HONOLULU: Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) has announced its 2017-18 season, featuring eight productions.
“This season we will journey to ancient China, re-examine the modern ohana, and explore underwater worlds,” said artistic director Eric Johnson in a statement. “What these stories of perseverance, ingenuity, empathy, and understanding have in common is that each play celebrates our most precious resource: each other.”
The season will start with The Ballad of Mu Lan (Aug. 25-Sept. 9), by Alvin Chan, a retelling of the ancient Chinese legend about Mu Lan who dresses up as a boy to take her father’s place in the army. The production will tour neighbor islands for public and school performances through November.
Next up will be TeAda Productions’s Masters of the Currents (Oct. 13-Oct.21), about the experience of assimilation into Hawaiian culture for people coming from the Micronesian sub-region of Oceania. Ova Saopeng and Leilani Chan will codirect.
Following will be Annie Cusick Wood’s Ouch! (Nov. 4 and Nov. 11), about BOO and HOO who set out on an adventure with their box of band-aids to fix all the ouches in the world.
The season will continue with Lee Cataluna’s Extraordinary Stories From an Ordinary Ohana (Nov. 24-Dec. 9), a contemporary exploration of family and community life on the islands of Hawaii.
Next will be Wood’s The Red Balloon (Jan. 12-27, 2018), based on the film by Albert Lamorisse, about a friendship between a boy and his balloon in 1950s Paris.
Next up will be Kinolau (Feb. 9-17, 2018), by Moses Goods, a storytelling event about Hawaiian gods who manifest themselves in the Earthly realms.
Following will be Little Big Eye (March 3-10, 2018), by Kathleen Doyle, an interactive theatrical experience about a little fish who adventures through the waters of Hawaii, complete with puppets, music, and mystery.
The season will conclude with Shocka: The Story of Energy and Hawaii (April 13-May 12, 2018), by the HTY company, a musical about the science, power, and cultural understanding of energy in Hawaii.
The Honolulu Theatre for Youth was founded in 1955, and provides theatre and drama education programs for young people.
