A new year of island theater began this month with “Good People,” a preseason show by The Actors’ Group, which opened last weekend. The Hawaii Shakespeare Festival’s productions of “Both Your Houses” and “Romeo and Juliet” open this weekend, and Kumu Kahua Theatre’s revival of Edward Sakamoto’s beloved local comedy, “Aloha Las Vegas,” kicks off its season on Aug. 25. New this year, theater fans will find Kevin Keaveney’s Kailua OnStage Arts company at 780 S. Beretania St.; the KOA theater also is this year’s home for the first two productions of the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival. Diamond Head Theatre’s season-opening production of “Anything Goes” will be its last in the building it has occupied since 1952. The organization’s second show of the season, “Cinderella,” will open in the just-built theater on its property. Elsewhere, Oahu’s theater community is offering everything from perennially popular Broadway standards and classic dramas to newly written ripped-from-the- headlines political plays and student-created collaborative projects. Schedules subject to change; check theater websites for show times and ticket information. Theater groups are listed in order of their season openers.
THE ACTORS’ GROUP
Brad Powell Theatre, The Shops at Dole Cannery, 650 Iwilei Road, 808-722-6941, taghawaii.net
>> “Good People”: When a single parent with a handicapped child loses her job, the aftermath ripples through her circle of friends and acquaintances. Aug. 5-21 (preseason show)
>> “The God Committee”: Three people will die without a heart transplant; only one heart is available. Sept. 23-Oct. 16
>> “Painting TJ”: A high school student’s decision to vandalize a statue of Thomas Jefferson has unexpected consequences. Nov. 25-Dec. 18
>> “The Poet & His Song”: TAG’s second annual show celebrating the work of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906). Jan. 20-Feb. 12
>> “The Dream of the Burning Boy”: When a student dies, teachers, relatives and friends struggle to find solace. March 24-April 16
>> “Uncle Vanya”: Veteran actor-director Joyce Maltby comes out of retirement to direct one of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s best-known dramas. May 26-June 18
>> “Rotterdam”: Alice is preparing to tell her parents she’s a lesbian. Then her partner, Fiona, announces that she is a transgender man. If a lesbian is in love with someone who identifies as male, does that mean she’s straight? July 28-Aug. 20
HAWAII SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
hawaiishakes.org
>> “Both Your Houses”: A regional theater group’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” is rocked by #MeToo allegations about the artistic director. Presented with “Romeo and Juliet.” (Shows alternate nights.) Aug. 12-27; Kailua Onstage Arts Theater, 780 S. Beretania St.
>> “Romeo and Juliet”: Shakespeare’s best-known romantic tragedy is repurposed as the story of the young couple’s “attempts to escape the oppressive systems of society,” with most of the male characters played by female actors. Aug. 13-27; Kailua Onstage Arts Theater.
>> “The Taming of the Shrew”: Shakespeare’s politically incorrect story of 17th-century male/ female relationships is moved to the 1950s and given a “materialist feminist deconstruction” with a male actor playing Kate. Aug. 19-27; Hawaiian Mission Houses, 553 S. King St.
