Run like greased lightning to get your tickets for Maui OnStage’s “Grease”

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Performances run February 24 through March 11; Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm / Sundays at 3pm;  Iao Theater (68 N. Market St., Wailuku); $15/$22/$40

Guest directed and choreographed by Brian Swasey from New York, and produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

“Grease” book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.

Tickets available at If The Shoe Fits (Wailuku) and Lava Java (Kihei) or through the Maui OnStage box office (by calling 808-242-6969 or online at mauionstage.com).

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Photos by Jack Grace. Top (L-R): Jonna Ahan and Lia Krieg. Bottom (LR): Lia Krieg and Jonna Ahan.

UNITY CHURCH OF MAUI’S ANNUAL CHRISTMAS EVE CONCERT

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SAT., DEC. 24 – Special musical guests include Lei’ohu Ryder, Omar Adisa Camara, Curt Lee, Ken Stover, Louise Lambert, Dr. Virgie Cantorna, and Hula Hui O Lokahi. Plus, the program features an inspirational message, “Christ Be Born in You,” by Rev. John Copeland. Free. 6:30-8pm. Iao Theater (68 N. Market St., Wailuku); 242-9327; unityonmaui.org

THIS WEEK’S PICKS:

“IN MATTERS OF STYLE SWIM WITH THE CURRENT; IN MATTERS OF PRINCIPLE, STAND LIKE A ROCK”  (Thomas Jefferson)

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MON., NOV 14 – Every second Monday of the month there’s a free show at the historic Iao Theater. MauiOnstage (i.e. the theater’s nonprofit stewards) call it “ONO!” not only because free theater’s delicious, but because it’s a handy acronym for “one night only.” This month features Joel Agnew’s original comedy, The Rock of Ages, featuring Agnew, Genie Calagna, Jerry Eiting, Chino LaForge, Jackie Shea, Jessica Tolman, Hana Valle and Tim Wolfe. As Agnew explains, the story follows a caveman who hits his head on a rock (note: “rock” is the only word he knows), and is preserved for 12,000 years until he’s discovered by New York City sewer workers under Madison Square Garden. The workers–plus a couple of ditzy groupies–think he’s a stoned and very lost rock musician and proceed to lead him backstage to the concert; hilarity ensues and so on. (PS: The evening also includes a performance by local folk singer Nevius.) Free. 6pm doors / 6:30pm show. Iao Theater (68 N. Market St., Wailuku), 242-8680; mauionstage.com

BOO!LESQUE WITH CHERRY BLOSSOM CABARET

Friday (Oct. 21), 8pm & 9:30pm, ‘Iao Theater (68 N. Market St., Wailuku); $15 (separate admission for each show)

An evening of Halloween-themed burlesque, featuring the sultry sensation Violette Beretta, with Hawaii’s premiere burlesque revue, Cherry Blossom Cabaret.  808-242-6969; mauionstage.com / cherryblossomcabaret.com

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BURLESQUE WORKSHOP: BURLY-Q BASICS WITH CHERRY BLOSSOM CABARET

Saturday (Oct. 22), 2:45-4:30pm, Body Alive Yoga Movement Studio (1995 Main St., second floor, Wailuku), $50 (must register by Oct. 18)

Learn glove and stocking peels, fan dance basics, boa tricks, classic bump n’ grind, character building and more. ADVANCED REGISTRATION REQUIRED. ABSOLUTELY NO WALK-INS ALLOWED. MUST REGISTER BY 10/18. SIGN UP AT cherryblossomcabaret.com/academy.html

WHOOPS, SORRY! This class has been canceled as of 10/19.

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CHERRY BLOSSOM CABARET PRESENTS SPEAKEASY MAUI

Saturday (Oct. 22), 10pm doors / 10:30pm show, Casanova (1188 Makawao Ave., Makawao), $10 (before 10pm) / $15 (after 10pm)

Featuring Cherry Blossom Cabaret, Hawaii’s premiere cabaret revue, and Maui’s finest, Kit Kat Cabaret, plus DJ Joey The Wrench. 808-572-0220; casanovarestaurant.com / cherryblossomcabaret.com

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WHAT IS BURLESQUE?

