HONOLULU —Once Upon One Time, Lisa Matsumoto’s wildly popular pidgin musical fairytale, is onstage at Manoa Valley July 8 – 25.
Manoa Valley Theatre, by special arrangement with the playwright’s family, is delighted to present one of Lisa Matsumoto’s most popular musical plays. Unique to MVT’s production of Once Upon One Time will be intimate staging afforded by MVT’s 150-seat black box theatre, and the utilization of live music accompanying every performance.
Written by Matsumoto, Paul Palmore and Roslyn Catraccia, this Po‘okela Award-recognized musical comedy adapts and intertwines familiar fairy tales into a fun Hawaiian-kine fantasy for the whole family. The action takes place in a mythical local kingdom where outrageous characters meet for one crazy,kapakahi adventure. Characters include Noelani an da Six Menehunes (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Kekoa and Maile (Hansel and Gretel), Red Rose Haku (Little Red Riding Hood), Da Keed Who Wen Cry Mongoose (The Boy Who Cried Wolf), and many more.
Show times are Thur. 7:30 p.m., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sun. 4 p.m. Tickets are $35. Seniors and military are admitted for $30; youth 25 years old and under for $20. Call 988-6131 or purchase tickets online at manoavalleytheatre.com. Tickets are also available at all military ticket outlets.
Guest Director is Elitei Tatafu, Jr., Guest Music Director is Roslyn Catraccia; Guest Choreographer is Kat Jones.
The cast is: Michael Ng as Narrator 1; Jarod Bailon as Narrator 2; Pomai Lopez as Da Wicked Queen; Levi Oliveira as Da Prince; Lloyd Mundon as Da Oddah Prince; Kala‘au as Hunta; Tesia Worley as Noelani; Blaise Baldonado as Hauna; Chevy Martinez as Tantaran; Michael Pa‘ekukui as Step Mudder;Nicole Sandry as Lehua; Thomas Antonio Garcia as Juniah Boy; Jessica Kauhane as Red Rose Haku; Michelle Matias as Tutu/Fairy God Tutu; Daryl Bonilla as Da Mean Mongoose; Shawn Tomsen as Who; Chris Reil as Wat; Braddoc DeCaires as Wen; Allan J.N. Lau as Wea; Marvin Miyoshi as Why; Allan Okubo as How Come/Lolo; KoDee Martin as Kekoa; Leilyn Lui as Maile; and Ashley Weismantel as The Lost Princess.
Costumes are by Dusty Behner, set design is by MJ Matsushita, lighting design is by Janine Myers, sound design is by AJ Treigle, hair and makeup design is by Greg Howell, and props design is by Sara Ward.
Show Sponsors are AON Risk Services, Carolyn Berry, Farmers Insurance Hawaii and Kaiser Permanente. Season Sponsors are Richard Aadland Trust, Cades Schutte and The Cades Foundation, Commercial Data Systems, Hawaiian Airlines, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, ‘Iolani School, Island Television KITV and Oceanic Time Warner Cable.
This project is supported by funding through the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and through appropriations from the Hawaii State Legislature (and by the National Endowment for the Arts).
Manoa Valley Theatre is located at 2833 East Manoa Road. For more information, call MVT at 988-6131 or log on to www.manoavalleytheatre.com
Submitted by Aubrey Hawk, APR