Acts of survival | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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COURTESY TAG
New theater seasons have been announced. Sam Polson will take the stage as Elwood P. Dowd in The Actors' Group's production of "Harvey," showing Aug. 26 to Sept. 18 at Dole Cannery Square.

Hawaii’s theater groups have suffered along with most everyone else from the last three years of economic turmoil. Balancing the books by substantially raising ticket prices is not an option, as it is for many businesses, so most theater groups are holding costs in check where possible while also giving audiences maximum bang for their hard-earned buck.

"People are wanting more for their entertainment dollar, and so we’re trying to put it on stage as much as possible," said John Rampage, artistic director of Diamond Head Theatre, the oldest and biggest theater group in Hawaii. "We’re doing bigger shows. … It can be harder for us to do those bigger shows, but if that’s what’s going to fill the theater, that’s what we’re going to do."

DHT is not alone in going for big. Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College is spending more than $200,000 on its upcoming production of "Phantom of the Opera" and using set pieces that were left here by a national touring company production, including a globe, an elephant and the iconic chandelier. "Phantom" opens Sept. 9, three weeks before the Hawaii premiere of another Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, "Sunset Boulevard," at DHT.

Hawaii’s smaller theater groups are also managing to survive, but with different strategies. Fears that cuts in government grants would force Kumu Kahua to shut down during the 2010-2011 season were allayed with a resolute move into conventional private-sector fundraising.

The Actors’ Group is also increasing its fundraising activities.

"TAG has always operated on a budget derived from small donations and ticket sales," said artistic director Brad Powell. "We seem to be doing fairly well, but the economy has hit us in that we are not growing as we did in the last few years. We are even more aware that we live from production to production, and that is a little bit scary for us. As with all the theaters in town, TAG is trying to get more sponsors, but this is hard."

He added that TAG is keeping production costs down by doing original plays and other pieces that do not incur royalties.

"That is why I have been translating the works of Ibsen.

Kumu Kahua and Honolulu Theatre for Youth are already there. HTY is presenting a full season of new locally written works. Kumu Kahua’s schedule includes premieres of three locally written plays and a hana hou production of a fourth.

Rampage says name recognition is important.

"I think that has made a big difference for us. We’ve also been very fortunate in getting Hawaii premieres — shows like ‘Hairspray’ — and I think we’ve reached the point where our audience will trust us that it will be a good show even if they haven’t heard of it."

Economic issues aside, Powell said cautiously that audiences seem to be holding steady.

"Moving to Dole (Cannery) did have a slight impact, but now that people are finding us, I believe we are seeing a little growth in attendance. It really depends on the play, of course. TAG will always try to do the ‘risky’ shows … and most of our productions do pretty well."

THEATER SCHEDULE

DIAMOND HEAD THEATRE

520 Makapuu Ave.

Tickets: $12-$42

Info: 733-0274, www.diamondheadtheatre.com

"Sunset Boulevard" — Faded film star Norma Desmond meets a young screenwriter and sees in him her chance for a comeback. Sept. 30-Oct. 16.

"Cinderella" — Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical version of the universally known fairy tale. Dec. 2-18.

"The Butler Did It" — A playwright writes a mystery in which all the characters are named Butler. Feb. 3-19.

"Titanic The Musical" — Maury Yeston’s Tony Award-winning musical about the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. The closing weekend marks the centennial of the tragedy. March 30-April 15.

"Xanadu" — A musical comedy based on the 1980 disco-era film. June 1-17.

"Singin’ in the Rain" — The perennially popular musical version of the classic 1952 film about silent film actors facing the transition to the "talkies." July 20-Aug. 5.

HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

45-045 Kamehameha Hwy.

Tickets: $25 ($15 students, seniors, miliary; $5 HPU students; Thursday discounts)

Info: 375-1282, www.hpu.edu/CHSS/Arts_Humanities/index.html

"The House of Blue Leaves" — John Guare’s slice-of-life look at quirky New Yorkers on the day Pope Paul VI visited the city in 1965. Nov. 4-Dec. 4.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" — Oscar Wilde’s timeless, sophisticated attack on late-Victorian society is new again thanks to a Broadway revival. April 6-May 6.

HONOLULU THEATRE FOR YOUTH

Tenney Theatre, The Cathedral of St. Andrew, corner of Beretania and Alakea streets

Tickets: $20 ($15 seniors; $10 youth)

Info: 839-9885, www.htyweb.org

"Anime Momotaro" — An original staging of Japan’s most famous folktale staged as anime, rewritten to address contemporary concerns. Aug. 26-Oct. 1.

"Poetry Fever" — From local culture to school lunch, literary flare and humor from 10 years of exceptional writing by Hawaii students. Oct. 14-Nov. 5.

"Tasi’s Gift: The Tale of a Samoan Bowl" — A girl learns to carve traditional Samoan bowls from her grandfather and learns the value of giving. Nov. 25-Dec. 17.

"The Lion Dancer" — A boy’s love-hate relationship with his heritage and his eccentric and demanding father explores friendship, bullying and courage. Jan. 20-Feb. 18.

"blue" — Blue is happy in his blue world. Then other colors come into his life. March 3-17.

