Broadway veterans Q. Smith and Lawrence Stallings

The nonprofit Wave of Harmony Foundation is offering a unique Christmas treat in the shape of a free Kama’āina Holiday Spectacular show at the Historic Iao Theater on Monday evening. Hosted by the Foundation’s founder, Barry Kawakami, this special celebration brings together local artists and world-class performers.

The show will feature performances by Broadway veterans Q. Smith and Lawrence Stallings, and local musicians Kamaka Kukona, Leighanna Locke, Casey Hughes, Tessa Chin, and Paul Jackel. With music direction by pianist Vania Jerome, backing musicians include Andrew Wu on violin, bassist Ashton Yarbrough, and drummer Perry Gragas.

The husband and wife team of Smith and Stallings, who honeymooned on Maui, are looking forward to making their performing debut here. “We were thinking about a kind of theme to bring to Maui, and we came up with the theme of love,” said Smith. “Our portion of the show is about our love for Hawaii and our love for each other and our ohana. It’s a mixture with some show tunes, a little bit of gospel, and some traditional R&B pop Christmas tunes. I think it’s going to be a little bit of everything for everybody.”

Regarding song choice, she explained: “I love surprises, but I will say that we are doing ‘This Christmas’ by Donny Hathaway and we’re doing a Broadway medley with five or 6 different Broadway songs kind of meshed up into one big medley.”

Both artists have extensive theater experience. Smith originated the role of Hannah in the musical “Come from Away” on Broadway and toured with productions of “Mary Poppins.” Stallings’ major roles include “The Book of Mormon” and a revival of “Hair” on Broadway.

“One of the most transformative experiences for me was doing ‘Hair,'” he said. “I felt as much like I was connected to the material in terms of just what that show is saying to the world as I was with the people that were also creating the show.”

Stalling is also proud of performing a one-man show about soul legend Sam Cooke, “Sam Cooke: Forever Mr. Soul.” “That was also transformative, but in a different way. It’s not an adventure that every artist gets to take on stage. It’s such an undertaking to do a solo show.”

For Smith, who lives in New York City, she cites singing in “Come from Away,” as a major achievement. “That was my first original Broadway show,” she said. “I was here during 9-11, and it changed all of us, and so being able to create something for the community here in New York City, specifically, to remember, but also, it helped them not to focus on the negative side of that day. We presented them the good parts of what happened after that fateful day, the goodness that was going on in the world, and it changed me, for sure.”

Smith and the cast all connected with the real people they portrayed. “My person has since passed away this year, over the summer, and she lived a long, beautiful life. She was just a great example of what love is and strength and fortitude.”

One of the first African American women to graduate with a BFA in Musical Theater, Smith was encouraged by her high school teachers to try singing opera, and she subsequently worked with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. “I started singing at church when I was pretty young in the choir,” she recalled. “I was a junior in high school, and one day my teacher pulled me to the side, and he was like, ‘You really have something special. You should think about studying musical theater.’ If it wasn’t for that conversation, and a couple of other things that happened along the way, I probably wouldn’t be here.”

Stallings “knew from an early age that I wanted to perform. I definitely knew that I wanted to be a singer,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be an actor, but I honestly didn’t even know until my first trip to New York that you could make a living doing musical theater.”

Both artists love their work. “I love doing things, whether it’s singing a song or playing a character that through that artistic expression it teaches people how to love each other,” said Stallings. “We channel and portray humanity, and hopefully the story is, let’s treat each other a little better.”

The free Kama’āina Holiday Spectacular is presented on Monday, beginning with photos with Santa at 6:15 p.m. and the show at 7:30. To reserve seats, go to mauionstage.thundertix.com/events/256237.