friday-tuesday
Stage offerings span a range of genres
Theatrical productions on hand in Honolulu this week span a wide range, from a Pulitzer-prize winning drama to a cutting, classic satire.
>> It’s the last weekend to catch “Sweat,” playwright Lynn Nottage’s very contemporary 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, which zeroes in on the relationships between two female factory workers and their group of lifelong friends as their bonds are threatened by layoffs in a Pennsylvania town. See the TAG (The Actors Group) production at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at The Brad Powell Theatre, Shops at Dole Cannery, 650 Iwilei Road. Tickets: $20-$30; 722-6941, taghawaii.net
>> The Mid-Pacific School of the Arts has updated Moliere’s enduring satire “Tartuffe,” transferring the setting from 17th century Paris to Southern California, where a con artist schemes to scam a wealthy California family. It shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Kawaiahao Recital Hall on campus. Tickets: $5-$10; 973-5066, 808ne.ws/tartuffe
>> EVOLVE Theatre Co. presents Scottish playwright David Harrower’s prize-winning drama “Blackbird,” pictured, in which Una, 27, confronts Ray, 56, about their fraught (and criminally prohibited) relationship 15 years earlier. The play, which Harrower adapted into the 2016 film “Una,” contains sensitive adult themes. It opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, repeating 3:30 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, with more shows through May 12 at Ong King Arts Center, 1154 Fort Street Mall. Tickets; $15-$25. blackbirdoahu.bpt.me
>> The Lanikai Mortgage Players’ “Say It Ain’t So, Joe” or “The Miracle at St. Fungo,” is a comedic riff on baseball’s Black Sox scandal. See it 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, with more shows through May 12 at the Nelson and Lucille Shreve Theater, Lanikai Community Park. Tickets: $10; 262-5482
saturday-sunday
Hawaii Book & Music Festival returns
Pulitzer Prize-winning authors William Finnegan and Gilbert King and Olympic ice-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi are among the most prominent names on the schedule of this year’s Hawaii Book & Music Festival, which returns this weekend with author appearances and entertainment to fit every taste and interest.
Finnegan, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for autobiography with his “Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life,” appears at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday to talk about the development of story ideas.
King, whose book “Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys and the Dawn of a New America” won the nonfiction Pulitzer in 2013, speaks at noon Sunday and again at 2 p.m. at a writing workshop.
Yamaguchi, a children’s book author, will host her reading corner at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. both days.
Presentations throughout center on Hawaii history, art, hula and music. Among them: a special traveling exhibit of art by Carl F.K. Pao paired with selections from the book “Kamehameha: The Rise of a King” by Kamehameha Schools kumu Kawika Eyre, “Niuhi-Shark: Honoring Kamehameha the Great in Paint and Prose” comes to the festival after showings on Hawaii island, with a discussion at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Musical entertainment includes slack-key guitarist Kawika Kahiapo at noon Saturday, singer/songwriter Robi Kahakalau at 4 p.m. Saturday, kumu hula Mapuana de Silva, pictured above, at noon Sunday, and the Book & Music Festival’s popular singer-songwriter competition at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Those who love books and poetry may also want to head to the Hawaii State Library at 1:30 or 4 p.m. Saturday, when island notables and Farrington High School students will read from a new anthology, “Voice: Poetry by the Youth of Kalihi.”
BOOK FESTIVAL
Hawaii Book & Music Festival
WHERE:
Frank F. Fasi
Civic Grounds
(Honolulu Hale)
WHEN:
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
COST:
Free
INFO:
hawaiibookandmusicfestival.com
saturday-sunday
Bigfoot the monster truck, returns after 20 years to the Aloha Stadium
Start your engines and head out to Aloha Stadium this weekend for the Monster X Tour.
The monster truck event will bring back two trucks from the famous Bigfoot line, who will battle it out with other monsters in races and freestyle motocross competitions. Bigfoot last appeared on the islands 20 years ago.
The evening also features a “Transformers”-like battle between Galactron and Reptar, two machines that start out looking like road vehicles but then transform into flame-throwing robots. For the keiki, there will also be a battle between radio-controlled mini-monster trucks.
The battles begin at 7:30 p.m., but fans who go to the stadium early can get a close-up look at the trucks — and even catch a ride onboard — at pit parties held both days. The drivers also will be available to sign autographs and meet fans.
A big crowd is expected, as promoters added a second day because of popular demand. Stadium parking will be limited due to setup for the 50th State Fair, so alternative parking options have been provided. Visit 808ne.ws/monster for information.
TRUCK RALLY
Monster X Tour
WHERE:
Aloha Stadium
WHEN:
7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Pit parties
10 a.m.-1 p.m.
and 2-6 p.m. Saturday
and 2-6 p.m. Sunday
(tickets required)
COST:
$20-$30 ($10 additional for rides on a monster truck)
INFO:
ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000
saturday
Jhene Aiko and Tyga perform at Cabana Festival
R&B artist Jhene Aiko, at left, an island favorite, and Grammy-nominated rapper Tyga, inset far left, headline a hip hop-heavy Cabana Festival at Turtle Bay this weekend.
Aiko has entertained crowds at The Republik a number of times with her moody, intensely personal work, such as her 2017 album “Trip,” inspired by grief over the death of her brother. She collaborated with Drake, Gucci Mane, Kanye West and Big Sean early in her career, getting Grammy nominations for her EP “Sail Out” and its single “The Worst.” Her sweet, dreamy voice and enchanting presence have drawn comparisons to Sade.
Tyga first got attention with his 2010 mixtape “Fan of a Fan,” with Chris Brown. Its track “Deuces” hit No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for a Grammy. He’s had several hits since, with his single “Taste” reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by the gold-certified “Swish” and the platinum-seller “Dip,” with Nicki Minaj.
The day-long event also features Madeintyo, Yung Pinch, DaniLeigh, Adonis The Greek, Keanu, Daylyt and DJ Osna.
CABANA FESTIVAL
Featuring Jhene Aiko, Tyga and many more
WHERE:
Turtle Bay Resort
WHEN:
2 p.m.
COST:
$80, $180 VIP
INFO:
jointherepublik.com or 941-7469
saturday
Wahiawa Pineapple Festival has food, contests and fun
Celebrate Wahiawa’s history at the Wahiawa Pineapple Festival this Saturday.
Presented by the Wahiawa Historical Society, the festival will offer special pineapple-based food items, vendors and information booths on the central Oahu town’s past. Spokeswoman Alesia Au also said there will also be several contests, such as a “best-dressed pineapple costume,” a “pineapple bakeoff” and a paper-plane throwing contest.
People especially knowledgeable about Wahiawa’s lore might also want to participate in the “green lady” costume contest, inspired by a local legend about a woman, covered in green moss and fish scales, who haunts the Wahiawa Gulch looking for her lost child, and snatching up any others who came her way.
“I don’t think anybody who planned the pineapple festival before ever had a green lady contest,” said Au, who said the story was common talk among her school classmates. “I thought, ‘People are talking about it, so why not do one?’”
Wahiawa Comedian Frank De Lima headlines the entertainment at 1 p.m.
FESTIVAL
Wahiawa
Pineapple
Festival
WHERE:
George Fred
Wright Wahiawa
District
Park, 1139-A
Kilani Ave.
WHEN:
10-4 p.m.
COST:
Free
INFO:
wahiawapinefest.com
For additional events, visit staradvertiser.com/calendar.
