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Miss Saigon

It would be easy to have modest expectations for "Miss Saigon." For starters, topping last summer's "Les Miserables" is quite a colossal task.Yet David Johnston and the team from Maui Academy of Performing Arts have done just that. "Saigon" is slightly darker and a little less popular than its "Les Mis" cousin, but from set, to lights, sound and performances, MAPA's "Saigon" raises the bar on utilizing every possible aspect the Castle Theater has to offer. Johnston's use of tableaus is exquisitely beautiful, and from its first number, "The Heat is On in Saigon," this show thrills the ...

Bring on the laughs

Last summer, Hawaii comic Augie T headlined the "Summer of LOL" tour. This summer, it appears all of Maui has gotten into the act, with a bevy of comedy shows happening over the next two weeks.Augie Tulba's comedy career started in 1991, when he took open-mic-night top honors at the Honolulu Comedy Club. While mentoring with comedian Andy Bumatai, Tulba began to develop material realizing that it wasn't necessary to use profanity to get a laugh. Shortly thereafter, he began performing with the comedy group Booga Booga."I was lucky to be taken under their wing," he shared. "It allowed me ...

When love . . . turns tragic

Director David C. Johnston quotes something Richard Maltby Jr., an American co-lyricist of "Miss Saigon," said in the 1990s: "We should have looked at ourselves this way. This is a show we (America) should have written."The musical, with a backdrop of America's Vietnam chapter, was written by two Frenchmen. Choreographer Andre Morissette, a French-Canadian, added his thoughts: "I think not reaching that goal (in Vietnam) touched America's soul."Morissette cites the character of John, played by Neil Clevenger, as a key component in the tale. Act two opens in Atlanta, where John now works ...

Musical endeavor ready for debut

Investing in a new artistic endeavor is always risky. Those who try will be told, "It won't work." They may site an example of a past Maui failed attempt, or suggest you won't find the players or a significant audience. In less than a decade, the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's schedule of events has doubled, two new high school drama programs have been launched and the ProArts Playhouse has opened. In addition, both Maui Academy of Performing Arts and Maui OnStage have expanded, the Maui Theatre now boasts two long-running hit shows and Opera Maui offered its debut performance earlier ...

MAPA’s Youth Musical Theatre SUMMER Camp presents fresh take on classic fairy tale

Since 2009, there have been four Maui productions of "Cinderella," and this weekend marks the fifth with the Maui Academy of Performing Arts' "Disney Cinderella Kids." Over the centuries, there have been more than 50 stage and film versions of "Cinderella," the earliest being an opera in 1749, and its first film incarnation was in 1899. The 1950 Walt Disney version is perhaps the most recognizable, and easily the most financially successful. But the 1940s nearly bankrupted Disney. "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," and "Bambi," despite later success, were gigantic box-office flops. It was "Dumbo" ...

Opera comes to Maui

"I want to bring the best singers in the world to the most beautiful place in the world to make music for the people of Maui," says Opera Maui founder Jim Price. "Opera is not just for rich old white people, it's for everyone." The newborn Maui performing arts organization will offer its first ever performance and fundraiser tomorrow night. The event features Hawaii's own Grammy Award-winning opera stars Quinn Kelsey and Audrey Luna, along with the Metropolitan Opera's Shoshanah Marote, and Price. Toronto-based Hawaiian pianist Maika'i Nash accompanies this evening of opera's greatest ...