55th Season

ABOUT

Marcia is a fiercely devoted but meddlesome mother who goes to extreme lengths to control her daughter’s love life, determined to steer her away from bad relationships and into the arms of the “perfect” partner. Julia, a sweet but independent young woman with a history of poor choices in men, struggles to establish boundaries as Marcia hatches a series of increasingly outrageous schemes to “fix'“ Julia’s love life—culminating in a boyfriend’s disastrous allergy attack. As tensions rise and their bond fractures, Marcia is forced to confront her own fears and learn to let go, to avoid losing her daughter entirely.

PERFORMANCE DATES

Thursdays / Fridays / Saturdays at 7 p.m. HST
August 28, 29, 31, September 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26, 28

Sundays at 2 p.m. HST
August 30 & September 6, 13, 20, 27

ABOUT

In 1873 the Victorian travel-writer Isabella Bird visits Hilo, Hawai‘i. She throws herself into the local community with enthusiasm and occasional blunders. At the same time, the new King of Hawai‘i, Lunalilo, coincidentally stops in Hilo on his inaugural tour through the Islands. Miss Isabella Bird and Lunalilo meet at a party given in his honor by the local sheriff and his wife. These two unusual people get to know each other in ways that challenge and surprise them both. This is a play about changes — give and take — occurring on a Hilo lāna‘i but with reverberations that may echo throughout all of Hawai‘i and the whole 19th century world — as well as within the warm confines of the human heart.

PERFORMANCE DATES

Thursdays / Fridays / Saturdays at 7 p.m. HST
November 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29, December 4, 5, 6

(There is also a 2 p.m. show on Sat, November 29)

Sundays at 2 p.m. HST
November 9, 16, 23, 30 & December 7

(No show November 27 for Thanksgiving)

ABOUT

Ethan Taniguchi is a recently single gay man living in New York City when his estranged mother from Hawai‘i pays an unexpected visit, forcing him to confront their complicated relationship. “Anxious Ethan” is the Pidgin-speaking voice of self-doubt that haunts Ethan as he and his mother unravel painful family history: her incarceration during World War II and subsequent deportation to Japan as part of a little-known hostage exchange in which the United States traded its own citizens for whiter Americans held abroad. Will Ethan finally be able to understand the woman who is his mother, and will she be able to understand him in return?

PERFORMANCE DATES

Thursdays / Fridays / Saturdays at 7 p.m. HST
January 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31, February 5, 6, 7, 12,13, 14, 19, 20, 21

(There is also a 2 p.m. show on Sat, February 7)

Sundays at 2 p.m. HST
January 25 & February 1, 15, 22

(No show February 8 for the Super Bowl)

ABOUT

A Hansen’s Disease survivor begins to lose his grip on reality as he mourns the death of his wife, while struggling to provide for his three children in an environment of economic dearth, educational lack, and sexual predation. The eldest child, Ivah, is offered a lifeline when a compassionate teacher helps her apply to a private boarding school. Learning that she has been accepted, Ivah must decide whether staying, or leaving, will best allow her to care for her father and siblings.

PERFORMANCE DATES

Thursdays / Fridays / Saturdays at 7 p.m. HST
March 26, 27, 28 April 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

(There is also a 2 p.m. show on Sat, April 4)

Sundays at 2 p.m. HST
March 29 & April 12, 19, 26

(No show April 5 for Easter)

ABOUT

Joni knows that Alzheimer’s Disease runs in her family and she fears it will take hold of her mother, and herself. To counteract this, she collects “memory beads” — her family’s immigration story from Okinawa, anecdotes her mother shares about growing up in Hilo, histories unearthed in a family genealogy, and narratives of her own journey toward self-acceptance and empowerment. Collectively, we see that the relationships between mothers and daughters through five generations are the cords that tie these “memory beads” together.

PERFORMANCE DATES

Thursdays / Fridays / Saturdays at 7 p.m. HST
May 28, 29, 30, June 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27

Sundays at 2 p.m. HST
May 31, June 7, 14, 21, 28