UH Manoa's Kennedy Theatre announces 2009-10 Season

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Marty Myers, (808) 956-2602
Mgr, Kennedy Theatre, Theatre and Dance
Tracy Robinson, (808) 956-2598
Publicity Director, Theatre and Dance
Posted: Aug 20, 2009

Season 2009-2010 Logo
Season 2009-2010 Logo

Economy doesn’t stop Kennedy Theatre from undertaking full season in 2009-10

Kennedy Theatre at the University of Hawai#i at Mānoa announces a full plate of theatre and dance for 2009-10 in spite of the economy. According to Department Chair Dennis Carroll, “We are determined to provide a full season of exciting theatre and dance works for Honolulu audiences and our UH Mānoa students in spite of the fiscal challenges. We have tightened our production budgets and reduced services that we hope will not impact our audiences.” The season includes a fully-staged Jingju (Beijing opera) performed in English entitled “The White Snake,” as well a brand new work for families, a recently restored play by Brecht, a play by a Nobel prize winner, and a dance concert devoted to sustainability. In addition to the mainstage season there is also a full slate of productions scheduled for the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre.

Advance super saver tickets for 2009-10 mainstage events at Kennedy Theatre are on sale now through September 5 and will provide significant savings to those who want to make the most of their cultural dollars. Tickets prices are substantially lower priced than regular ticket prices which will go on sale on Sept 14. Prices include all service fees and may be purchased by mail, by fax, or online at www.etickethawaii.com.

ON THE MAINSTAGE:

WHEN THE CASSOWARY POOPED!

Adapted and directed by Tamara Montgomery

Based on the children's book When the Cassowary Pooped by Tamara Montgomery, with illustrations by Joseph D. Dodd.

Oct 2, 3 at 7:30pm; Oct 4 at 1:30pm and 4pm

Help find the giant, endangered Cassowary bird as he hides from audience and players in this delightful environmental tale. Puppets and magical effects combine with coconut "robber" crabs, birds of paradise and hip hop tree kangaroos to tell the humorous tale of how the Cassowary's "poop" helps create the New Guinea rainforest. For children ages 4-8 and young at heart adults.

Ticket Prices:

$12 Advance Super Saver; $15 Regular; $14 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $12 Students, Children; $5 UHM Students with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning Sept 28.

THE HOMECOMING

By Harold Pinter; Directed by Glenn Cannon
Nov 13, 14, 20, 21 at 8pm; Nov 22 at 2pm

A 70-year-old father lives in a seedy house in London with his brother and two adult sons. Into this volatile household enters the eldest son and his attractive young wife. Sexuality and a struggle for power, laced with moments of outrageous comedy, drive this play. Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter is regarded as one of Great Britain's finest playwrights, and The Homecoming is generally accepted as one of his best plays.

Ticket Prices:

$16 Advance Super Saver; $20 Regular; $18 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $12 Students; $5 UHM Students with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning Nov 9.

 THE WHITE SNAKE

Jingju (Beijing opera) in its English-language world premiere

Feb 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13 at 8pm; Feb 7 and 14 at 2pm

Script by China’s National Actors of the First Rank Mr. Lu Genzhang and Ms. Zhang Ling
Score by National Musician of the Second Rank Mr. Zhang Xigui.
Artistic supervision by China’s National Actor of the First Rank Madam Shen Xiaomei
Translation by Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak and Hui-mei Chang
Produced and directed by Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak
Musical direction by Frederick Lau
Orchestra conducted by Daniel Tschudi

The White Snake (Bai She Zhuan) relates the famous legend of a snake spirit who descends to earth as a beautiful woman, marries a handsome young man, and then must fight to restore his life and save their marriage in the face of supernatural attacks from a powerful monk who believes that she is an evil demon. This production features exciting acting and combat, thrilling song and music, including flute-accompanied song directly derived from the classical Kunqu, proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001.

