Kuma Kahua Theatre to Close After 40 Years

Kumu Kahua Theatre will hold a press conference on Tuesday, December 21 at 10 AM at its 46 Merchant Street theatre to announce Kumu Kahua's possible closing at the end of February 2011.
For most of its 40-year history, Kumu Kahua Theatre has told Hawai'i's story through theater, offering talented local playwrights and actors a crucial venue for their craft, and giving the Hawai'i community new perspectives on its island home. Many of its productions have become statewide touchstones, such as the hits Folks You Meet at Longs by Lee Cataluna and Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers by Lois Ann Yamanaka.
 
"Whenever I talk to someone who comes to Kumu for the first time, they inevitably tell me, 'Oh that actress was just like my aunt.' Or they mention that they never knew that happened here in Hawai'i," says Kumu Kahua Artistic Director Harry Wong. "It would be great loss for the community if there was no place they could go to hear and see the people of Hawai'i represented."
 
Like most arts organizations, Kumu Kahua's difficulties started in 2009, after the nationwide financial crisis struck. The State Legislature drastically cut its State Foundation on Culture and the Arts grant and this year, its grant was cut and additional 60 percent.
 
The theater has initiated a slew of cost-cutting measures and raised its ticket prices for the first time in 10 years, yet the severe reduction in funding could force the theatre to close its doors in February.
 
Speaking at the press conference will be Kumu Kahua Artistic Director Harry Wong, Kumu Kahua Board President Jason Kanda, Board Vice President Dr. Katherine Aumer and co-founder Dennis Carroll.
 
Kumu Kahua productions are supported by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, celebrating more than 30 years of culture and the arts in Hawai'i with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts; the Annenberg Foundation; the Hawai'i State Legislature; the taxpayers of the City & County of Honolulu; the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts; and foundations, businesses and patrons. 

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