Performers complete the opening number musical “Grand Night for Singing” on the Historic Iao Theater stage, the first live show at the venue in over 500 days since the pandemic. RAY CHIN photo

Maui OnStage’s first live performance in more than 500 days raised more than $25,000, funding that will support the few paid employees and monthly bills for the Iao Theater, as well as keep Maui OnStage moving forward through uncertain times.

Actors performed “Our Favorite Things . . . A Celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein” before a live audience in late July and early August, flooding performers and the audience with emotion after months of pandemic-delayed events.

“Many of the cast members said that walking out onto the stage for the (first) number — ‘It’s a Grand Night for Singing’ from the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 show ‘State Fair’ — it was hard to keep from crying,” said Maui OnStage Executive Director Luana Whitford-Mitchell on Monday. “Audience members told me they were singing, lip-syncing under their masks.”

For each show held on July 30, 31 and Aug. 1, about 85 to 90 people filled the audience. During pre-pandemic times, the theater could seat about 400.

This hopeful moment preceded the 93rd birthday of the Iao Theater, which opened its doors for the first time on Aug. 22, 1928. The movie shown on opening day was “Sporting Goods” with Richard Dix, according to the theater’s website.

At the time, Iao Theater was one of seven theaters in Wailuku town — it was the last built and the only one standing.

The theater is the third-oldest theater in the state behind Hawaii Theater, built in 1922 on Oahu, and the Hilo Palace, which was built in 1925 on Hawaii island. Up until the 1994 building renovations, Iao was also the last theater with an original working fly-rail, which is in place today, but nonfunctional.

For the past 93 years, Iao Theater has stood strong, but not without support and hard work.

The biggest and most recent challenge has been to make sure “we have enough money in the bank to keep the theater’s monthly bills paid,” Whitford-Mitchell said. The theater’s electricity bill is $1,000 a month even when the doors were shut amid the pandemic.

“We have to keep our AC system on dehumidifier 24/7 or the inside of the theater will start to mold because of the humidity,” she added.

Although a live show was hosted last month, the Historic Iao Theater remains closed to the public. Any event has to go through an approval process with the county, and it took about three months to get clearance for “Our Favorite Things . . . A Celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein.” And, all of this was before the current surge in cases.

The upcoming production “CLUE On Stage” is a collaboration between Maui OnStage and Pro Arts Playhouse.

Auditions closed Sunday and rehearsals will begin Sept. 21 at the earliest. The show is anticipated to run in late October to mid-November.

“We are sharing not only the financial burden of putting on a production, but also all the new COVID rules and regulations that must be followed,” she said. “It’s very, very challenging.”

Performers and production crew members will need to be exempted from the 6-foot distance requirement by showing proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result received within 48 hours of every rehearsal and performance.

Still, Whitford-Mitchell remains focused on the positives.

“One of the best things to have happen in the last 500 days is the wonderful communication and camaraderie myself, Maui Academy of Performing Arts and Pro Arts Playhouse has had,” she said. “We have all truly been there for each other and supported each other throughout this terrible time.”

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.