Ticket Prices:

$18 Advance Super Saver; $22 Regular; $20 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $15 Students; $5 UHM Students with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning Feb 1.

 DANCING GREEN!  Annual Dance Concert

Choreography by UH Faculty and Guest Artists
Performance by UHM Students            

March 11, 12, 13 at 8pm; March 14 at 2pm

Dancing Green takes sustainability to the stage with dances created on environmental themes. Thrift and elegance can indeed go hand in hand!  Partnering with a variety of community and campus organizations, Dancing Green offers a fun and enriching dance theatre experience with a clean conscience.

Ticket Prices:

$16 Advance Super Saver; $20 Regular; $18 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $12 Students; $5 UHM Students with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning March 8.

THE JUDITH OF SHIMODA

The World Premiere of the English language version
By Bertolt Brecht; Translated by Markus Wessendorf
Directed by Paul Mitri

April 30, May 1 at 7:30pm; May 2 at 2pm

This rediscovered and restored play draws on historical events that occurred after Commodore Perry opened Japan to the West in 1854. To appease the American consul who threatens to bomb the city if the Japanese refuse to negotiate a trade agreement, Japanese authorities ask Okichi, a geisha, to serve him. Brecht focuses on what happens to Okichi after she agrees to sacrifice herself for the sake of her country. Although Okichi becomes a heroine of Japanese patriotism, her real life is ruined: her marriage breaks up, she is called a “foreign whore,” and she dies impoverished and an alcoholic.

plus
THE MAHAGONNY SONG PLAY

Libretto by Bertolt Brecht; Music by Kurt Weill
Directed by Henry Akina

In a special prelude to The Judith of Shimoda, the Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio of the Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre will perform “the little Mahagonny.” Though just a glimpse of the full-length opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, boxing, eating, and sex are the cornerstones of this anti-utopia. Brecht’s characters are wanderers who found the city and prey upon those who come after them. 

Ticket Prices:

$16 Advance Super Saver; $20 Regular; $18 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $12 Students; $5 UHM Students with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning April 26.

The Mahagonny Song Play and The Judith of Shimoda are presented in this double bill in conjunction with the 13th Symposium of the International Brecht Society on 'Brecht in/and Asia' at UHM May 19-23.For more information on the Brecht Conference and other Brecht events in Honolulu visit: http://Mānoa.Hawaiʻi.edu/brecht2010/

SPECIAL EVENTS:

THE SOUND OF ECSTASY AND NECTAR OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Buddhist Ritual Song and Dance from Korea: a performance by the Young San Preservation Group of Korea.

Sponsored by UHM Outreach College and the Korea Society

Oct 8 at 7:30pm

Harmonies as resonant and meditative as the religious devotion they represent will fill Kennedy Theatre as the Korean Buddhist monks of the Young San Preservation Group perform pömp'ae  or "sacred chanting." The Group's singing will be accompanied by traditional Korean drums, cymbals and gongs as well as ritualized dance pieces known as chakpop.

Advance Ticket Prices: $27 Regular; $22 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff, Students; $17 UHM Students with ID.

Ticket Prices at the Door: $30 Regular; $25 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff, Students; $20 UHM Students with ID. (All service fees included.)

Tickets are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning Oct 5.

A CONCERT OF CHINESE THEATRE SONG—JINGJU (BEIJING OPERA) AND KUNQU

One Night Only! Feb 8 at 8pm

This concert of Jingju and Kunqu classics is cosponsored by the Chinese Opera Association of Hawaii and the Hawaiʻi Rainbow Kunqu Society. A highlight will be special performances by master Jingju artists Lu Genzhang, Zhang Ling, and Zhang Xigui of the Jiangsu Province Jingju Company, who will be in residence training students for The White Snake. Joining them will be members of the two Hawaiʻi groups who have been studying the art of Jingju and Kunqu singing. This will be the first public performance of Kunqu song in Hawaiʻi in over 20 years.

