Kennedy Theatre Announces 61st Season
UHM Department of Theatre & Dance and Kennedy Theatre have some production title updates from the previously shared 2024-2025 Season Announcement.
SPRING MAINSTAGE SEASON
The spring Mainstage Season remains unchanged. 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.
SPRING PRIME TIME SERIES
The spring Prime Time Series has one updated title – the previously announced title Clocks will be replaced by I AM MULAN. 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, I AM MULAN a world premiere written and directed by MFA candidate Elizabeth Ung (the previously listed CLOCKS production has been postponed).
SPRING LATE NIGHT SERIES
The spring Late Night Series has one updated title – previously announced Mapping Living Histories: Performance as Embodied Archive will be replaced by Come Play with Us! New Plays Festival as its second and final offering of the season. 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.
Kennedy Theatre program and schedule are subject to change.
Spring Mainstage Season – on the Kennedy Theatre Mainstage
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 March 1, 2025 performance.
Spring Prime Time Series – in the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre
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
I AM MULAN
Written and Directed by MFA candidate Elizabeth Ung
April 9-13, 2025 – WED-SAT 7:30pm & SUN 2:00pm
Post Show Q&A following the Friday performance
The world knows the tale, the myth, the legend, the ballad of Mulan. But does Mulan know Mulan? Incarnated into five distinct personalities, an ensemble of “Mulans” must find a way out of Dìyù (Hell)… and from each other. A confrontation, an introspection, and a deconstruction of the Chinese folkloric heroine, I AM MULAN is a world-premiere existential dramedy by Elizabeth Ung that examines what it means to embrace and reject one’s identity and legacy.
This is a multi-lingual production featuring English, Mandarin, and Cantonese languages.
Content Advisories: Strong language, racial and gender microaggressions, references to suicide and violence, and suggestive sexual 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 (Spring 2025)
Come Play with Us! New Plays Festival
Facilitated by MFA candidate Arlo Rowe
March 1-2 & 7-8, 2025 – FRI/SAT 11:00pm & SUN 7:30pm
Late Night Theatre Company Presents Come Play with Us! New Plays Festival. New original UHM student plays will be featured nightly as staged readings, directed and performed by our students. MFA candidate Arlo Rowe, who most recently directed 4.48 Psychosis in the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre, will facilitate the festival. Late Night Theatre Company is a student-governed organization that 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.
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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