Dancers rehearse Manoa Valley Theatre's upcoming "Tommy." Photo by Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin

"Annie," the Broadway musical runs Sept. 5 through 21. A young orphan's faith in a brighter tomorrow sees her through her troubles and gains her new friends. Directed by Glenn Cannon, choreography by Grace Bell.

"Over Here!" returns to the '40s Nov. 21-23, 27, 29, 30 and Dec. 5-7. Recruits, girls, U.S.O. entertainers and civilians on a train bound for New York bring back the singing, dancing and nostalgia of wartime America. Big-band musical directed by Brad Powell.

"The Will Rogers Follies: A Life in Revue," Feb. 27 and 28, March 1, 6, 7, 8 and 13-15. Upbeat musical; director yet to be named.

"A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum" runs May 8-10, 15-17 and 22-24. Events spiral into hilarious confusion when a young Roman promises to free his sly slave if the man can bring him a beautiful girl. Directed by Jim Hutchison.

"The 10% Revue" debuts in Hawaii Aug. 23 through Sept. 22 at Little Theatre, Windward Community College. Musical comedy by Tom Weinberg celebrates the triumphs and tragedies of gay and lesbian life.

"The Glass Menagerie" runs Oct. 25 through Nov. 24. Tennessee Williams' drama tests the fierce, delicate bonds of a family.

"It Had To Be You" offers romance and comedy Jan. 3 through 19. Theda, a failed actress, health food nut and playwright, holds a hugely successful director hostage in her apartment on Christmas Eve. Starring Diana Carter Anderson and Gary L. Anderson.

"The Belle of Amherst," a dramatization of Emily Dickinson's life, runs Jan. 24 through Feb. 9. One woman plays the poet, her father, her teachers and friends.

"Laughter on the 23rd Floor" runs March 7 through April 6. Jokesmiths for Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows" try to top each other's gags in this Neil Simon comedy.

"The Bad Seed" explores the possibility of inherited evil, May 23 through June 22. Maxwell Anderson's horror thriller poses the question of 9-year-old Rhoda Penmark.

"Love! Valor! Compassion!" runs July 11 through Aug. 10, 1997. Terrence McNally's Tony award-winning comedy of emotional truths and acid grace won the 1995 award for best play.

"Annie Get Your Gun," Irving Berlin's classic musical comedy, runs Sept. 13-29. Sharp-shooting Annie Oakley finds love. Directed by John Rampage.

"Born Yesterday" runs Nov. 1-17. A rich, vulgar man gets more than he bargained for when he hires a reporter to "educate" his girlfriend for the Washington, D.C., scene. Directed by Clarke Evans.

"Little Shop of Horrors," Feb. 7-23. Musical comedy based on the '60s sci-fi thriller. Directed and choreographed by James Seibel.

"Six Degrees of Separation" runs March 21 through April 6 (no Easter performance). A wealthy couple invites a young man to stay for the night, charmed by his manners, conversation and knowledge of their college-student son. Directed by Bill Ogilvie.

"Crazy For You" runs May 16 through June 1. A spirited young banker transforms a sleepy cow town into a theatrical mecca in this Gershwin musical. Directed by John Rampage and Lolly Totero.

"Tosca" runs Jan. 31 and Feb. 2 and 4. In Napoleonic Rome, a corrupt chief of police uses a revolutionary artist to bend Tosca, the woman they both love, to his will.

"An Italian Girl in Algiers" runs Feb. 14, 16 and 18. Mustapha, a ruler who has grown tired of his wife, is attracted to Isabella, the beloved fiancee of his slave.

"Aida" runs Feb. 28 and March 2 and 4. Egyptian princess Amneris falls in love with commander of the army Radames; but he loves Aida, daughter of the Ethiopian king and Amneris' slave.

"A View from the Bridge" runs Nov. 15-17, 22-24, 29, 30, Dec. 1 and 5-8. A family man's feelings veer beyond fatherly concern when a young man takes interest in his niece.

Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" runs April 11-13, 18-20, 25-27 and May 1-4.

"Operation Elvis," Courage, friendship and rock 'n' roll enliven this tale about a boy who believes he's Elvis, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 and 19 at Richardson Theatre. Neighbor island tour Oct. 28 through Dec. 6.

"Theatrefest '96" highlights the work of Hawaii writers and performers ages 12 to 20, with public performances at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22 and 23 at Tenney Theatre. Featured plays are "Zomie Joe" by Timothy Yasutake, "The Invisible Circle" by Kimberly Chong, "Bobo and the Bird" by Wladymeir Bruce Savaille and "Life, Interrupted" by Sherry Ou-Yang.

"The Mask Messengers" stimulate your eyes, imagination and funny bone, with public performances at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 23 and 30 at Leeward Community College Theatre.

"Lyle the Crocodile" comes to town, with public performances at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 and 18 at Richardson Theatre.

"Pocket Kabuki" introduces a colorful Japan art form, with performances at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15 and 22 and March 1 at Tenney Theatre.

"In the Suicide Mountains: A Village Fable" hasperformances at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. March 15 and 22 at Leeward Community College Theatre.

"The Wild Baby" entertains with songs and puppets; performances at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. April 26 and May 3 and 10 at McCoy Pavilion. The story of a patient mother and her imaginative baby was a hit at the Vancouver International Children's Theatre Festival.

"Bedtimes and Bullies," a musical bubbling with the energy, humor and fears of real kids, has public performances at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. April 26 and May 3 and 10 at McCoy Pavilion.