Ticket Prices:

$18 Advance Super Saver; $22 Regular; $20 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $15 Students; $5 UHM Students with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning Feb 1.

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH HAWAI'I

March 19 & 20 at 8pm

A live dance/theatre concert in which twenty leading dance professionals from Hawai‘i collaborate, each telling a story from their life, performing their own dance sequence, and interacting with the other participating artists.  New York-based choreographers Tina Croll and Jamie Cunningham will work with the Hawai‘i dance experts to create this once-in-a-lifetime show.  Presented in collaboration with Tim Bostock Productions. 

Ticket Prices:

$22 Advance Super Saver; $30 Regular, $25 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $20 students; $15 UHM Students with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning March 8.

PRIME TIME IN THE EARLE ERNST LAB THEATRE:

FALL FOOTHOLDS

Oct 21, 22, 23, 24 at 8pm; Oct 25 at 2pm

The latest work from MFA and BFA dance students as well as new student choreography.

ETTA JENKS

By Marlane Gomard Meyer; Directed by Rikki Jo Hickey

Dec 2, 3, 4, 5 at 8pm; Dec 6 at 2pm

A theatrical montage of one woman whose journey to become a Hollywood star leads her into the world of porn movies. This play contains adult language and content.

APPALACHIA HAWAIʻI

By Terri Large Madden

Feb 24, 25, 26, 27 at 8pm; Feb 28 at 2pm

A Caucasian military family with Appalachian roots living in Hawaiʻi Kai has very little in common with a local family living in Pearl City during the early 1970s until they learn their sixteen-year-old daughter is “hapai” by the local family's son. 

SPRING FOOTHOLDS     

April 14, 15, 16, 17 at 8pm; April 18 at 2pm

The spring finale shows off the work of this year’s talented group of student dancers and choreographers.

Prime Time Ticket prices:

$15 Regular; $14 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff; $12 Students; $5 UHM Student with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets for Prime Time are available online, at outlets, at 944-2697 beginning Sept 14. Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre the week of performances.

LATE NIGHT IN THE EARLE ERNST LAB THEATRE:

NOCTURNAL WANDERER
By Gao Xingjian; Directed by Ron Gilliam

Sept 12, 18, 19 at 11pm; Sept 13 at 8pm

Through his subconscious, Sleepwalker encounters various individuals that test both his faith and his desire to resist ungodly temptation. A modern day Everyman.

EXPOSED

This is a Play by David MacIvor, directed by Amy Healey
The Natalia Gallery, a dance project directed by Rebecca McGarvey

Nov 14, 20, 21 at 11pm; Nov 15 at 8pm

EXPOSED will give the audience insight into what makes two performance pieces tick: Dances inspired by the architectural photography of Natalia Ibarra-Blomgren, and the dialogue in Daniel MacIvor's This is a Play takes the saying "Do what I mean, not what I say" literally.

Late Night’s Spring Schedule to be announced in November.

Ticket prices for Late Night:

$10 Regular; $8 Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff, Students; $5 UHM Students with ID (All service fees included.)

Tickets for Late Night Theatre available only at the door beginning one hour before curtain.

TICKET PURCHASE INFORMATION:

The Kennedy Theatre Box Office is closed during the summer. Leave a message at 956-7655 for assistance.

The Kennedy Theatre Box Office will be open M-F from 10:30am - 12:30pm during limited sale periods only beginning Sept 28.

Online ticket sales are available 24/7 at www.etickethawaii.com.

Beginning Sept 14 tickets are available by phone by calling 944-2697 M-F from 9am-5pm.

Beginning Sept 14 tickets are also available at UHM Campus Center, OCET at Windward CC, Rainbowtique, and Stan Sheriff Center Ticket Office.

All service charges are included in advertised prices.

Group Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more for mainstage events. Contact the Box Office for more information.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Visit website at www.hawaii.edu/kennedy

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For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/kennedy