Honolulu Theatre For Youth Reveals 71st Season

Honolulu Theatre for Youth has announced its 71st season with nine (9) productions slated for the 2025-2026 season. The company, founded in 1955, celebrates 71 years of serving Hawaiʻiʻs young people and families through producing professional theatre and drama education programs. HTY has commissioned and premiered more than three hundred new works for the stage, produced an Emmy award-winning television series, and was the recipient of the Childrenʻs Theatre Foundation of Americaʻs Orlin Corey Medallion, the highest honor in the field, in 2022.

HTY continues its commitment to create stories celebrating Hawaiʻiʻs many communities for its 71st season titled: Stories from Hawaiʻi and Beyond. The new season will also look beyond Hawaiʻi with stories from around the globe and even outer space. Audiences will enjoy four world premieres of new work, a selection of HTY returning favorites, and an offering about African elephants from acclaimed Sesame Street writers and puppeteers. The company will also continue its current trend of statewide and national touring.

“An important part of growing up “local” is being surrounded by the beauty and complexity of the many cultures that make up our community here in Hawaiʻi. This in turn, ignites curiosity and aloha for people and places beyond our shores. This season celebrates stories from this place and invites us to look beyond as far as our imaginations can take us, from outer space to the plains of Africa,” shares Eric Johnson, HTY Artistic Director.

The season kicks off with the world premiere of Tales of the Sun and Moon by Reiko Ho and the HTY Ensemble, featuring myths and legends from Hawaiʻi and cultures around the world. Next, Line Circle Sphere by Danica Rosengren and the HTY Ensemble will delight the youngest audience members in an interactive exploration of art in collaboration with Capitol Modern: The Hawaiʻi State Art Museum. In November, the company will premiere Uncle's (Mostly True) Stories of the Philippines by long-time company member Hermenigildo “Junior” Tesoro and the HTY Ensemble, celebrating the amazing history and peoples of the Philippines.

The company will start 2026 with a special production, Annika's Elephants by Annie Evans, which will be helmed by Sesame Street veteran and native Hawaiian puppeteer, Pam Arciero. The play tells the story a young Kenyan girl who befriends a baby elephant and educates on the present-day plight of Africa's elephants. In February and March, HTY will bring back Joseph Kekuku and the Voice of the Steel Guitar by Moses Goods in collaboration with the Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings, as well Pā Ka Makani by Lokomaikaʻi Lipscomb, Hanalei Marques Marzan, and Annie Cusick Wood. Both offerings are centered around Native Hawaiian stories and are designed for older children and families.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Choreography - Top 3

1. Lauren Yalango-Grant, Christopher Cree Grant - The Lost Boys

22.9% of votes

2. Christopher Gattelli - Schmigadoon!

19.1% of votes

3. Omari Wiles, Arturo Lyons - CATS: The Jellicle Ball

17.6% of votes

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