"May Day is Lei Day!" — An interactive celebration of one of Hawaii’s most popular traditions. March 30-May 12.

KUMU KAHUA

46 Merchant St.

Tickets: $20 ($16 Thursdays, other discounts available)

Info: 536-4441, www.kumukahua.org

"Cane Fields Burning" — A new play by Kemuel DeMoville. Ghosts, demons and dark memories haunt Hawaii’s plantation fields in this tale of a curse passed down through the generations. Sept. 8-Oct. 9.

"A Jivebomber’s Christmas" — A Kumu Kahua premiere by Sachiko and Dom Magwili. Christmas, 1943, and Japanese-Americans are detained in internment camps. A group of kids, raised on jazz and jive, social clubs and swing dancing, raise the camp’s spirits. Nov. 10-Dec. 11.

"Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre" — A new play by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. Young women on the brink of adulthood explore sexual awakening, family abuse, peer pressure and identity. Jan. 26-Feb. 26.

"Wilcox’s Shot" — A new play by Sean T.C. O’Malley. Robert Kalanihiapo Wilcox, revolutionary turned politician, arrives in Washington and confronts some of the most famous names of the era. March 29-April 29.

"Kamau A’e" — A Kumu Kahua revival by Alani Apio. Fresh out of prison, Michael Kawaipono Mahekona joins a group of activists as the group splinters over whether to stand firm or compromise. May 31-July 1.

MANOA VALLEY THEATRE

2833 E. Manoa Road

Tickets: $30 ($25 seniors, military; $15 ages 25 and younger)

Info: 988-6131, www.manoavalleytheatre.com

"The 39 Steps" — A comic treatment of the classic 1915 English spy mystery with a cast of four playing more than 150 characters. Sept. 8-25.

"Little Shop of Horrors" — The ever-popular Off-Broadway musical spoof of ’50s sci-fi and teen flicks. Oct. 27-Nov. 13.

"God of Carnage" — Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning look at what happens when a child hurts another child and parents meet to discuss the incident. Jan. 12-29.

"Spring Awakening" — A rock-musical adaptation of a controversial German play about teens discovering "the inner and outer tumult of sexuality." — March 8-25.

"Dividing the Estate" — Three wealthy malcontents ponder the possible financial benefits of dividing their mother’s estate while she is still alive. May 10-27.

"Honk!" — The popular musical version of Hans Christian Anderson’s classic fairy tale, "The Ugly Duckling." June 28-July 15.

PALIKU THEATRE

Windward Community

College; 45-720 Keaahala Road

Tickets: $30-$49

Info: 235-7310, www.windward.hawaii.edu/paliku

"Phantom of the Opera" — The ever-popular story of a talented young woman and the psychopathic genius who falls in love with her. Sept. 9-Oct. 2.

THE ACTORS’ GROUP (TAG)

650 Iwilei Road, Suite 101

Tickets: $20 ($12 Thursdays; other discounts available)

Info: 722-6941, www.TAGHawaii.net

"Harvey" — A wealthy and gentle man who pals around with an invisible friend. Aug. 26-Sept. 18.

"The Futrelle-ogy" — Three comedies about life in Texas: "Dearly Beloved," "Christmas Belles" and "Southern Hospitality" will be presented "in repertory." Call TAG if you care about which one you see. Nov. 4-Dec. 4.

"Seven Guitars" — August Wilson explores African-Americans in the 1940s and the troubled times of blues singer Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton. Jan. 27-Feb. 19.

"The Inspector General" — Nikolai Gogol’s satirical look at greed, stupidity and government corruption, as timely now as it was in 1836. March 30-April 22.

"A Doll’s House" — A new translation of Ibsen’s once-controversial critique of 19th-century society. June 1-24.

UH-MANOA KENNEDY THEATRE

Info: 944-2697, www.hawaii.edu/kennedy

Kennedy Mainstage

Tickets: $22 ($20 seniors, military, UH faculty/staff; $12 students; $5 UHM students)

"Oklahoma!" — Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Broadway blockbuster about ranchers and farmers, in collaboration with the UHM Music Department. Nov. 4-20.

"The Genteel Sabai" — A daughter seeks revenge for the murder of her father in this traditional Indonesian Randai drama adapted by Musra Dahrizal. Feb. 3-12.

Earle Ernst Lab Theatre: PrimeTime

Tickets: $15 ($14 seniors, military, UH faculty/staff; $12 students; $5 UHM students)

"Bug" — A divorced waitress and a soft-spoken Gulf War drifter can’t hide from a hidden infestation that adds to their precarious mental states. For mature audiences. Sept. 14-18.

"Reasons to be Pretty" — Obsession with physical beauty is confronted when four working-class friends become dissatisfied with their dead-end lives. March 14-18.

Earle Ernst Lab Theatre: Late Night

Tickets: Available only at the door; $10 ($8 seniors, military, UH faculty/staff, students; $5 UHM students)

"Stop Kiss" — A first kiss between Callie and Sara provokes an attack that transforms their lives in a way they could never anticipate. For mature audiences. Sept. 23-Oct. 1.

"Hot ‘n’ Throbbing" — The story of a woman who writes feminist erotica, her teenage son and daughter, and the estranged husband who comes to call. For mature audiences. Nov. 4-12.