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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, November 2, 2007

A drama bonanza for Oahu's lovers of theater

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Safari Jones and Savada Gilmore in The Actors' Group's "Fences."

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Cedric Panganiban is Vladimir and Blaze Manicillas is Estragon in "Waiting for Godot."

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You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be amazed at the variety and sheer number of theater productions on O'ahu in the next several days.

For your consideration:

'FENCES'

August Wilson's modern classic is about social and relationship barriers in the African-American experience. Troy, a former star in the Negro Baseball Leagues, is now a bitter garbage collector who struggles with his lost dreams.

This play, presented by The Actors' Group, was postponed a week from its original Oct. 26 launch date. Derrick Brown directs.

Premieres at 7:30 p.m. today, repeating at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and at 2 and 5:30 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 25, at the Yellow Brick Studio, 635 Keawe St. Tickets are $15 general, $13 seniors, $12 students and groups of 10 or more, per person. 722-6941.

'ONCE UPON ONE NODDAH TIME'

The Lisa Matsumoto/Roslyn Catracchia Island-style versions of the traditional fairy tales are full of colorful characters, comedy and song.

7 p.m. today and Nov. 9-10, 16-17; 2 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 11 and 18 at Ruth Ke'elikolani Auditorium, Kamehameha Schools Kapalama campus. Tickets are $5, at the door. 842-8356.

'AND THEN THEY CAME FOR ME: REMEMBERING THE WORLD OF ANNE FRANK'

A multimedia production focuses on the real interviews of two Holocaust survivors on DVD as students enact their stories on stage. It's a presentation of the Tri-School Theatre Ensemble, a program that includes Mililani, Waialua and Leilehua high schools.

Not recommended for those younger than 10.

7:30 p.m. today and Nov. 9, 2 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 10 at the Mililani High School cafeteria. Tickets are $7 general, $5 students, available weekdays from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the cafeteria. 387-7367.

'SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK LIVE JR.'

The Kapolei Performing Arts Center takes a cue from those old Saturday morning educational/musical vignettes and runs with it. It's the tale of nervous new schoolteacher Tom, who finds the answer to winning over his students: TV characters present tuneful solutions such as "Just a Bill" and "Conjunction Junction."

7 p.m. today and Saturday and Nov. 9-10; 1 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 10 at the Kapolei High School Forum. Tickets are $6 general, free for keiki 2 and younger. 258-7313, www.packapolei.org.

'THE COMEDY OF ERRORS'

Shakespeare's farce about mistaken identity and two long-lost sets of identical twins has been placed in a 1950s urban setting. The production, featuring 32 student performers and directed by Karen Meyer, is dedicated to the memory of Dando Kluever, who directed Meyer in the same play 25 years ago at Leeward Community Theater. Kluever died in September.

7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and Nov. 9-10; 2 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 11 at the Ron Bright Theatre at Castle High School, Kane'ohe. Tickets are $10 general, $6 students, seniors and military. 233-5626.

IT'S ABSURD

Chaminade University's Performing Arts Department presemts two productions from the realm of the absurd. Tickets are $5. The venue: the Black Box Theater, Freitas Hall 101, Chaminade. 735-4725.

The plays:

  • Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," the famed tragicomedy in two acts, begins tonight. Two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait for someone who never does appear.

    7:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, Thursday and Nov. 10; 3 p.m. Sunday.

  • Eugene Ionesco's one-acts — "The Bald Soprano," about two families and their meaningless discussions; and "The Lesson" between a professor and a student — consider the absurdities of daily life.

    7:30 p.m. Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Nov. 9; 3 p.m. Nov. 11.

    'KAMAPUA'A'

    The adventures of the pig god — child of Hina and Kahiki'ula and grandson of Kamaunuaniho, nemesis of fire goddess Pele — is told in the Hawaiian language. The play is written and directed by Tammy Hailiopua Baker and contains some adult material. It's presented Ka Halau Hanakeaka, founded by Baker, and features current and graduating students and faculty of UH-Manoa.

    7 p.m. Saturday at the Hawai'i Theatre. Tickets are $15-$35. 528-0506.

    'PUSS IN BOOTS'

    The clever, costumed cat of old befriends a king and outwits all comers. Peggy Anne Siegmund directs.

    7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Kaimuki High School theater. Tickets are $8 general, $5 children, high-school students and those older than 65, free for preschoolers. 733-4913.

    'CINDERELLA'

    Rodgers and Hammerstein's fanciful musical based on the fairy tale about love, wicked stepsisters and a prince and a poor girl is presented by Sacred Hearts Academy. Female roles are played by academy students; the male roles are taken by boys from public and private schools.

    4 p.m. Thursday and Nov. 10; 7 p.m. Nov. 9; 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Nov. 11 at Mamiya Theatre, Saint Louis School. Tickets are $15 general, $12 students, military and seniors. 734-5058, ext. 229.

    'ANTIGONE: THE BURIAL AT THEBES'

    The Greek tragedy by Sophocles examines an individual's rights vs. the state's authority. The heroine Antigone defies the king's order and gives her brother a proper burial, and then is herself condemned to die.

    This production is based on the modern translation by Seamus Heaney and is directed by 'Iolani theater teacher Rob Duval.

    7 p.m. Thursday-Nov. 10 at 'Iolani School's Seto Hall. Admission is free. 943-2244.