Casts for nine plays have been selected, and rehearsals are under way for Aloha Performing Arts Company’s 20th annual Original Play Festival, to be presented in staged reading format, with actors carrying scripts, at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu on Wednesday through Saturday, Aug. 14-17.
Wednesday, the festival opens with five plays in one evening. Gloria Blum is directing three comedies. The first is “Oh, No!”, a comedy by Susan Shafer, which features a cast of two men, Joel Gimpel and Alec Lugo. “Impostor,” by Mark Tjarks, is the second, also with a cast of two, Kerry Matsumoto and Mike Colson.
“Mrs. Chambers’ Used Car,” a comedy by Kitty Powell is the third, with a cast including Taryn Johnson, Alec Lugo, Ricky Delorey II, Mike Colson, and Barbara Masters. After an intermission, the evening will continue with two more comedies, directed by Roxanne Fox. “The Talented Tongue of Walter Lipinski,” by John Holliday, is first, and features actors Jan Rae, Joel Gimpel, and Dick Hershberger. “The Slip,” another comedy by Mark Tjarks, follows, with Mike Colson, Ricky Delorey II, Taryn Johnson, Stacey Nail-Canedy and Bert Toyama in the cast.
Thursday, a double bill is scheduled. First up is “Ask Pat,” a comedy by Dick Hershberger, directed by Miguel Montez. The cast includes Joel Michaelson, Bill Cottle, Kitty Powell, Stacey Nail-Canedy, Tiffany Kutsunai, and Kat Wilson. After intermission, Mark Tjarks’ comic mystery “It Had Been the Perfect Crime” takes the stage, under the direction of Roxanne Fox, with a cast featuring Kerry Matsumoto, David Merrin, Jill Randall, and John Holliday.
Friday night, “The Cupcake Conspiracy,” a madcap comedy by C.J. Ehrlich and Philip J. Kaplan will be presented, under the direction of Felicity Johnson. Her cast includes Bowen Ressler, Sue Boyum, Ashley Welton, Ricky Delorey II, Renee Monell, Miguel Montez, David Merrin, Savannah Harriman-Pote and Betty Clark.
The festival closes Saturday night with a local drama by Anthony Oliver, “In the Family Way,” directed by Sara Hagen. Cast members are Jeannie Kutsunai, Lara Printz, Ashley Welton, and Tiffany Kutsunai.
