ON STAGE
MIKE HARADA / KUMU KAHUA
Sandralene (Anna-Marie Love) gives her support to Lester (Eddy Gudoy) in Kumu Kahua's encore of "Da Mayah."
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Weekend brings revival and premiere
Two more shows open on the theater scene this weekend. One is being seen by Hawaii audiences for the first time. The other is a revival.
Kumu Kahua opens its 2008-2009 season on Thursday with a 10th anniversary revival production of "Da Mayah." Local playwright Lee Cataluna's first and best pidgin comedy follows the adventures of bumbling Hilo mayor Lester Perez and his quiet but effective executive assistant, Sandralene Ferreira. Word is that the script has been extensively rewritten to update the once-topical references to Jeremy Harris and "all 10 Sua brothers," but veteran stage actor Eddy Gudoy is returning in the title role.
The Hawaii Repertory Theatre opens its season with the Hawaii premiere of Steven Dietz's thought-provoking drama, "Inventing Van Gogh." A struggling young artist hired to forge a long-lost work by Vincent Van Gogh finds himself interacting with the brilliant, albeit mentally unstable, icon. Other characters include the artist's girlfriend, her father, a dishonest art expert, and Paul Gauguin. The Actors Group explored the complexities of art with Yasmina Raza's aptly titled comedy, "Art," in 2003. HRT's "Van Gogh" should rekindle interest in the meaning of art and the things that make art "good" or "bad."