KUMU KAHUA THEATRE
46 Merchant St., 808-536-4441, kumukahua.org
>> “Aloha Las Vegas”: Should Wally Fukuda sell his home in Liliha, leave his friends and relatives in Hawaii and move to Las Vegas? A classic Edward Sakamoto comedy. Aug. 25-Sept. 25
>> “Lucky Come Hawai‘i”: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changes the relationships between the military, Native Hawaiians, and the Japanese and Okinawan residents of West Maui. Adapted from the 1965 novel by Jon Shirota. Nov. 3-Dec. 4
>> “Gone Feeshing”: A fishing trip allows two brothers to reconcile as the older brother to come to terms with his relationship with their late father and their father’s death. Jan. 19- Feb. 19
>> “Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers”: Lovey Nariyoshi grows up on the Big Island in the 1970s comparing herself, her best friend, Jerry, and life in downtown Hilo to the mainstream American pop culture she sees on television. Adapted by Keith Kashiwada and John H.Y. Wat from the novel by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. March 23-April 23
>> “Folks You Meet in Longs”: An island favorite ever since Kumu Kahua presented it for the first time in 2003. Playwright Lee Cataluna’s look at employees and customers of Hawaii’s drugstore chain is arguably her most enduring local comedy. May 25-June 25
MANOA VALLEY THEATRE
2833 E. Manoa Road, 808-988-6131, manoavalleytheatre.com
>> “Cabaret”: Romance blossoms in a pansexual Berlin nightclub where hedonists of all persuasions party while Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party are steadily building popular support. Sept. 8-25
>> “The Game’s Afoot, or Holmes for the Holidays”: Stage actor William Gillette, famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, invites his co-stars to celebrate Christmas at his mansion in Connecticut. When a guest is murdered, Gillette gets into character to solve the mystery. Nov. 17-Dec. 4
>> “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”: The audience determines the ending in this interactive musical mystery comedy based on the novel Charles Dickens didn’t finish. Jan. 12-29
>> “Tick, Tick… Boom!”: Jonathan wants to write a hit Broadway musical, but he is almost 30. Should he get a “real job” in marketing, leave New York with his girlfriend, or keep working on the musical that he thinks will be his big hit? March 9-26
>> “The Play that Goes Wrong”: Disasters mount in this comedic actors’ nightmare as the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society struggles valiantly to stage their production of a 1920s murder mystery. May 11-28
>> “The Chinese Lady”: A Chinese woman, who is brought to the United States in the 1830s, achieves fame as a “curiosity.” She is exhibited throughout the country and draws crowds of people interested in the “exotic” East. July 13-30
DIAMOND HEAD THEATRE
520 Makapuu Ave.; 808-733-0274, diamondheadtheatre.com
>> “Anything Goes”: Romance and mistaken identities drive the story in this 1934-vintage musical about a young stockbroker who stows away on an ocean liner in a final attempt to save the woman he loves from an arranged marriage. Sept. 9-25
>> “Cinderella”: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical version of the beloved fairy tale. Jan. 20-Feb. 5
>> “La Cage aux Folles”: Georges is the manager of a Saint-Tropez drag queen nightclub. Albin is his romantic partner and the star of the show. Jean-Michel, Georges’ son from a brief heterosexual relationship, is getting married, and his fiancee’s parents want to meet his parents — the problem is they don’t know that Jean-Michel’s parents are gay men. March 24-April 9.
>> “The Bodyguard: The Musical”: Broadway’s version of the 1992 Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner film about a romance between a superstar recording artist and actor and the man hired to protect her. May 26-June 11
>> “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”: Disney’s Broadway musical version of the classic fairy tale. July 21-Aug. 6
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
Kennedy Theatre, 1770 East-West Road; 808-956-7655, 808ne.ws/kennedytheatre
Main stage, Prime Time Series
>> “Chinee, Japanee, All Mix Up”: Guest director Reiko Ho leads students in a collaborative exploration of what it means to be Asian in the United States in 2022. The show will include poems by “da Pidgin Guerrilla” Lee Tonouchi, plus whatever the students choose to contribute. Sept. 21-25
>> “Memorial Day”: The year is 1992. George, a gay doctor, has no effective treatment to offer the generation of young men who are dying of AIDS. When George sees a drag queen who died years earlier, he wonders if he is hallucinating or if she has returned as an angel of mercy. Oct. 19-23
