The 46th annual “Shakespeare in the Park” event is back this month and includes a kids’ performance beginning this weekend.
The Hilo Community Players are presenting “Much Ado About Nothing” for this year’s “Shakespeare in the Park.” The show is a comedy set in California in the mid-1930s and follows the same plot as the original play.
Audiences will laugh as they follow the bickering of Beatrice, played by Justine Thompson, and Benedick, played by Theon Weber, along with the rollercoaster romance of Hero, played by Erin Healani Chung, and Claudio, played by Eshan Singh, and the doggedness of Madame Dogberry, played by Angie Nakamura.
This year’s cast is filled with veteran performers and new faces. Among the cast are John Kooistra, Saul Rollason, Ray Ryan, Danny Randerson, Bruce Mirken, Wilfred Gee, Angie Roiniotis and many others.
While the original play is set in Shakespearian times, the plot has a timeless narrative about how trickery and deceit can affect two different, but connected love stories. The language from the original also will remain the same.
Jennifer Brahms Gardham is directing the full-length performances, and music direction is by Wendell Ing.
Each performance will feature live jazz music by The Loose Fedoras, which is comprised of Ing, Trever Veilleux and Gonzo.
“Much Ado About Nothing” will be staged the next two weekends in Hilo on the lawn at the UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center. The performances are at 7:30 p.m. this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and again on Friday, July 14, through Sunday, July 16.
The play also will be performed in Honokaa at the Honokaa Sports Complex for one weekend only, with each performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. from Friday, July 21, through Sunday, July 23.
“We’re really proud of what we did during the pandemic, shifting to the drive-in style show, but we are thrilled to be back to an in-person presentation,” said Hilo Community Players Executive Director Rachel Klein. “We are so fortunate that UH-Hilo PAC has been able to sponsor the festival.”
This year’s “Kid-Shakes” version is called “Ho Ka Hu: No Ack!” and was written by UH-Hilo professor Justina Mattos. The script will be premiering for the first time in this 10th annual “Kid-Shakes” presentation.
The show is a shorter, more modern version of “Much Ado About Nothing” and follows a group of teens from the fictitious Welina High as they discover how gossip can make or break relationships.
The play will star first-timers Jeffery Kaleihiwa Pouha and Pikake Thomas as the contentious couple Ben Edrick and Beatrice “the Bee” Natto while they try their best to deny their feelings as their friends conspire to unite them.
Seasoned actors Rayaan Genz and Aliya Sumera return to the stage as Claude Iyo and U‘i Natto, who fall prey to vicious rumors.
The “Kid-Shakes” version is directed by Kate Curtis and Alya-Joy Kanehailua, who have worked with the cast and crew from all over the east side of Hawaii to bring Mattos’ original script to the stage.
“Ho Ka Hu: No Ack!” will run for two weekends at the UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center, with shows beginning at 4:30 p.m. this Friday through Sunday, and again on Friday, July 14 through Sunday, July 16.
The performances will be before the full-length adult version each night. Both will have free admission, but donations are accepted and appreciated.
Concessions are available, but audiences must bring their own seating arrangements, like chairs and blankets.
For more information, visit hiloplayers.org.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
