Do It: Evolve Theatre, Rise Against, Lee Ritenour

FRIDAY-FEB. 25

>> Drama troupe launches with the play ‘Intimate Apparel’

Evolve Theatre Company, a new drama troupe, launches its debut with “Intimate Apparel,” a 2003 play from Lynn Nottage, the first female playwright to win two Pulitzer Prizes for her works, 2009’s “Ruined,” and 2017’s “Sweat.”

The adult-themed play tells the story of Esther, a black seamstress in New York who sews lingerie for clients ranging from wealthy white women to prostitutes but hopes to open a salon where blacks and whites are served equally. She is looking for ahusband and is attracted to the owner of the store where she buys fabrics, but that romance is forbidden because he is Jewish. She begins to exchange letters with a man in the Caribbean who shows up in New York.

Director Troy Apostal said there is a risque element to the story. “It has a lot of raw emotion in it,” he said. “There’s a lot of great sensuality but also hot sexuality. It has this nice genteel period-piece moments, but on the other side it’s very touch-and-feel.”

The cast includes Shervelle Bergholz, Allison Paynter, Curtis Duncan, Lurana O’Malley, Jeanne Wynne Herring and Tom Smith.

Evolve Theatre will be devoted to stories of minorities and the LGBTQ community, particularly those with a female focus, Apostal said.

The company will be “scrappy and gritty and in your face, because that kind of theater doesn’t get a lot of stage time here,” he said. “We want the stuff that’s a little dangerous, a little risque.”

SATURDAY

>> Event honors Hawaii’s first Christian convert

Two hundred years ago this weekend, a young Hawaiian known as Henry Obookiah died of typhus fever in Connecticut. Obookiah — his name is now spelled ‘Opukaha‘ia — is considered to be Hawaii’s first Christian, having been raised in the indigenous religion of Hawaii but converting to Christianity in New England.

‘Opukaha‘ia began translating the Bible into Hawaiian and creating a written form of the Hawaiian language, hoping to return himself to the islands and spread the word. After his death, his story inspired the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to send a first company of missionaries to the islands.

The Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives celebrates ‘Opukaha‘ia’s life on Saturday with a full day of special events, starting at 10 a.m. with a commemorative service in Kawaiaha‘o Church, followed by a program at 11:30 a.m. on mission grounds, with acclaimed actor Moses Goods portraying ‘Opukaha‘ia. Other guests include Christopher Cook, author of a recent biography of ‘Opukaha‘ia, and Kauanoe Hoomanawanui, who is related to ‘Opukaha‘ia.

‘Opukaha‘ia will be honored at 6 p.m. Saturday at Kalihi Union Church, 2214 N. King St., where a hana hou production of the Randy Hongo musical drama “Glory in His Soul” opens, with additional performances through Feb. 25. Visit kalihiunion.org or 391-7735 for information.

— John Berger, Star-Advertiser

THURSDAY

>> Rise Against brings the rock to The Republik

Times being what they are, punk rockers Rise Against will likely have a lot to say during a visit to The Republik on Thursday.

Politics and social commentary have long been themes in the band’s music, with tunes like “401 Kill” from their 2001 debut album, “The Unraveling,” questioning the futility of the 9-to-5 worker; and anti-war anthem “Blood-Red, White & Blue,” from theirsecond album, “Revolutions Per Minute.”

Not surprisingly, then, their most recent album “Rise Against Wolves,” released in June, has a decidedly political angle, with songs like “Welcome to the Breakdown,” which opens with the line “All hail, the jester has landed.”

The album was recorded during the presidential election campaign in Nashville, Tenn., a largely pro-Trump city, a sharp contrast from the progressive politics of Chicago, where the group started in 1999. Frontman Tim McIlrath said that was a good thing:“We put ourselves in a place where it’s like, ‘Wearing this T-shirt might cause people to want to fight me,’ or ‘Saying this out loud puts me a little more at risk,’” he told altpress.com.

McIlrath also sounded a note of hope in the interview, which is also a theme in their songs. “I think it’s really good for anybody to see both sides of the fence and spend time in a place that is hurting — and helping to create the narrative of the country youlive in,” he said.

In addition to McIlrath, the band includes guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes.

THURSDAY-FEB. 25

>> Lee Ritenour brings years of guitar-playing experience

Grammy winner Lee Ritenour brings his nearly 50 years of virtuosic, smooth guitar playing back to Blue Note Hawaii for a gig next week.

Ritenour is a prolific and versatile recording artist who’s played on more than 3,000 sessions, beginning with the Mamas and the Papas in the late 1960s. His flawless, precise technique, refined as a teenager under the tutelage of jazz great Joe Pass, led to him getting the nickname “Captain Fingers,” which he subsequently used for both album and song titles.

Subsequently, Ritenour recorded with a diverse range of artists including Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, B.B. King, Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. He was a founding member of Fourplay, which in the early 1990s was arguably the top contemporary/fusion band of the day, and has played classical — he studied with classical guitar virtuoso Christopher Parkening in college — as well as Brazilian, rock and funk over the years.

Ritenour has recorded 40 albums of his own, starting with his debut album, “First Course,” in 1976, earning 17 Grammy nominations and winning one for best arrangement of an instrumental for “Early A.M. Attitude” from the 1986 album “Harlequin,” with pianist Dave Grusin, a frequent collaborator. Ritenour also has had more than 30 of his compositions hit the Billboard charts, with his 1981 pop-disco song “Is It You” his best-known tune.