Do It: ‘Yellowman,’ ‘Stage Kiss,’ Wu Han, New Shanghai Circus

FRIDAY-FEB. 5

Curtains rise on plays for adults, kids

Three plays open in Honolulu this weekend, providing audiences with romantic comedy, racial drama and kid stuff.

Manoa Valley Theatre provides the fun with Sara Ruhl’s “Stage Kiss,” a romantic comedy about two contemporary actors (He and She, played by Alan Shepard and Amy Sullivan) who share a stormy past, and quickly lose the plot after they have to kiss while rehearsing for a play set in the 1930s. When the play debuted in 2014, Variety praised it for its “unique, breezily elegant dialogue” and “pleasingly loopy logic.”

The Actors’ Group addresses a more serious subject with “Yellowman,” a 2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama by Dael Orlandersmith. The play examines the racism-scarred relationship between light-skinned and dark-skinned African-Americans as viewed by Eugene and Alma, a couple who during the course of the play experience friendship, love, estrangement, reunification and tragedy. Actors Curtis Duncan and Wendy Pearson will have their work cut out for them, portraying the protagonists but also the secondary characters, often switching roles onstage.

For kids there’s “You and Me and the Space Between” at Honolulu Theatre for Youth. HTY co-commissioned Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer to write the play, which tells a “Moana”-like story about a girl who sets out to save her island from sinking into the sea. HTY describes it as “part play, part picture book and all wondrous fun.”

SATURDAY

The Naked and Famous bares its indie pop sound

New Zealand transplants the Naked and Famous return to The Republik this weekend with its electronically spiced indie rock.

The group, distinguished by Alisa Xayalith’s ethereal vocals, made a name for itself in New Zealand’s thriving pop music scene with its hit debut album, “Passive Me, Aggressive You” (2010), and followed that up with the single “Young Blood,” a No. 1 hit in New Zealand that made its way onto the soundtrack for the film “Underworld: Awakening” as well as TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy.”

After moving to Los Angeles in 2012, the band repeated its success with the album “In Rolling Waves,” which reached No. 14 on the Billboard alternative chart in 2014. More recently the band released the album “Simple Forms” in 2016, after a hiatus from recording and performance that was attributed in part to a breakup between Xayalith and fellow band founder Thom Power, who contributes guitar and vocals. After their return, website Allmusic.com described “Simple Forms” as “a fittingly dark-hued effort rife with heartbreak, loss, and, ultimately, a sense of forgiveness.”

Keyboardist Aaron Short, bassist David Beadle and drummer Jesse Wood contribute to the band’s synth-pop sound.

>> Where: The Republik, 1349 Kapiolani Blvd. When: 8 p.m. Cost: $36-$41 Info: seetickets.us or 941-7469.

MONDAY

Pianist Wu Han, one of the more influential artists in classical music today, joins local musicians for an intriguing program ofchamber music.

At the keyboard, Wu, a native of Taiwan, has been praised for her “almost magically crisp touch and broad palette of tonecolors” by the Washington Post.

With her husband and duo partner, cellist David Finckel, Wu has been co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society ofLincoln Center in New York since 2004, more than doubling the number of performances given by the society during thattime. She and Finckel are co-founders of Music@Menlo, a Silicon Valley-based music festival that in just a few years hasbecome one of the top events of its kind. The duo also founded recording label ArtistLed. The Wall Street Journal has dubbedthem “the power couple of chamber music.”

Here, Wu will make music with members of Chamber Music Hawaii, getting a rare opportunity to perform with her brother, WuHung, a violinist with the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra. The program features Philippe Gaubert’s atmospheric trio “MedaillesAntiques”; Madeleine Dring’s spritely Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano; and Erno Dohnanyi’s passionate Piano Quintet in Cminor, Op. 1.

>> Where: Honolulu Museum of Art. When: 7:30 p.m. Cost: $35. Info: chambermusichawaii.org or 489-5038.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

New Shanghai Circus brings acrobatic feats to 3 islands

The New Shanghai Circus returns to Hawaii this week with spectacular shows on three islands, featuring 24 acrobats incolorful costumes who perform traditional and modern circus acts. They’ll juggle everything from hats to humans; balance onbicycles, poles and chairs; and demonstrate superhuman feats of strength.

The company is an offshoot of the Shanghai Magic Troupe, one of the most prominent and popular performing arts groups inChina. While the talent continues to be developed in China, the company itself has been based for several years in Branson,Mo., where it built its own theater. From Branson the group has toured around the country, playing a five-week stint onBroadway to sellout crowds.

In addition to four performances at the Blaisdell Concert Hall, the New Shanghai Circus appears today at the Kauai WarMemorial Stadium and Monday and Tuesday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Visit mauiarts.org for tickets to either venue.

>> Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall. When: 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.. Cost: $5-$37.50. Info: ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.