Do It: ‘Nora,’ Amy Hanaiali‘i, PlayBuilders Fest, Primus

FRIDAY-APRIL 22

>> UH-Manoa adaptation of drama is set in modern times

Secret deals, unforeseen calamities, and family relations will be played out this week as the University of Hawaii Theater and Dance Department present “Nora,” an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece “A Doll House.”

“A Doll House,” a psychological drama that tells the story of a woman whose criminal, but sincere efforts to help her ailing husband put her in a bind, is a standard in the theater world. Ingmar Bergman, the internationally renowned Swedish filmmaker, was also an accomplished stage director. He adapted it in 1981, cutting out secondary characters to focus on the main character, Nora, and delving deeper into her pysche than the original.

In its day, “A Doll House” was considered scandalous for its suggestion that marriage should be between equal partners and that a woman was as worthy of self-fulfillment as a man. Given current issues such as those raised by the #MeToo movement, gender income equity and the impact of illness on a families, the story told in “Nora” is “more relevant to our world than ever before,” said director Stacy Ray, a theater professor at UH, in a statement.

“This is not about who is good and who is evil. It is about people being people who make mistakes,” said Ray, who used pop tunes from Gwen Stefani and Cardi B in her production to emphasize the currency of the story.

Christine Lamborn portrays the lead character. Other actors include Tyler Haugen as Nora’s husband Torvald, Emily Steward as Nora’s friend Christine, and Donovan Oakleaf as Krogstad, a lawyer who knows Nora’s secret.

SATURDAY

>> Twilight Concert returns to serenade you by the shore

It will be songs by the seashore on Saturday when Sea Life Park launches its third annual Twilight Concert Series.

The series lets visitors enjoy the music of some of Hawaii’s top artists in style, with performances at twilight on a stage with spectacular Makapuu Beach in the background.

Opening the series will be a program featuring Amy Hanaiali‘i Gilliom, known for her traditional Hawaiian falsetto, Kalapana, the quartet whose debut album in 1975 is considered a landmark in the Hawaiian renaissance, Kalani Pe‘a, who won 2016 Grammy Award for Best Roots Regional Album with his debut album “E Walea” and Danny Couch, whose soft-pop hit “These Islands” was sung during the 1998 Miss Universe pageant and was used to promote tourism in Hawaii.

Visitors can go to the concert only, or get a VIP ticket that includes a half-day visit to the park, starting at noon. Many of the park’s favorite attractions, including the Dolphin Lagoon Show, Shark Cave Feeding and Kolohe Kai Sea Lion Show, take place in the afternoon. The VIP ticket also gives ticketholders first chance at prime seating.

The series continues May 12 with Kupaoa, Raiatea Helm, Makaha Sons and Anuhea; and a June 9 concert with Nathan Aweau, Waipuna, Na Leo Pilimehana and Kimié Miner.

SUNDAY-TUESDAY

>> Hawaii-based tales told at PlayBuilders Festival

The PlayBuilders Festival returns to Kumu Kahua Theatre this week with eight new plays, with stories ranging from Hawaii-based tales to national and even international dramas.

“All of the plays are good, and they’re very diverse,” said Terri Madden of PlayBuilders.

Several plays are taken from historical events, including “Children of Isfahan” by University of Hawaii grad student Maseeh Ganjali, presented on Monday. “He is from Tehran, and the play is about Armenian immigrants who lived in Iran in around 1624,” Madden said. “It’s very interesting, very kind of folkish story.”

“Small Town Lawyer,” by Anthony Pignataro, is about Richard Nixon before he got into politics, Madden said. “Stonewall Stories” by Carol Polcovar, is about people who participated in the Stonewall uprising in 1969 in New York, an historic moment for the LGBT community.

The plays will be presented as rehearsed readings, without costuming or sets.

“The audiences really enjoy hearing and just focusing on the words of the play,” Madden said, adding that several plays from previous festivals have made it to local theaters as fully staged productions.

“Shipment Day,” a play from the 2016 festival about a woman who contracted Hansen’s disease, will be staged by Manoa Valley Theatre in the upcoming season.

This year’s lineup:

>> Sunday: “Soul Survivor” by Daniel A. Kelin, II; “Universal Monsters” by Robert St. John

>> Monday: “Children of Isfahan”; “A Hip Hop Retelling of ‘Opukaha‘ia’” by Marion Lyman Mersereau; “Stonewall Stories”

>> Tuesday: “Pathways” by Neal Milner; “Small Town Lawyer”; “The New Client” by Paul J. Donnelly

THURSDAY

>> Les Claypool-led alternative punk band rocks the stage

Primus, the alternative punk/metal/thrash band once described as “quite possibly the strangest top-10 band ever,” comes to The Republik on Thursday.

Led by bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, Primus emerged in the 1980s, and rose from underground favorite in San Francisco to landing the album “Pork Soda” in the Billboard Top 10 in 1993. “Pork Soda” and 1991 album “Sailing the Seas of Cheese” went platinum. Primus wound up touring with groups like U2, Jane’s Addiction and Public Enemy, and headlined the 1993 Lollapalooza festival.

Claypool’s heavy riffs, played mostly on guitar but sometimes bowed on a doublebass, provided the group’s distinctive sound, with his lyrics providing a cynically humorous commentary on life.

“Their music is willfully weird and experimental, yet it’s not alienating,” said Allmusic.com. The band is also known for wearing masks on stage.

Primus’ latest album is “The DeSaturating Seven,” inspired by the children’s book “The Rainbow Goblins” and the first since the mid-1990s to feature Larry LaLonde (guitar/vocals) and Tim Alexander (drums, vocals). With Claypool, they have been with the group the longest.

“It’s a story about gluttonous individuals sucking the colors out of the world,” said Claypool, announcing the album. “The overuse of resources by the greedy elite, and how the meek masses can overcome them in the end by unifying.”