Saint & Leper

Sept. 10-12 (Saturday-Monday), 7:30pm (Sat, Sun)/6:30pm (Mon), Iao Theater (68 N. Market St., Wailuku); free

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Today, we know that leprosy (Hansen’s disease) isn’t as horrifyingly contagious as folklore attests. It’s treatable, the afflicted’s limbs don’t really fall off (though if untreated it is highly disfiguring, and can cause nasal and joint cartilage to dissolve), and 95 percent of the population is naturally immune. But since biblical times, those affected by this chronic bacterial disease have been socially ostracized by its stigma of impurity; an analogy for sin and oft the repercussion of the Judeo-Christian god’s smiting judgment. (Interesting note: there are 68 references to leprosy in The Bible—55 in the Old Testament and 13 in the New Testament—but scholars suggest “leprosy” may have described many types of skin ailments and perhaps even respiratory ailments.) The most famous martyr of charity for lepers’ plight is Father—now Saint—Damien, who landed in the Hawaiian Islands (via Belgium) in 1864 and was the first to volunteer to minister to the needs of a forcefully quarantined settlement (per the legislature’s 1865 “Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy”) at Kalaupapa on Molokai. Canonized in 2009, evermore attention has been rightfully cast on this Hawaiian hero, and Saint Damien’s legend has continued to grow. “There is a lot of myth about the man,” says linguist and professor Vinnie Linares, who this weekend reprises his role in Damien, the hit one-man show by Aldyth Morris. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the show’s inception, Linares says that over the last decade the show’s raised over $50,000 for local charities. As a way to say thank you to the Maui community—made possible by the support of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and County of Maui—this weekend’s three performances at the Iao Theater are entirely free. Linares, who last performed Damien in April 2010, says some of the insight he’s gained from the role is that “The bottom line is to help people—irrespective of religion.” Further he explains that Saint Damien “was a very emotional and passionate man” and that the show gives “audiences a chance to see the man—not the myth; the human being beyond the saint.” 808-242-6969; mauionstage.com ■

Miller, Miller On The Wall

>>> Maui OnStage presents All My Sons — an ONO! (one night only) production
>>> (Monday) August 8, 6:30pm
>>> Iao Theater, Wailuku; free
>>> 808-242-6969; mauionstage.com

Thanks to his mother’s alert reading, playwright Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman; The Crucible) based his 1947 play All My Sons on an Ohio newspaper’s reportage of a woman who’d informed the government that her own father had sold botched mechanical parts to the U.S. military during World War II. All My Sons was soon staged on Broadway (and ran for 328 shows), won Tony awards for Best Play and Best Direction of a Play, and was adapted for the silver screen in 1948 and 1987. However, the play’s criticism of our nation’s ethos landed Miller on the Hollywood blacklist during the Red Scare. (Are you humming the Pink Floyd lyrics, “Mother, should I trust the government / Mother, do you think they’ll try to break my balls”? I am!)

This Monday (August 8), catch a live reading of Miller’s All My Sons, part of the Maui OnStage’s monthly ONO! (one night only) productions at the Iao Theater. “This classic 1940s drama about ethics versus survival” features fine thespians like 
Don Carlson, Jerry Eiting, Michael Pulliam, Jennifer Rose, Chris Rose, Jackie Shea and Barbara Sedano — and finer still is that the whole shebang is free (though donations to help keep the theater’s lights on are both needed and welcomed).

Free Screening: “All That Jazz” (1979)

Friday (June 17), 7:30pm doors / 8pm show, Iao Theater, Wailuku; free

A semi-autobiographical musical by director Bob Fosse, inspired by the melee of simultaneously producing his film Lenny and Broadway production Chicago. Starring Roy Scheider (as Joe Gideon, a womanizing druggie dancer), Ann Reinking and Jessica Lang. Rated R. 808-242-6969; mauionstage.com

[READ MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_That_Jazz]

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[More from Maui Onstage...]

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Free ONO (One Night Only) Show: “Eight Weeks” by Mauian David Michaels — TONIGHT!

Monday (June 13), 6:30pm, Iao Theater, Wailuku; free

A special reading of a new screenplay about a middle-aged man who achieves incredible success only to learn he has terminal cancer. 808-242-6969; mauionstage.com

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Coming Soon: Maui OnStage Auditions – “The Garden of BE” by Mauian Tess Cartwright

Monday (June 20), 6-10pm (by appointment), Iao Theater, Wailuku; free

Folks of any age, body type, vocal ability and level of experience are welcome to audition for The Garden of BE, written by Mauian Tess Cartwright and directed by Steven Dascoulias. Scheduled to run September 23 through October 2. Please prepare an uptempo song and character monologue (less than four minutes, combined), as well as a headshot and resume. Call to schedule and appointment. 808-242-8680; mauionstage.com

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Tickets On Sale: Maui OnStage Presents “Chicago”

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, July 8 -31, 7:30pm Fridays & Saturdays / 3pm Sunday matinees, Iao Theater, Wailuku, $15-$40

The hottest on-isle musical of the summer commeth! Ticket sales begin Wednesday, June 8. It’s sure to be a sell-out show, so go get your tickets quick, OK? Purchase tickets at If The Shoe Fits (Wailuku), Lava Java (Kihei) or through the Maui OnStage box office. 808-242-6969; mauionstage.com

