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Showing posts from 2012

A Brilliant Glass-Half-Full Spectacle – ALICE IN WONDERLAND at LT

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The anticipation of seeing Alice in Wonderland had me giddy—the characters, the wordplay, the wonder , and, not to be forgotten in such a fabulous list, young Alice herself; after all, Wonderland represents the inner-workings of her child-mind. At least that’s the publicized theory behind this production: Jungian psychology.  Photo (stolen from facebook) Credit: Raymond Rivera Leeward Theatre, director Betty Burdick, and designers John Signor, Donald J. Ranney, Jr., Sarah Whitehead, Mark Kalani Imaizumi, Chelsea Campbell, Cocoa Chandelier, and Johathan Reyn present a landscape of enchantment inhabited by brilliantly decorated characters. The spectacle of colorful set pieces, props, costumes, makeup and lighting combine with musical notes of tantalizingly mysterious charm to draw the viewer deep down the rabbit hole. Alice, played by Tina Uyeno, alternates regularly between practiced and polished wonder, contempt, and gladness, all delivered with singsong intonation. She

Questions Raised by Frames – UNCLE VANYA AND ZOMBIES at KT

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The trick to why television and movies are so popular, so prevalent, so everyday, has to do with catharsis. The average person can experience the world without ever leaving the couch. We believe what we see on the screen enough to have physical reactions: an increase in heart rate, an outburst of laughter, the welling of tears in our eyes. Theatre, with its obviously constructed nature, isn’t able to match the believability of film, no matter how hard a production may try. This could be seen as a limitation, but only if the object of a play is to be as “real” as what’s on screen. A better objective might be to play with the very idea of realness, believability, and the human desire for catharsis. This is what Uncle Vanya and Zombies does. The play is actually a play within the frame of a reality TV show within the frame of a theatre within the frame of a Zombie-infested version of O‘ahu. The contestants are acting in Chekhov’s classic in the hopes of winning a ticket to the main

Pupu with the Living Dead

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Historical figures come back to life in the Mission Cemetery If all the world’s a stage, that must include graveyards. And what better location for bringing back to life long-dead historical people of Hawai‘i’s history than in a cemetery—at the very spot where their remains lie buried? Cemetary Pupu Theatre , presented by Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, is back with an all-new cast of prominent departed Hawai‘i residents.  Ha‘o rises from Kanui’s grave Photo courtesy of Mission Houses Each character has been thoroughly researched and the monologues are all based on historical, documented fact. This season, patrons will meet an array of intriguing persons, with each monologue scripted by Zach Thomas, who also plays the part of Reverend Hiram Bingham. Other characters include: William Kanui, played by William Ha‘o, one of only two native Hawaiians buried in the Mission Cemetery; Mary Tenney Castle, played by Jo Pruden, of the famed Castle Trust; Will

Cuz That's What the Play's About — ONE COMEDY OF ERRAS at KKT

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Shawn Anthony Thomsen is not only my friend, but also one of my theatre heroes. Not the kind of hero that basks in the glory of constant praise with puffed-out chest and arms akimbo. The kind of hero that works long and hard, day after day, for all the right reasons. The kind with a touch of genius tempered by a dash of humility. A seriously gifted sense of humor balanced by an acute sense of seriousness. Photo by Jonathan Reyn (stolen from Shawn Thomsen's facebook page) OK, he’s not dead or anything. He’s just directing his first show at Kumu Kahua Theatre. And, in my obviously biased opinion, he kills it. Given a script loaded with stereotypical and not-so-stereotypical Honolulu characters, twists and turns, talktalktalk, hitting, yelling, singing, insulting, and then some, it’s hard to imagine a director actually adding and layering. But that’s exactly what Thomsen does. He embraces Taurie Kinoshita’s One Comedy of Erras , wraps his arms around it, caresses it, shapes i

Superficial Authenticity — A DOLL'S HOUSE at TAG

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Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a very “well made” play. It follows all of Aristotle’s rules about unity, telling a detailed story without jumping around in time or changing the scene location. This is an old fashioned play and TAG’s Brad Powell delivers an old fashioned production. You can almost imagine it as a film in black and white. Roberge, Jones, & Farmer Courtesy of TAG—The Actors' Group But this is a play. Live and in color. Which is good, because otherwise you’d miss how lovely the set and costumes are. The small theatre abounds in detail, from the stove to the picture window to the decorated Christmas tree and so much more. Andy Alvarado has truly outdone himself. Carlynn Wolfe’s and Christine Valles’s costumes complete the transportation to 1890’s Norway. The story centers on Nora and the moment when her world, or what she imagines it to be, dissolves. And beyond the mirage she finds the mirror, and faces, for the first time in her life, unadorned

