Women in Theatre next week opens their latest production featuring Kaua‘i playwrights — a night of dinner theatre entitled “Love and War, Then and Now” to be performed at 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesdayat Hukilau Lanai. The evening features two
Women in Theatre next week opens their latest production featuring Kaua‘i playwrights — a night of dinner theatre entitled “Love and War, Then and Now” to be performed at 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesdayat Hukilau Lanai.
The evening features two one-act plays from two distinct eras n “Matilda’s Waltz” by David Penhallow set on a moonlit night in 1944 Hawai‘i on a plantation manager’s lanai, and “Ace” by Colleen Michelle Duncan, which takes place in the Honolulu airport waiting area in the days following 9/11.
Both plays are directed by local author and playwright David Penhallow, who has been a longtime supporter of and participant in local theatre including WIT.
The duo of plays shares a common thread, that both were influenced by traumatic events in American history — the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. The focus of each play is on what happened to ordinary people in their ordinary lives after those attacks, when the fabric of American life was turned upside down.
While the subject matter is serious, the dialogue is filled with moments of romance and even humor in the face of sacrifice. Love, of course is the reason for the relationships and the complications that arise.
The ensemble of actors in “Love and War” welcomes two couples making their stage debut — Jeff Kennedy and Tani Schmitz, and Roger and Roberta Cable, as well as a cameo appearance by veteran actor Sandi O’Shaugh nessy.
Women in Theatre has a history of producing new plays by local playwrights. This production follows WIT’s 10-minute play festival “Kauai Shorts” performed in August with support from a grant by the Annie Sinclair Knudsen Trust. “We receive such great feedback and enthusiasm for new plays — not only from the audience, but also from the actors and directors who appreciate the chance to work with original material,” said Roberta Cable, a WIT co-founder and board member who is performing on stage for the first time in this dinner show.
“Theatre is a great way not only to entertain and be entertained, but also to learn more about ourselves and the world around us,” she states in a release.
“Love and War, Then and Now” performances will be held on Monday and Tuesday with dinner at 6 p.m. and curtain at 7 p.m. Dinner features Hukilau Chef Ron Miller’s Menu a’la 1944 with a buffet of nostalgic favorites. Advance reservations are required and can be made by calling Hukilau Lanai after 3 p.m. at 822-0600. Ticket prices including dinner, show, tax and tip are $40 per person.
