2024/25 Season Announcement
Kennedy Theatre Announces 61st Season
UHM Department of Theatre & Dance and Kennedy Theatre present the 2024-2025 Production Season
Kennedy Theatre’s 61st production season brings new and original works to the forefront while celebrating groundbreaking works of the past.
MAINSTAGE SEASON
The Mainstage Season begins in September with the world premiere hana keaka (Hawaiian Theatre) performance of Puana, exploring the deep connections that Kānaka Maoli have with their kūpuna (ancestors) through song. This collaborative endeavor brings together UHM’s Hawaiian Theatre Program and Ka Waihona A Ke Aloha, a project of Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language. In Late February, the newest Associate Professor of Acting, Joshua “Baba” Tavares, will bring his previous Broadway touring experience playing “Angel” and professional expertise to Kennedy Theatre to direct RENT. While the story is rooted in the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s, its narrative and themes transcend time and draw parallels to the pressing issues that our local community is facing today.
PRIME TIME SERIES
The Prime Time Series features the culminating works of MFA directors, dancers, choreographers, designers, playwrights, MFA/BFA dance candidates, dance faculty and invited guest artist works. This year’s Prime Time Series opens in October with a hauntingly beautiful production of Sarah Kane’s play, 4.48 Psychosis, directed by MFA candidate Arlo Chiaki Rowe. Infusing elements of Japanese arts, this production curates stylized portrayals of real mental health struggles. November features Metamorphosis, a dance concert co-directed by Professors Pei-Ling Kao and Kara Jhalak Miller. Featuring multiple choreographies created by local artists and faculty members, this dance concert celebrates innovative create processes and diverse choreographies. The first production of the spring semester in late January is the MFA/BFA Dance Concert directed by Sami L.A. Akuna. It highlights new original choreographies from MFA candidates Hannah Archer, Jonathan Clarke Sypert, Isileli Tuifua and BFA seniors Isabella Andrade, Camille Dias, Anu Shaw, and Anneliese Wirsching. April features the final production of the Prime Time Series, CLOCKS, written and directed by MFA candidate Jay Pitt. This world premiere production is an exploration of young, sapphic love – and all the joy and hardships that come with it.
LATE NIGHT SERIES
Late Night Theatre Company strives to create relevant and innovative performance art-making that dismantles oppression, fosters skills in a pre-professional environment, and empowers our local, national, and global communities. Late Night productions are by, for, and about UHM students. The Late Night Theatre Company’s 2024-2025 season has its first offering in December 2024 with Gothmass and a second offering in late February 2025 with Mapping Living Histories: Performance as Embodied Archive. Please be sure to check online for updates and stay tuned for other Late Night surprises.
Kennedy Theatre program and schedule are subject to change.
Mainstage Season – on the Kennedy Theatre Mainstage
Puana
World Premiere Hana Keaka
Written and Directed by Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker with Kaipulaumakaniolono Baker
Artistic Collaborators: R. Keawe Lopes, Jr., Tracie Kaʻōnohiokalani Lopes, Zachary Alakaʻi Lum, Tawaroa Kawana
September 27-28 & October 4-6, 2024 – FRI/SAT 7:30pm & SUN 2:00pm
Pre-Show Chat: 6:45pm before Saturday performances
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana… Puana explores the deep connections that Kānaka Maoli have with their kūpuna (ancestors) through song. Family artifacts reveal stories encapsulated in poetic compositions from the past, which guide three contemporary musicians in their artistic journeys. This original hana keaka, Hawaiian language theatrical production, is a collaborative endeavor between UHM’s Hawaiian Theatre Program and Ka Waihona A Ke Aloha, a project of Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language. Puana brings together nationally and internationally renowned artists, professor and playwright/director Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker, professor, composer and Kumu Hula R. Keawe Lopes, Jr., Kumu Hula Tracie Kaʻōnohilani Lopes, Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winning musician and composer Zachary Alakaʻi Lum, Māori composer and award-winning recording artist Tawaroa Kawana, and moʻolono and playwright Kaipulaumakaniolono Baker,
This hana keaka production will be performed predominantly in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i.
Educators interested in School Show Performance dates and costs please contact ktbox@hawaii.edu for more information.
RENT
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Musical Arrangements Steve Skinner
Original Concept/Additional Lyrics Billy Aronson
Music Supervision and Additional Arrangements Tim Weil
Dramaturg Lynn Thomson
RENT was originally produced in New York by New York Theatre Workshop and on Broadway by Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Allan S. Gordon and New York Theatre Workshop
Directed by Joshua “Baba” Tavares
February 28 – March 1 & 7-9, 2025 – FRI/SAT 7:30pm & SUN 2:00pm
Pre-Show Chats at 6:45pm before Saturday performances
Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking rock opera, RENT delves into timeless themes of love, loss, and friendship, resonating deeply across generations. New Associate Acting Professor Joshua “Baba” Tavares’ unique interpretation of this iconic musical draws profound parallels to our contemporary reality. While rooted in the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s, RENT‘s narrative transcends time, addressing pressing issues of today. Amidst the aftermath of the global pandemic and the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, we confront similar struggles depicted in the musical: the escalating cost of living, homelessness, displacement, mental health crises, and substance abuse. Through the eyes of our talented young artists, RENT offers a compelling exploration of self-discovery amidst adversity. At its heart, this story poses a poignant question: how do we measure our lives?
Content Advisories: mature themes including substance abuse, strong language, sexuality, self-harm, not recommended for children.
RENT is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
Mainstage Season – Ticket Prices
Regularly Priced Tickets:
$8 UHM Student with current valid UHM ID
$15 Non-UHM Student/Youth
$22 UH Faculty/Staff, Military, Senior
$25 Regular (Adult)
First Saturday Mainstage performances are “Throwback Saturday” – prices are from the good ol’ days:
$5 UHM Student
$10 Other Discount Groups
$15 Regular (Adult)
“Throwback Saturday” pricing is only valid for the SAT September 28, 2024 and SAT March 1, 2025 performances.
