Kennedy's new season kicks off with the Bard

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

Terence Knapp directs "Much Ado About Nothing," the Shakespearean comedy that will grace Kennedy Theatre's stage in October. Advertiser library photo • April 12, 2001

The season will offer dance as well, with lighter fare and experimental productions slated for the smaller Earle Ernst Lab Theatre.

The schedules:

Kennedy Theatre Mainstage

• "Much Ado About Nothing," Oct. 5, 6, 11, 12, 13 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. The Shakespeare comedy, directed by Terence Knapp, focuses on two couples: Beatrice and Benedick, and Claudio and Hero, who fall victim to deception but rise through truth and love.
• Annual Dance Concert: Bigger Than Life, Nov. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m., Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. A multimedia production, embracing computer animation with video images, with guest artist Ellen Bromberg creating a new piece. Featuring choreography by the UH dance faculty, performed by dance students.
• "Judge Bao and the Case of Qin Xianglian," Feb. 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak translates and directs a traditional Beijing piece, performed and taught by visiting masters Shen Xiaomei, Lu Genzhang, Shen Fuqing and Li Zhenghua. The tale, set in ancient China, deals with a young man who excels in the examinations for national office and wins the hand of the emperor's younger sister in marriage, although he's he's already married to the country woman, Qin Xianglian.
• "Crimes of the Heart," March 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23 at 8 p.m. and March 17 at 2 p.m. Beth Henley's drama, set in a small Mississippi town, has won the Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics' Circle awards. It is about the plight of three sisters in their 20s who are betrayed by their passions.
• "Ecocircus," April 26 and 27 and May 4 at 7:30 p.m. and May 5 at 2 p.m. A play by Karen Yamamoto Hackler, conceived and directed by Peggy Hunt, about three children who travel to a magical land where a circus is performed by animals who are on the endangered list. Staged in conjunction with Earth Day, geared to families with children aged 4 to 14.

Tickets: $12 for adults, $9 for seniors, military, UH faculty, $6 for non-UH students, $4 for UH students with ID; Beijing opera tickets, $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, military, UH faculty, $9 for non-UH students, $4 for UH students; Eco-circus tickets, $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, military, UH faculty, $7 for non-UH students and children, $4 for UH students.

Note: Season tickets for five Mainstage productions, $42, available through Sept. 1.

Special Events at Kennedy Mainstage

• Jim Gamble and His Puppets in Circus, Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. Calliope and circus band music provides a backdrop for string and rod puppets engaged in circus feats.
• A Concert of Beijing Opera Highlights, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. Highlights of Beijing opera classics will be performed by members of the Jiangsu Province Beijing Opera Company, including Lu Genzhang, Shen Fuqing and Li Zhenghua, who will be in residence for the spring production of "Judge Bao and the Case of Qin Xianglian."

Tickets: Gamble show, $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, military, UH faculty, $7 for non-UH students, $4 for UH students; Beijing program, $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, military, UH faculty, $9 for non-UH students, $4 for UH students.

Primetime in the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre

• "The Clown of God," Sept. 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 8 and 9 at 2 p.m. Mark Branner adapts and directs this play, based on a centuries-old Italian legend, about an itinerant street juggler who discovers his gift for juggling and joins a traveling troupe.
• "Master and Margarita," Nov. 28, 29 and 30 and Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. A play by Mikhail Bulakov, directed by Elmira Tereschenko, about a mysterious professor, his anthropomorphic wise-cracking cat, and other cronies who come to Stalin's Moscow to wreak havoc on the lives of bureaucrats, writers and critics.
• "Uh Oh, Here Comes Christmas," Dec. 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 15 and 16 at 2 p.m. Based on a book by Robert Fulgham and adapted for the stage by Ernest Zulia and David Caldwell, with music and lyrics by Caldwell. This holiday take, directed by Natalie McKinney, deals with a trick-or-treating immigrant child, the celebration of winter solstice, and an ode to the poinsettia.
• "Winter Footholds," Feb. 20, 21, 22 and 23 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. A showcase of new works by University dance students.
• "Spring Footholds," April 3, 4, 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. and April 7 at 2 p.m. A showcase of work by BFA and MFA degree candidates in dance and choreography.

Tickets: $9 for adults, $7 for students, seniors, military and UH faculty and staff, $3 for UH Manoa students.

Late Night at Earle Ernst Lab Theatre

• "Edmond," Oct. 6, 12, 13 at 11 p.m. and Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. An Obie Award-winning play by David Mamet, directed by Taurie Goddess, about an Every Man drained emotionally and blinded by a morally bankrupt society, who is seduced by a fortune teller.
• "Karmic Slave: Trapped on the Wheel of Reincarnation," Nov. 9, 10, 16 and 17 at 11 p.m. A play written and directed by Thomas Isao Morinaka, tracking different embodiments of a soul's trek to Nirvana and the forbidden obstacles that hold the soul back.

Tickets: $7 for adults, $6 for students, seniors, military and UH faculty, $3 for UH students.

Information for shows: 956-7655.