In terms of seating capacity, the Hawaii Theatre fills a niche between St. Louis' Mamiya Theatre and the large Blaisdell Concert Hall. Promoters will have to determine which hall is most likely to fill up.

There are also aesthetic considerations that can't be added up on a cash register. The

Hawaii's lush ambience and sound quality will certainly be factor in booking shows there.

The 500-seat Mamiya costs $500 a day, plus labor costs that bring it it up to $780 a day. This works out to about $1.56 a seat. Rehearsal rental and labor costs are about $65 an hour.

The 2,158-seat Blaisdell Concert Hall costs $1,500 a day for commercial renters, plus the costs of ushuring personnel, plus five percent of gross after $15,000. Rehearsal days are half that rate. The basic rate works out to at least 70 cents a seat.

The 1,400-seat Hawaii plans to charge a sliding scale for nonprofits and for-profit us, with cheaper rates Monday through Wednesday. A commercial renter on popular nights can get the theater for $1,500, against 10 percent of gross ticket sales, whichever is greater. This works out to about $1.07 a seat. The Hawaii, however, charges the full rate for rehearsal and dark days.