Halloween Comes Early to Honolulu — JANE AUSTEN ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE at AMG

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by Guest Contributor Becky McGarvey There was a large turnout at the ARTS at Marks Garage this past Thursday. Although the art exhibit (pottery by local artists) was beautiful and would have drawn a crowd on its own, this particular crowd was excited to be the first to see a special preview performance of On The Spot's Jane Austen Zombie Apocalypse , which turned out to be the best play I've seen all year. [Photo taken from Jedi M. Aster's Facebook album ] Jane Austen Zombie Apocalypse is exactly what it sounds like. But instead of just being yet another play/book/movie to rent space in the recent popular zombie trend, Zombie Apocalypse is a very well-written, well-acted, well-done production that has what so many popular plays/books/movies are missing these days—a good story. The play follows main character Katherine Montgomery­—played by Lisa Anne Nilsen—a strong young woman who likes to play with pistols and rapiers. All of England is beset by zombi

The Ebb and Flow of Resistance — KĀMAU A‘E at KKT

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Has anything changed in fifteen years?  Timtim, Murray, and Jaime Bradner as Lisa Kealoha Courtesy of Kumu Kahua That’s one of the questions I’m left with after seeing Kāmau A‘e , Alani Apio’s dramatic interpretation of the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement and its impact on one particular family. The play premiered at Kumu Kahua Theatre in 1997, three years after its predecessor Kāmau , which had its revival in 2007. In the program, the setting is listed as “Present Day”—today, as opposed to the present day of its creation, fifteen years ago. And so the question...has anything changed? What does the play mean today? Is it more or less powerful, relevant, accurate? This may not be for me to answer, first, because I never saw the original production, and second, because I have only lived in Hawai‘i since 2003. It is, however, something this revival calls into consideration. Fifteen years is barely a teardrop in the grand scheme of things, but in mere human time, it could easi

Creative History, Complex Characters — WILCOX'S SHOT at KKT

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With a more-than-capable cast, O’Malley’s Shot hits the mark Theresa & Robert Who was Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox? A revolutionary, a rebel, a patriot, a lover, a congressman? In Sean T.C. O’Malley’s latest play, his third featuring this historical character, Wilcox is depicted in the later part of his career, as the first Hawaiian delegate to congress. Unfortunately, since Hawai‘i is at that time a territory to the US, Wilcox’s position lacks a vote, and therefore any real power in Washington City. Wilcox’s Shot , a world premiere at Kumu Kahua Theatre (KKT), gets inside the life of the man, exploring his relationships and his struggle to make a difference in the face of indifference, or worse. You don’t have to know the history to understand the issues brought forth in Wilcox’s Shot —just pay attention. O’Malley places his protagonist in the political stew of 1901 America, exposing the complexities of race, place, and gender relations. Historical fac

From Subtle Satire to In Your Farce — THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at HPU & THE INSPECTOR GENERAL at TAG

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Two theatres, two classics, two very different shows   From light and frothy to exaggerated buffoonery; from parasols to sock puppets; from character to caricature: Two classic comedies now playing on O‘ahu that share certain qualities—such as social criticism and mistaken identity—provide drastically dissimilar theatrical experiences. Cucumber Cool From the moment the houselights go down, when costumed servants enter in very low light to get things “set” just so for the afternoon tea while classical music plays, a tidy and sophisticated world comes in to being, replete with engraved silver cigarette cases and edible crustless cucumber sandwiches. The Importance of Being Earnest —Oscar Wilde’s most famous play—finds itself right at home in Hawaii Pacific University’s (HPU) Paul and Vi Loo Theatre. The play sports a collection of clever and quirky characters each with perfectly preposterous ideas on how one should behave in society. Nearly every line contains i

Audience Subversion—What's the Point? — TYKE DREAMS OF PLUMERIA STARS at LCC

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by Guest Contributor Shawn Thomsen After watching a theatrical performance, one generally expects to receive some positive or moral message. A story should involve a through-line or something that the audience is supposed to take with them. If you were to ask me what I thought about Leeward Community College’s (LCC) student theatre lab production of Tyke Dreams of Plumeria Stars,  I would tell you, “What’s the point?” After all, this is one of the most reoccurring phrases within the show. Tyke Dreams of Plumeria Stars is one of those “show within a show” kind of productions, yet what is different about this one is that it has a constant meta-referential element. The story is inspired by Tyke, a female circus elephant who in 1994 killed her trainer, gored her groomer, and horrified hundreds of spectators in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. The other influence is from Shakespeare’s Othello , which I assume somehow inspires the other half of the title, “Plumeria Stars.” The setting is