Prime Time Series – in the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre
4.48 Psychosis
by Sarah Kane
Directed by MFA candidate Arlo Chiaki Rowe
October 23-25 & 27, 2024* – WED-FRI 7:30pm & SUN 2:00pm and 7:30pm
Post Show Q&A following the Friday performance
*No Saturday performances due to on-campus UHM Football game (limited parking)
“It is myself I have never met, whose face is pasted on the underside of my mind”
At 4:48 am, they are sane. And at 6 am, they drift back into a state of psychosis, tormented by anguish, rejection, and profound loneliness. This hauntingly beautiful series of interconnected poems captures playwright Sarah Kane’s struggles with psychosis and her difficulty in making genuine human connections with the people around her. Directed and designed with elements of Japanese arts, this show curates stylized portrayals of real mental health struggles, inspired by the director’s own experiences with severe depression and other disorders.
Content Advisories: Suicidal ideation, mental illness, self-harm, profane language, and flashing lights.
Metamorphosis
Dance Concert
Program Directors: Pei-Ling Kao & Kara Jhalak Miller
Choreographers: Sai Bhatawadekar, Peter Rockford Espiritu, Pei-Ling Kao, Kara Jhalak Miller, Lorenzo Perillo, Kumu Vicky Holt Takamine, and Amy Schiffner
November 20-24, 2024 – WED-SAT 7:30pm & SUN 2:00pm
Post Show Q&A following the Friday performance
Metamorphosis centers our UH dance program’s strength in the dance practices of Hawaiian, Pacific, Asian, Hula, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Hybrid dance forms. It is about transformation with innovative creation processes emerging as we explore diverse choreographies and a wide range of dance genres through live performance and screendance. The production includes new works and outstanding choreographies from the acclaimed 2021 streamed production of Sphere reimagined and offered for the first time to a live audience.
MFA/BFA Dance Concert
Program Director: Sami L.A. Akuna
January 29-31 & February 1-2, 2025 – WED-SAT 7:30pm & SUN 2:00pm
Post Show Q&A following the Friday performance
The UHM Department of Theatre and Dance presents a dynamic dance concert consisting of original Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Creative Projects and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Senior Projects choreography. This dance production is a celebration of the creativity of our undergraduate and graduate dancers and highlights their artistic development. The concert features selected works and new premiere performances for both the stage and screen.
Featuring Original Choreography created by:
Hannah Archer, MFA candidate
Nani Marcos, MFA candidate
Jonathan Clarke Sypert, MFA candidate
Isileli Tuifua, MFA candidate
Isabella Andrade, BFA candidate
Camille Dias, BFA candidate
Anu Shaw, BFA candidate
Anneliese Wirsching, BFA candidate
CLOCKS
Written and Directed by MFA candidate Jay Pitt
April 9-13, 2025 – WED-SAT 7:30pm & SUN 2:00pm
Post Show Q&A following the Friday performance
CLOCKS is an exploration of young, sapphic love; of what conflict looks like when there is, first and foremost, an abundance of love. Centering around Julie (she/her) and her partner Sam (they/she) as they begin discovering what their life looks like after Julie’s college graduation, CLOCKS is dedicated to queer love and the joy and hardship that comes with it. After all, to love is to be touched, to be changed, to be challenged; love is not something you say but something that you show, time and time again. But it cannot fix all things. Julie’s plans of pursuing a master’s degree and moving out of state don’t align with Sam’s loyalty to the community they grew up in and their dedication to the family’s business. Fueled by the love they have for each other, and with the help of their friends Nick and Adam, they do their best to make it through an otherwise impossible situation.
For nothing is easy, least of all, love.
Content Advisories: Adult language and suggestive themes
Primetime Series – Ticket Prices
$8 UHM Student with current valid UHM ID
$13 Non-UHM Student/Youth
$16 UH Faculty/Staff, Military, Senior
$18 Regular (Adult)
Late Night Series
Gothmass
Concept & Direction by PhD candidate Mariah Massengill
December 7-8, 2024 – SAT/SUN 8:30pm
Gothmass is an interactive, raunchy, warming experience inspired by a local event held in Waikiki a few years ago. On the bill are collaboratively and independently created performances (such as dances, songs, and short plays) that use holidays, spirituality, and alternative living as themes to tell stories of members in our community. We hope you enjoy our spin on this formative event and are inspired to see more underground and experimental art on island. Most importantly, we hope you and yours feel a little more seen this holiday season.
Mapping Living Histories: Performance as Embodied Archive
Concept & Direction by PhD Performance Studies Candidate David Crellin
March 1-2 & 7-8, 2025 – FRI/SAT 11:00pm & SUN 7:30pm
Through recorded interviews, documentation, personal artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia, cast members construct an embodied narrative of a person of substance in their life, mapping the intersection of personal histories, memory, connection, desire and interpretation. Not the “recreation” of a life, rather a mediated interpolation, a hybrid expression of the space that lies between subject and object.
Late Night Series – Ticket Prices
$5 UHM Student
$8 Discount Groups (Military, Senior, UH Faculty/Staff, Non-UH Manoa Students with Valid ID)
$10 Regular (Adult)
To Purchase Tickets
Tickets to all Mainstage and Primetime productions should go on sale in August 2024 and may be purchased online at www.etickethawaii.com, at the Stan Sheriff Box Office, or in person at the Kennedy Theatre Box Office (during performance week sale periods only). Please note that tickets to all Late Night Theatre Company performances will only be available at the Kennedy Theatre Box Office starting one hour before each performance.
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