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‘Inherit the Wind’ blows into Iao

On July 10, 1925, the trial of John Thomas Scopes began. The football coach and substitute science teacher had confessed to teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution at a Dayton, Tenn., public high school, a violation of the Butler Act. Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee's play "Inherit the Wind" is a dramatic account of the events that took place, yet the truth of "the trial of the century" is stranger than its fictionalized version.In the early '20s, former Secretary of State and three-time Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan became the leader of the ...

ProArts’ ‘The Nerd’ delivers superb pace, sustained laughs

One's sense of humor, like politics, is individualistic. On Oahu, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are offering one sense of humor with "The Book of Mormon" that could be considered offensive, while on Maui, ProArts Inc. is presenting Larry Shue's considerably more genial "The Nerd."Written more than three decades ago, "The Nerd" plays out like a lengthy episode of "Three's Company," yet it holds up primarily due to the uproarious performance of Chris Rose as Rick Steadman, aka "The Nerd." There is a bit too much exposition in Shue's script for my taste, but once the comedy setup plays out, ...

KKHS brings nostalgia to Maui

At King Kekaulike High School's "Bye Bye Birdie" performances last spring, baby boomers must have felt some nostalgia. Much of the original success of their upcoming production, "The Music Man," was a result of nostalgia. Meredith Willson's musical is set in fictional River City, Iowa, during the summer of 1912.In the 1950s, Broadway shows became a tourist destination, and to a traveler from the Midwest, "The Music Man" must have certainly brought back a few childhood memories. The baby boomers in 2016 are approximately the same age as any 60-something who attended "The Music Man" in ...

An unstoppable farce

In 1985, 39-year-old up-and-coming playwright and actor Larry Shue was on the verge of superstardom. His latest farce, "The Nerd," was a hit on London's West End while "The Foreigner" ran on Broadway.In addition to penning the scripts, Shue frequently performed in his plays, sometimes originating a role and occasionally filling one on an interim basis. That fall, he was set to star in the new musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"; he was commissioned to write the book for a Broadway musical version of "The Honeymooners"; CBS was developing a sitcom version of "The Nerd"; and Disney had ...

No hold barred: ‘The Book of Mormon’ coming to Oahu

At the beginning of the 21st century, Broadway was stagnant. A handful of popular revivals like "Chicago" and "Cabaret" kept several theaters full, but original mega-hits like "Rent" were rare and reasonably out-of-date by 2000. Mel Brooks changed all that in 2001 with "The Producers," inventing a new trend, the no-holds-barred, R-rated musical comedy.At the 55th annual Tony Awards, "The Producers" captured 12 awards (the current record), becoming the absolute, must-see show on Broadway for years. In 2005, Eric Idle followed Brooks' model, translating Monty Python comedy into the ...

Bolstered by Broadway

Between a stellar performance by the cast of "Jersey Boys" at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center last Friday, "Wicked" star Megan Hilty in concert this weekend, sold-out houses for "Guys and Dolls," and the upcoming gala benefits of the Maui Academy of Performing Arts and Maui OnStage, Broadway-quality entertainment is in bloom this spring on Maui.Through clues such as thematic cocktails, decor and live performance, Maui OnStage will covertly reveal the productions of the 2016-17 season at Sneak Peek: Broadway on the Beach next month. Guests will be the first to learn of the upcoming ...