HAWAII THEATER REVIEWS

Two Nails, One Love is a show about how our stories shape who we are, and how we far more in common with our family than we sometimes believe....

Dial M will appeal will appeal to both new audiences as well as traditionalists who are fans of the 1954 film. Don’t open the door. Don’t answer the phone....

Though the production overall was a bit hit-or-miss for me, I was nonetheless impressed by the design and some stand-out performances, and am genuinely delighted that this show, one of my personal favorites of the Century Cycle, gets to live again on the TAG stage....

The Windy City has swept onto Oʻahu in a whirl of sequins, feathers, and enough razzle dazzle to power Honolulu City Lights!...

What did our critic think of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT at Mānoa Valley Theatre?...

I attended the opening weekend of the world premier of Higher! Higher!, a new musical written by a brand-new arrival to the theatre scene, Nobel-nominated academic luminary and ethics expert Professor Tom Cooper....

Closing out Diamond Head Theatre’s 2024-2025 season, The SpongeBob Musical builds on the momentum of a season of impressive productions like Master Class and Man of La Mancha to a fin-tastic finale filled with knockout production value, notable performances, and nautical nonsense (naturally). ...

It is beautifully poetic that this show, based on the true stories of the 7,000 people from all over the world who were grounded in the small Newfoundland town of Gander on September 11, 2001, should have its community theatre debut in Wailuku, Maui, a stone’s throw from Lahaina. What could be mor...

Whether you’re a diehard Sondheim superfan or brand-new to the Sondheim universe, as the opening number itself states, there is certainly “something for everyone” at Side by Side by Sondheim....

This is a show that needs to be seen to be believed—which you’ll have to do pretty quickly, as the only shows left are Wednesday-Sunday of this week, closing on July 20....

Now, when Bryce Chaddick brings Man of La Mancha to Diamond Head Theatre in 2025, it is in the midst of an alarming rise of fascism and authoritarianism both at home and abroad, and the threat that artists and dreaming impossible dreams poses to those power structures is constantly in the headlines....

A perfect night out for AANHPI Month, now extended through June 8. Kim's Convenience is a particularly good choice of show to offer during AANHPI Month,...

The curtain rises on Tina Turner (Jayna Elise) in her iconic red leather minidress and lioness mane about to ascend a set of stairs to a stadium of eager fans. She panics, steps back down the stairs, sits cross-legged on the floor, and begins chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, a Buddhist chant invoking i...

“Bring tissues,” said absolutely everyone when I told them I was seeing Parade at Mānoa Valley Theatre. I waved off their warnings, as I was already familiar with the show, as well as the true story of the contentious 1913 trial of Leo Frank on which the show is based. My hubris, however, was n...

E ola ka lāhui!...

What did our critic think of GREASE at Diamond Head Theatre? Leave 2025 behind, put your gladrags on, and lace up your saddle shoes, because Grease has arrived at Diamond Head Theatre, and tonight everybody's gonna party like it’s 1959!...

RENT is as relevant as ever, and UHM did it justice....

A bright new addition has set up “shop” at Kumu Kahua: The Improv Superette, the newest improv group on O’ahu, featuring a large cast of talented Poly improvisers playing classic improv games, served with two scoops of local flavor....

There is magic afoot at Diamond Head Theatre with the Tony-winning American classic Master Class, penned by the late great Terrence McNally. With beautiful set design (and cameos!) by Randy Tandal, deft direction by Bryce Chaddick, and an incomparable performance by leading lady Amy K. Sullivan, thi...

Released in 1954, ten years after D-Day, the movie White Christmas was a bonafide blockbuster. It was the first Paramount movie shot in the widescreen VistaVision format, and featured rich and vivid Technicolor, which the costumers and set designers used to their full advantage. ...

Local stories are always in style....

Gods and mortals, stories and songs, sea and sand--all make a splash at Mānoa Valley Theatre!...

Moses Goods’ “superhero origin story” Lovey Lee finally comes back home to Kumu Kahua Theatre four years after its digital premier over Zoom in 2020. Based on the true story of māhū icon Kealoha “Lovey Lee” Kelekolio, the show paints an intricate, beautiful, and often heartbreaking portr...

Diamond Head Theatre casts an icy spell over the heat of Hawaii’s kauwela with its 2023-2024 season closer of Disney’s Frozen, a “monster” of a show and a tremendous get for the Hawai’i theatre scene. This is by far one of the biggest undertakings artistically and technically in recent DHT...

This show is doing the most! The first of three offerings for the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival runs now through July 22....