Opera with an edge

June 12, 2014

Even with no knowledge of opera, the opening strains of "The Mikado" are still incredibly recognizable - even 125 years after it debuted in London. Think of John Williams' ominous "Jaws" theme.Still not convinced to give opera a try? Maybe Honolulu native Jamie Offenbach, who plays the title role in "The Mikado," can be more convincing."My experience is that most people who say they do not like opera have never really seen, nor been to an actual opera before," he said. "I have seen what happens to people when they come to the theater for the first time to see an opera. Something changes ...

Maui’s Best

June 5, 2014

The 68th annual Tony Awards kick off Sunday night, with numerous well-known names and titles up for awards. "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," a musical set in Edwardian England, leads the field with 10 nominations, followed by the revival of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," starring Broadway favorite Neil Patrick Harris. "After Midnight," a musical set in Harlem's world-famous Cotton Club, and "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical" received seven nominations each, and its star, Jessie Mueller (as Carole King), is a slight favorite. Other nominees include "Disney's Aladdin," "Rocky: ...

Dance is all about the details

May 29, 2014

The opening 15 minutes of the film, "All That Jazz," is a New York cattle call, or what its star, Roy Scheider, called "the entire plot of Chorus Line in one scene."Local choreographer and dance instructor Katie Higuchi knows that world all too well."For an Equity dance call, you have to get on line at 5 a.m.," she said. "So you find some cardboard and sit outside in the cold and wait."Ann Reinking knows that world the best. She moved to Manhattan from Seattle at age 17, with nothing other than high school and ballet school training. By 25, she had a Tony. Broadway's bullet-proof star ...

Seabury’s wild selection of shorts side shows

May 22, 2014

Seabury Hall Performing Arts concludes its 2013-14 season this weekend with its 19th annual Side Shows, a wild array of short plays by professional, contemporary writers and student playwrights, Jordan Priest and Abby Stoner. Similar to the famed Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, Side Shows gives Seabury students a small taste of a future professional theatrical career. At the Samuel French Festival, several hundred young writers and directors, not much older than these Seabury students, are narrowed down to 30, 10-minute plays. The finalists then mount bare-bones ...

‘The Miracle Worker’

May 15, 2014

Last week while appearing on KAOI radio, Jessica Chernicki of "The Miracle Worker" commented, "Dust off the old pump."She was humorously referencing the cliche of William Gibson's well-worn play. Cliche or not, Chernicki's performance and director Rick Scheideman's vision are both unconventional takes on an extremely familiar script. The style of this Maui OnStage production is best described as returning to its roots. Originally written for television, "The Miracle Worker" is portrayed by its Maui cast much in the same manner that method actors work in film. Scenes are intimate, acting ...

Illuminating ‘Miracle Worker’

May 8, 2014

The term, "miracle worker," was coined by Mark Twain in reference to Anne Sullivan's work with Helen Keller. Twain even helped fund Keller's Radcliffe College education, where she became the first blind and deaf person to receive a bachelor's degree.When it comes to triumph of spirit, it doesn't get any more inspirational than Keller's life story, beautifully crafted from her autobiographical account in William Gibson's, "The Miracle Worker." First presented as a televised Playhouse 90 production in 1957, it was adapted for Broadway and then into the Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke film ...