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‘Les Miserables’

Late in life, Victor Hugo witnessed the construction of the Statue of Liberty from his Paris apartment. Though frail and near death, he insisted on visiting the site. Regarding the hundreds of sculptors he said, "To the sculptor form is everything and it is nothing. It is nothing without the spirit - with the idea it is everything." The idea was that an independent theater company on Maui could put on a Broadway caliber show. If that was once a question, the answer is yes.Broadway quality requires technical excellence, and the Maui Academy of Performing Arts "Les Miserables" team ...

‘Les Miserables’

If 50 people tell me a movie is fantastic, I can't wait to have a dissenting opinion. I sit in the dark, arms crossed, demanding to be proven wrong. Around 1987, it seemed as if everyone I knew was telling me "Les Miserables" was the greatest show ever. Three years later, I relented and went to see it. I assumed it would be a snooty, melodramatic musical. Not only did I love it, but I went back two more times, bought the soundtrack, and to this day, I stop on PBS whenever one of the concert versions is on.The Maui Academy of Performing Arts is taking on this massive musical behemoth ...

Supporting Roles

There is a booming performing arts scene on Maui, and if there is an MVP, it is the audience. After all, there can be no show if there is no business. Maui residents support the arts in an above-and-beyond manner, not just by purchasing tickets, but by donating hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to local arts-based organizations.From this weekend's Maui Calls, the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's signature fundraiser, to Maui Academy of Performing Art's upcoming 25th annual Garden Party, and Maui OnStage's Sneak Peek, the arts are privileged to have a very generous population of ...

‘Fame’

How? And, wow!-is the buzz on Maui in regards to local theater. When you factor all five large-scale productions in performance or rehearsal this month alone, you're talking 300 actors, singers, musicians, designers and directors involved in "101 Dalmatians," "The Little Mermaid," "RENT," "Fame" and the upcoming "Les Miserables."Only a handful of individuals worked on more than one of these productions, and Maui OnStage has just assembled a cast and crew of 15 additional people for "Love, Sex and the I.R.S.," which opens in late September.Not to diminish past years of great Maui theater, ...

Maui Academy of Performing Arts presents FAME The Musical

I was about 10 when I first saw "Fame." It was premiering on HBO, and a neighbor kid with cable invited the whole block of teens and tweens over to watch. Over the years, many kids have dreamed of attending "P.A." The famous high school, officially named Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts, opened in 1947. In the '60s, it merged with the High School of Music and Art, thus the lengthy name, but alumni and "Fame" fanatics just call it High School of Performing Arts or PA. Illustrious alumni include Dom DeLuise, Hal Linden, Richard Benjamin, Suzanne ...

Atamira Dance Company’s ‘KAHA’ at the MACC

Most Maui residents and visitors are familiar with the legend of Maui, and his tale of slowing down the sun. But Maui is also extremely prominent in Maori folklore as well.The story goes that Maui was the youngest of five sons. His mother Taranga, believing he was stillborn, wrapped him in a bundle of hair and cast him into the ocean. He floated onto to a beach, where he was found by his mortal stepmother Tamanui-ki-te-rangi, who raised him as his own. When old enough, Maui began to question his origin and reunited with his deity family. His four older and jealous brothers conspired to ...