare and burdened by his personal sense of missed opportunities. Elaine tries but can’t boost his self-esteem.

The couple’s daughters also have issues. Rosie rejects her father’s insistence on standard English by speaking only pidgin. Bella is a self-centered airhead. Viola was so devastated by her father’s inadvertent reference to her as an "ugly duck" that she fled to the mainland.

Hawaii stage veterans Dann Seki (Shiro) and Allen Y. Okubo (Ike Ikeda) give the show a rock-solid foundation as the "samurai" and his perceptive best friend. Valerie Falle (Kimi) speaks for uncounted thousands of wives, and certainly some husbands, too, with her portrayal of a traditional nisei wife who decides that it is never too late in life to get out of an unfulfilling relationship.

Diana Wan (Viola) catches the eye and touches the heart as a vulnerable soul who yearns for acceptance. When Viola first appears it takes a moment to determine if she is alive, a ghost, or merely a figment of the others’ imaginations.

Marcus Oshiro (yes, the state representative from Wahiawa), who was convincing both as villain and terrified victim in Kumu Kahua’s 2003 production of "Obake," shows a completely different side of his acting repertoire as Dean, the hang-dog son.

Jessica Yuki Leolana Ka‘uhane (Rosie) is charming as the sweet but blunt pidgin-speaker, and Lacey Perrine Chu (Bella) provides much of show’s comic content as the insufferably self-absorbed prima donna.

Caucasian characters in Kumu Kahua shows are often written and directed as two-dimensional buffoons, but Sakamoto, director James A. Nakamoto and cast member Eric Manke (Homer) make Bella’s trophy fiance much more realistic. Homer is comical at times, but surprisingly level-headed as well.