>> “Dance, Dance, Dance”: Dancing in Hokkaido, Tokyo and downtown Honolulu becomes a metaphor for a purposeful and fulfilling life — “We know all the moves, we just have to keep on moving, keeping in step, not letting go of our dance partners, for as long as the music plays.” — in MFA candidate/director Maggie Ivanova’s nonlinear adaptation of the Haruki Murakami novel. Jan. 25-29
>> “20,000 Leagues Deep, #hawaii_ascending”: Director Alvin Chan invites “all who are young at heart” to participate in an immersive, audience-driven Theatre for Young Audiences experience in the hallways, stairways and “sneakways” of the theater. The production centers on a thrilling, top-secret mission to confront the climate crisis. Estimated run-time is 40 minutes. Feb. 24, 26, March 3-5
Earle Ernst Lab Theatre, Late Night Series
>> “unspecified: a theatrical exploration of identity”: Nate Drackett is the facilitator of “a theatrical exploration of gender, sexuality, race, mental health, and more with particular focus on aspects of identity that lack, defy, or transcend traditional or ‘normal’ definition.” An original performance inspired by true stories. Nov. 18-20
HONOLULU THEATRE FOR YOUTH
Tenney Theatre, St. Andrew’s Cathedral, 229 Queen Emma Square, 808-839-9885, htyweb.org
>> “The Pa‘akai We Bring”: Traditional Hawaiian concepts of balance and healing are shared with songs and stories about the islands’ relationship with paakai (Hawaiian salt). For ages 6+. Sept. 23-Dec. 11
>> “Step by Step”: Keiki are welcome to dance and sing along as they learn about the importance of being active, eating well and making time for loved ones. For ages 3+. Oct. 23-Nov. 12
>> “In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson”: The year is 1947. Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers and a young girl and her family come to the United States from China. For ages 8+. Jan. 6-14
>> “Happy, Sad, Sad, Happy”: Original music and characters help preschoolers explore their moods and feelings. For ages 3+. Feb. 4-25
>> “Peter POP Pan”: English author J. M. Barrie’s beloved Edwardian fantasy is made over with Chinese puppets, Japanese percussion and Korean dance. For ages 5+. March 24-April 23
KOA THEATER
(formerly Kailua Onstage Arts) 780 S. Beretania St.; 808-388-0319, koatheater.com
>> “5th Annual Skeleton Key Haunted House”: KOA’s ever-popular “haunted house” returns with new shocks and surprises. Oct. 7-31
>> “Pride & Prejudice”: Jane Austin’s classic 1813 novel of manners and social class in Regency England is reworked as a contemporary comedy. Dec. 2-18
>> “Small Mouth Sounds”: Six people who seek solace from city life at a silent retreat in the woods find their vows of silence colliding with their need to connect with others. Jan. 13-29
>> “The Willard Suitcases”: A musical inspired by the photos of 400 suitcases that were discovered after the closure of a mental hospital. Each suitcase belonged to someone who had died there. The musical imagines the life experiences of some of the patients. Feb. 10-26
>> “Lasso of Truth”: The cultural significance of Wonder Woman is examined with the stories of the man who created her, his relationship with his wife and the woman who lived with them, a young woman seeking information about Wonder Woman and a young man trying to hold onto his collector’s edition comic book. March 10-26
>> “Fairview”: Four members of an upper-class African American family prepare for a birthday party. Four white Americans talk about race in America and speculate about what their lives would be like if they were not white. Dramatic surprises await. April 7-23
>> “Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play”: The survivors of a global catastrophe keep their spirits up by acting out an episode of “The Simpsons.” As years pass, the story changes. May 12-28
>> “Dance Nation”: Youth on the edge of puberty take on the challenges of friendship, competition and their changing bodies as they prepare for the Boogie Down Grand Prix. June 16-July 2
WINDWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE/PALIKU THEATRE
Paliku Theatre, 45-720 Kea‘ahala Road, 808-235-7315, windward.hawaii.edu
>> “Demigods Anonymous”: Teenage demigods live with the challenges of being able to transform into animals such as sharks, lizards and mountain lions. Oct. 28-Nov. 6
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The following theaters did not have seasonal programming finalized as of press time: Chaminade University of Honolulu, chaminade.edu; Hawaii Pacific University, hpu.edu/theatre; and Leeward Community College, www.leeward.hawaii.edu.
