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Spotlight on Seabury

Many former Seabury Hall dancers have gone on to professional careers in cities like Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Honolulu. But long before pursuing the art form at prestigious Mainland colleges, these dancers probably started out at a dance showcase on the Seabury campus in Makawao. This year, Seabury celebrates 26 years of dance performances, and the third year in the school's multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art A'ali'ikuhonua Creative Arts Center."Dance Showcase '15" features all levels of the school program in a recital of jazz, modern, ballet, world and contemporary ...

‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ rises to top

In 2013, "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" lingered in the shadow of Nora Ephron's ("Sleepless in Seattle") "Lucky Guy," which starred Tom Hanks in his Broadway debut and Courtney B. Vance. Slowly but surely, "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" grew on the Broadway public and surprised many by winning the Tony Award for Best Play.The local production should grow on the Maui theater public as well. Though its comic timing was slightly off on a handful of occasions and there were instances of actors forgetting lines, the performance recovered swiftly and will improve in subsequent ...

‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’

Since 2010, ProArts Inc. has been carving out an essential artistic niche within the Maui theater community. Modern Broadway productions such as "Sylvia," "Doubt" and "God of Carnage" frequently make the theater company's intimate black box theater, the ProArts Playhouse in Kihei, a beacon for contemporary intellectual plays.Next week, the group will present 2013's critically lauded "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike." The hit black comedy by Christopher Durang won the Tony for Best Play in 2013, the first such honor in Durang's illustrious Broadway career. The sometimes farcical and ...

Maui choreographer puts love of art in motion

feel so fortunate to be able to do my work here on this island - I love to touch all different aspects of the Maui artistic community," said Andre Morissette. The work that he is talking about would overwhelm most people.Morissette teaches dance part time at Seabury Hall, where he co-designs all the costumes and manages public relations. He also choreographs musicals for Baldwin High School and the Maui Academy of Performing Arts, and for the past five years, he has been creating his paper dress installations at the Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center. "I used to make Friday my beach day to ...

History in movement

Multiple aspects of American Indian culture are being explored in three productions on Maui this week. Two are quite comical, but deferential, including "Johnny Appleseed" and "Annie Get Your Gun," both produced by Maui OnStage. The third is a new dance theater work by Rosy Simas Danse that investigates the sad history of land grabbing and the cultural loss of the Seneca people. Minneapolis-based Rosy Simas is an American Indian dancer and choreographer whose work is formed by many inspirations: philosophy, art, nature, poetry, music and history. Her latest work, "We Wait in the ...

Monster talent shines in ‘Shrek’

When it comes to youth productions, there will always be something less than perfect. But the effort put behind "Shrek: The Musical" makes this show stand out.A massive undertaking, to say the least, "Shrek" is possibly the most complicated production ever attempted by a Maui youth theater program. The simple reality that Linda Carnevale and the Baldwin Theatre Guild pulled it off deserves high praise alone. The production values of "Shrek" are astonishing, exceeding even my wildest expectations. It would have been quite easy to suggest that the dragon live off stage, but in true Baldwin ...