08-15-2013, 04:19 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Trial of Lilu‘okalani Opens September 6
The Hilo Community Players (HCP) will present nine performances of the historical drama, The Trial of Lili‘uokalani, beginning September 6.
The play was written here in Hilo in 1973 by Maurice Zimring, a Hollywood screenwriter who’d retired to Keaukaha. Drawing on remembrances, books, archives and transcripts, Zimring combined historical figures and dramatic characters to create this powerful drama of patriotism and passion. In the throne room and the court room, we see Lili‘uokalani lose her kingdom and her husband; we hear the frustrations of her supporters; we follow the defense of her reign against the men who ended it, and we sympathize with the struggles of young lovers against the uncertainties of the future.
Heading a stellar cast, as the Queen, is Jackie Pualani Johnson, celebrated local actor, and chair of UH-Hilo’s Performing Arts Dept. Directing the play is Justina Taft Mattos, PhD, who has directed Much Ado About Nothing for HCP’s Shakespeare in the Park; the Palace Theater musical Once Upon One Noddah Time; and UH-Hilo’s production of Go Dog, Go.
“2013 is a significant year for this drama,” said Hal Glatzer, HCP Secretary, and producer of the play. “It is the 120th anniversary of the Queen’s overthrow, the 40th anniversary of the creation of the play, and the 75th anniversary of HCP, the second-oldest theatrical organization in the Islands. Our mission is ‘to educate, enrich and entertain’ through theater. So the program booklet for the show is also a study-guide that leads the playgoer to explore what Hawaii was like in the 1890s, and to understand the people who lived what the playwright and the players bring to the stage.”
The Trial of Lili‘uokalani will be performed upstairs at the East Hawaii Cultural Center (EHCC), 141 Kalakaua St., in downtown Hilo. Friday and Saturday evening shows start at 7 p.m. on September 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. on September 8, 15 and 22. Individual tickets are $15 at the door, $10 in advance, and for students with ID; $5 for keiki 12 and under. Group discounts are available (by advance-sale only) at $9 each in blocks of ten or more; and at $8 each in blocks of twenty or more.
For tickets, please phone the box office at EHCC: 808-961-5711.
For more information about the production, or more background on the play, please contact HCP Secretary Hal Glatzer: hal@halglatzer.com 808-895-4816.
"From knowledge comes understanding"
The Trial of Lilu‘okalani Opens September 6
The Hilo Community Players (HCP) will present nine performances of the historical drama, The Trial of Lili‘uokalani, beginning September 6.
The play was written here in Hilo in 1973 by Maurice Zimring, a Hollywood screenwriter who’d retired to Keaukaha. Drawing on remembrances, books, archives and transcripts, Zimring combined historical figures and dramatic characters to create this powerful drama of patriotism and passion. In the throne room and the court room, we see Lili‘uokalani lose her kingdom and her husband; we hear the frustrations of her supporters; we follow the defense of her reign against the men who ended it, and we sympathize with the struggles of young lovers against the uncertainties of the future.
Heading a stellar cast, as the Queen, is Jackie Pualani Johnson, celebrated local actor, and chair of UH-Hilo’s Performing Arts Dept. Directing the play is Justina Taft Mattos, PhD, who has directed Much Ado About Nothing for HCP’s Shakespeare in the Park; the Palace Theater musical Once Upon One Noddah Time; and UH-Hilo’s production of Go Dog, Go.
“2013 is a significant year for this drama,” said Hal Glatzer, HCP Secretary, and producer of the play. “It is the 120th anniversary of the Queen’s overthrow, the 40th anniversary of the creation of the play, and the 75th anniversary of HCP, the second-oldest theatrical organization in the Islands. Our mission is ‘to educate, enrich and entertain’ through theater. So the program booklet for the show is also a study-guide that leads the playgoer to explore what Hawaii was like in the 1890s, and to understand the people who lived what the playwright and the players bring to the stage.”
The Trial of Lili‘uokalani will be performed upstairs at the East Hawaii Cultural Center (EHCC), 141 Kalakaua St., in downtown Hilo. Friday and Saturday evening shows start at 7 p.m. on September 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. on September 8, 15 and 22. Individual tickets are $15 at the door, $10 in advance, and for students with ID; $5 for keiki 12 and under. Group discounts are available (by advance-sale only) at $9 each in blocks of ten or more; and at $8 each in blocks of twenty or more.
For tickets, please phone the box office at EHCC: 808-961-5711.
For more information about the production, or more background on the play, please contact HCP Secretary Hal Glatzer: hal@halglatzer.com 808-895-4816.
"From knowledge comes understanding"
"From knowledge comes understanding"