"Othello" Al Harrington stars, Sept. 5-8, 12, 14, 15, 19-22, 26-29 and Oct. 2-6. Directed by Victoria Racimo.

"PeregriNasyon" runs Nov. 7-10, 14-17, 21-24, 29, 30, Dec. 1 and 4-8 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Filipino immigration to the United States.

"Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers" runs Jan. 9-12, 16-19, 23-25, 30, 31, Feb. 1, 2 and 5-9. A girl forges her identity in a world bubbling with images that little resemble her life in Hilo. Adapted from Lois-Ann Yamanaka's novel by John H.Y. Wat and Keith Kashiwada.

"Yankee Dawg You Die" offers bittersweet insight into the relationship between two Asian American actors in Hollywood, March 6-9, 13-16, 20-23, 27-30 and April 3-6.

"A'ala Park" recalls working-class life in 1950s Honolulu, May 1-4, 8-11, 15-18, 22-25, 29-31 and June 1. Edward Sakamoto's play focuses on a young man who believes he can find a better life away from Hawaii, despite positive attitudes toward statehood.

"Tartuffe," by Moliere, runs Nov. 8 through 17.

"Nutcracker Ballet" presented by Hawaii Ballet Theatre Dec. 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22.

"Yes, But Is It Art?" 8 p.m. Dec. 13. Performance art.

"Tommy,"Peter Townshend and The Who's rock musical tells the story of a deaf, dumb and blind kid who becomes, however reluctantly, a cult hero, Sept. 11 through 29.

"Inspecting Carol" piles jokes upon jokes for this deranged Christmas tale of an amateur actor who is so naive that the professional theater company he has applied to suspects that he is a spy for the National Endowment for the Arts, Nov. 27 through Dec. 15.

"Painting Churches" fleshes out a family portrait, Jan. 15 through Feb. 2. In this comic drama, Mags, a painter on the verge of artistic celebrity, agrees to help her parents move to their summer cottage.

"The Woman in Black,"a lawyer hires an actor to help him recreate for family and friends the spine-tingling tale of the night he saw a dreaded specter, March 5 through 23.

"Angels in America, Part I: Millenium Approaches" follows the parallel break-up of a married Mormon couple and a "married" gay couple, April 23 through May 11. Tony Kushner's epic drama about life in contemporary America won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993.

"Prom Queens Unchained" visits a musical, lunatic version of the '50s, complete with a weird science experiment, an alien invader, murders and the prom queen competition, June 25 through July 13, 1997.

Lisa Anne Nilsen, left, portrays Johannes and
Melodie Lee Sanders is Emily in "Baal," to be
presented at the University of Hawaii
Aug. 28 through 31.

"Love's Labors Lost," 1 p.m. Aug. 17, 18, 24 and 25 on the grass by Orvis Auditorium. Directed by Tony Pisculli. Donations "cheerfully" accepted. Information: 261-5080.

"Baal," Bertolt Brecht's existential parable about the alienation of the artist in a materialistic society, runs 8 p.m. Aug. 28-31 and 2 p.m. Sept. 1. (PT) Directed by Ivana Askovic.

"Barefoot Fugue," an absurdist play from Japan, makes its English-language debut, Sept. 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21. (LN) Written by Ohta Shogo. Directed and translated by Naoko Maeshiba.

"Romeo and Juliet," Shakespeare's tragedy of young lovers in hostile circumstances, runs 8 p.m. Oct. 4, 5, 10-12, 16-19 and 2 p.m. Oct. 6, 13 and 20. (M) Directed by Terence Knapp.

"Canticles of Salvation" explores issues of AIDS and transsexualism, Oct. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19. (LN) Conceived and directed by David DeBlieck.

"Catherine the Great: Playing Around" 5 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Lab Theatre. Staged reading based on plays about the Russian empress and her own comedies. This special presentation is free.

"Kabuki Mikado," 8 p.m. Nov. 22, 23, 29, 30 and Dec. 4-7, and 2 p.m. Nov. 24 and Dec. 8 (M). This localized version features music for Japanese instruments and kabuki's bravura style of acting. Adapted and directed by James R. Brandon.

"Dionysus 96," Nov. 22, 23, 29, 30, Dec. 6 and 7. (LN) All-woman version of Euripides' tragedy "The Bacchae" juxtaposes images of technology and sexuality. Director: Ramon Arjona IV.

"The Nutcracker" features Jim Gamble & His Puppets at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 11 and 2 p.m. Jan. 12 on Mainstage. Special presentation; general admission $7.

"Twilight Crane," a Japanese tale of a bird-woman and her husband, runs 8 p.m. Jan. 15-18 and 2 p.m. Jan. 19 (PT).

"Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)" runs 8 p.m. Feb. 7, 8, 13-15 and 2 p.m. Feb. 16 (M). An overworked grad student finds herself in two Shakespeare plays, meets the leading ladies, and finds out who really wrote the stories.

"The Art of Dining" serves up a recipe for fun, food and self-understanding, 8 p.m. April 2-5 and 2 p.m. April 6 (PT)

"The Grapes of Wrath" runs 8 p.m. April 25, 26, May 1-3 and 2 p.m. May 4 (M). Harrowing yet uplifting tale of poor farmers and destitute Americans crossing the country to California in search of a better life. Directed by Glenn Cannon.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Shakespeare!" 6 p.m. April 27 in the Lab Theatre. Terence Knapp leads a salute to the Bard on his 433rd birthday. Special presentation; $5 requested at the door to benefit the department's scholarship fund.