“The Joy Luck Club” is a sprawling, emotional epic spanning generations and continents. The layered story full of myth and pathos proves an ambitious undertaking for the San Diego Asian American Repertory Theatre.

Amy Tan’s best-selling 1989 novel was trimmed and adapted into a graceful film in 1993. The stage version, adapted by Susan Kim, naturally evokes comparisons to the book and film, possessing neither the depth of the novel nor the visual details of the film.

What live theater does bring to the table is an immediacy and intimacy with the characters. Director Peter James Cirino has added some nice touches to this production, from an imaginative, lively dragon dance to atmospheric images and videos projected onto either side of the stage. Yet the acting ability of this semi-professional ensemble is uneven, at times to the detriment of meaning. The opening and closing monologues, for example, are delivered too tentatively and hushed.

At the heart of the story are the generational conflicts between mothers and daughters – certainly a universal theme, with the added complexities here of ethnicity, identity and cultural shame based in assimilation. The title refers to a weekly gathering among four older Chinese women, longtime friends who meet to play Mahjong, eat food, tell stories and compare the lives of their children. The women grew up separately in pre-revolutionary China and each made harrowing journeys to get to America and raise families. Their greatest fear is that their Chinese-American daughters will know little of their struggles and consequently never truly know them.

Though the young women may not know the details of their mothers’ various tragedies -- one was forced to leave behind two children in China, another gave birth to a stillborn son -- their lives have been deeply affected by their mothers’ hardships. So while one mother led a life of quiet passivity married to an abusive man, she finds her daughter stuck in a similar cycle, locked in a loveless marriage with a controlling husband who absurdly insists on splitting all expenses, down to the penny.

Linda Pharathikoune (left) and

Joyelle Cabato.

Photo: Jhomar Josue

The play slips back and forth through time, telling the stories of mothers and daughters (and sometimes grandmothers) in 16 vignettes. We come to understand what makes these women tick, what causes the great gulf between generations. And for some of us living the second-generation immigrant experience, many of the characters are all too familiar.

The 18 cast members play nearly 40 different characters. The skill level varies, but among the standouts are Tiffany Loui as the smart and strong-willed Waverly, and Elise Kim Prosser as her simultaneously charming and infuriating mother.

Joyelle Cabato also turns in an affecting performance as Ying-Ying St. Clair, sweet and humorous as the woman whose passive behaviors have been passed onto her daughter, played with appropriate meekness by Linda Pharathikoune.

While some have criticized Tan for perpetuating fictions and stereotyped portrayals of Chinese and Chinese-Americans in “Joy Luck Club,” in this production it’s white males that get the stereotype treatment, even if unintentionally. Waverly’s boyfriend, as portrayed by Robert Borzych, would be insufferable under any circumstances. But played for laughs, he’s the very picture of the culturally ignorant white American social doofus.

“The Joy Luck Club” can be seen as an important step in the maturation of Asian-American literature. Though emerging second- and third-generation Asian-American writers may have moved beyond such immigrant stories of family history, generational conflict and cultural identity, the play -- and certainly the novel -- still have an affecting emotional pull that transcends race. Though flawed, the Asian American Repertory Theatre’s production meets its mission to celebrate the Asian-American experience, giving voice to stories not often heard.