Innocence Interrupted — SPRING AWAKENING at Manoa Valley Theatre

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A little teenage angst—what’s the worst that can happen? In the case of Spring Awakening , the worst is bad, and it all happens. A rebellious rock musical set in a provincial nineteenth-century German town, this is a story of a clash between the generations: the old, stifling, order and their offspring: repressed children bursting and thirsting. The crux is knowledge versus shame, innocence versus experience. The result: the Manoa Valley Theatre (MVT) production of Spring Awakening —in the care of Director Paul T. Mitri—is a profound experience, highly sensual and intellectual. Levin and Ho'okano [courtesy of MVT] The “awakening” begins with Wendla, a sheltered adolescent played with near-paroxysmal nervous energy by Elise Levin. Singing the opening musical number, “Mama Who Bore Me,” she faces the audience and explores her own physical landscape. Levin, like most of the cast, has a powerful voice. The ethereal music played by the band just above her and the dreamlike at

When Vaginas Unite — THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES by V-Day Honolulu 2012

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Vagina. Say it out loud, right now, so anyone can hear. Not embarrassed are you? If so, then you must have missed the V-Day Honolulu 2012 production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues . Otherwise, all you’d want to do is talk about Vagina—a word that sounds like a disease at best, one performer says. They laugh. I laugh. It’s true.  The Vagina Monologues —synonymous with ending violence against women and girls—ranks among one of the most popular plays of our time, and for good reason if this production is any indication. The show—which ran for two nights at Marks Garage, with over twenty performers and six directors—made me cherish my vagina more than ever. The juxtaposition of lighter- and darker-themed monologues kept the evening from becoming overly depressing—because let’s face it, most people don’t want to be confronted with rape and female genital mutilation—while the different directing styles provided variety.                         Lola Love directed two of

Moving Movement — DUSK AND DAYBREAK at UHM

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by Guest Contributor Becky McGarvey  This year’s Winter Footholds dance show at UH Mānoa, Dusk and Daybreak , is consistent in the Footholds tradition of collecting a wide range of different types of dances and themes and shaping them into one interesting dance concert. This year’s audience has the pleasure of voyaging to Japan and India (to name a few) and also through some out-of-the-ordinary places existing somewhere in each individual choreographer’s psyche. One such piece is choreographer Antonia Brown’s “Red-Handed.” This captivating duet features a young dancer, Alison Burkhardt, with one arm completely covered in red paint up to her elbow. Not only is this a striking image against the black box Earle Ernst Lab Theatre and the dancers’ simple black costumes, but it becomes even more outstanding as Burkhardt touches her partner, Mercedes Johnson, and paints parts of her neck, arms, and back red. Beautiful quality of dancing aside, the final image of Johnson dr

Lit Out Loud: M.I.A. at Fresh Cafe

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Since October of 2009, all manner of creative “writers” have been taking the stage once a month to share their work, whether it be poetry, fiction, essay, music, song, or some other type of performance. This is NOT an open stage. The talent is booked in advance. In other words, M.I.A. focuses on quality, not quantity, with 4 or 5 performers per event. M.I.A.—which stands for Mixed Innovative Arts—is usually held every third Monday of the month in the Loft at Fresh Café. As the series has grown—from a seed in the mind of then-newly-arrived-to-the-island UHM English department PhD candidate Jaimie Gusman—to the popular place-to-be that it is now, it’s been exciting to see all the community support. This isn’t some rinky-dink, tortured artist clubhouse. You don’t have to wear black and smoke cigarettes to attend—it’s not the 90s and this isn’t, oh I don’t know, Seattle… (Oops, isn’t that where Gusman moved here from?) Anyway, my point is that M.I.A. is for everyone. What keeps t

Reclaiming the Power: From the V to the C-U-N-T

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After seeing the preview of The Vagina Monologues last night, I  now have a pressing urge to talk about my vagina. That's the kind of effect this show has — an opening-up effect. The only way in or out is through the giant Vagina. One of the six directors, Michelle Umipeg It is wonderful, miraculous, empowering to hear so many women speaking openly and honestly about their Vaginas. Viva La Vaginalution! What do they call it where you're from? Pam Schildknecht had me swimming in her flooded waters. Maybe you just call it "down there" if you mention it at all. Tracy Okubo wrote on the walls with chalk to illustrate her visit to "The Vagina Workshop." How would you draw your Vagina?  Okubo's performance was physical and emotional, quite captivating! Sheela Sharma told me about her friend Bob. Every girl should meet her Bob, "Because He Liked To Look At It." Amina Peterson, quietly commanding in "W