(Photo by Jack Grace. L-R: Genie Calanga, Lia Kreig)

This Week’s Picks: ‘Shrew’ The Right Thing

Fridays & Saturdays (May 20, 21, 27 & 28), 7:30pm and Sundays (May 22 & 29), 3pm, Iao Theater, Wailuku; $15/$20/$40

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With “a provocative twist on a classic comedy,” the latest from Maui OnStage flips gender like a coin and has a stylistic aim that’s Logan’s Run meets Barbarella, dressed in steampunk style and doused in Day Glo. Nope, it’s not the Blue Girl Group—it’s Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Directed by Cassandra Wormser (a local Shakespearean expert who’s lent her talents to MAPA’s Othello and Seabury Hall’s Romeo and Juliet), this sci fi production of Shrew changes Luciento to Lucienta (played by Lehua Simon) and Baptista (Lauren Burgess) from a single dad to a single mom. Meanwhile, title character Katherina (Genie Calanga) gets a dominatrix makeover, adding the click of stilettos to the rhythm of iambic pentameter. General admission tickets are available at If the Shoe Fits (Wailuku) and Lava Java (Kihei), or call the theater to book a dinner package from either Cafe O’Lei (Market St. location; 5:15-5:45pm seating) or Bistro Casanova (5:30pm seating). 808-244-8680; mauionstage.com

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Friday (April 8), 9pm, Casanova, Makawao, $5 before 10:30pm /$10 after 10:30pm
Monday (April 11), 6:30-9pm, Iao Theater, Wailuku, free

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In Berenstain Bears No Girls Allowed, Brother Bear builds a secret clubhouse and excludes Sister Bear. Sister, of course, shows up Brother by building a super sweet clubhouse all her own. In the end, both boys and girls learn to play together—which is nice—but I still love that Sister shows off her strengths in the process. Because it’s nice to flex our feminine might once in a while—and on Friday night Punani Parade (yeah, you read that right—so what?) is doing just that. A show of “Sistahood… sweet, soulful, sultry harmonies guaranteed to move and groove you,” this “Fearless Female Frenzy” features hostess Shea Derrick of The Freeradicals Projekt (pictured), Kelli Love and Maesyn plus DJ Sweet Beets (aka Christina Boyden) on the decks. Then on Monday, local theater maven Lehua Simon directs her original one-act Girl In Tree as a free, ONO! (one night only) production at the historic Iao Theater. “It’s basically a hippie chic fair,” Simon says. Entertainment rounds out with performances by a belly dancing troupe and lady musicians singing eco-conscious tunes, as well as women’s clothing and jewelry trunk shows plus LUSH cosmetics (free goodie bags!), and much more.

Want to read Berenstain Bears No Girls Allowed?

To help you find it, CLICK HERE for the most comprehensive list of book shops and lenders on Maui. (But first, you’ll have to go either read or scroll through my story on Borders closing.)

Want to “hobble together” your own clubhouse (the exclusivity of which we’ll leave to you)?

CLICK HERE to check out this (and other) how-to from Instructables.com

Vincent Goudreau in Beijing’s Forbidden City. Photo by Javier Martinez.

CLEARED FOR TAKE OFF: Friday (November 12), 8pm, ‘Iao Theater, Wailuku, $10 donation

Fine artists Vincent Goudreau and Javier Martinez have a way of painting with their 16mm camera, creating films that are part National Geographic, part art house, and entirely moving. Their latest work, Compositions in Departure — shot in China, Ghana and Mexico — “explor(es) displacement and the idea of home as a metaphor for finding one’s place in the world,” by following three individuals, Ji Wang Juan, Alfred Kpebesaane, and Altagracia Martinez; “one [who] has willingly departed from his home, one [who] faces an inability to leave, and the third… [who] wants to leave and is left virtually alone.” Goudreau and Martinez — both graduates of the California Institute of the Arts (who also studied at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland, and Art Center School of Design, respectively) — took three and a half years to film and produce Compositions, wherein “textiles, migration and imperialism (are used) as analogies for patterns of human behavior.” This 35 minute film screens this Friday at the ‘Iao Theater (8:30pm), preceded by live marimba music (8pm) and followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers (9pm). For film clips and other work from Goudreau and Martinez, visit their websites vincentgoudreau.com and javiermartinezart.com. 808-242-6969; mauionstage.com

Javier Martinez shooting in Mexico. Photo by Vincent Goudreau.

Want to make it a weekend of unique screenings? Check out Chout! at Maui Mall’s Foam Co. on Saturday (Nov 13). Read more HERE.