Waimea’s Kahilu Theatre will transform into urban New York City this weekend as a group of vagabond teens and young adults spread messages of kindness with hit songs like “Day by Day,” “Oh, Bless the Lord” and “Light of the World.”
Tonight, Saturday and Sunday, the Kahilu Theatre Youth Troupe takes the stage to present the hit Broadway musical “Godspell.” Curtains lift at 7 p.m. this evening and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday.
“We’ve basically turned Kahilu into a New York City warehouse with graffiti all over with these kids that are basically homeless and living in a warehouse, and then Jesus came into their lives,” said Beth Dunnington, director of the Kahilu Theatre production. “It’s nothing like Kahilu has ever done in its whole life.”
And, that’s just the beginning. For “Godspell,” the theater’s orchestra pit has been reopened, as well as original “Romeo and Juliet” doors, said Dunnington, who is also a member of the theater’s board of directors. The orchestra pit had been boarded over since its last use in 1982, and the “Romeo and Juliet” doors were “painted over” in the 1990s.
The pit, located in front and below the stage, will house a handful of musicians, including a keyboardist, bass player, guitarist and percussionist, she said. It will also be used for a “special surprise” during the performance.
“It is really exiting,” Dunnington said, adding Kahilu Theatre is now the “only theater on the island with an orchestra pit.” “It is going to be a completely different experience.”
The Kahilu Theatre Youth Troupe cast, which includes the characters of Jesus, Judas and John the Baptist, re-enacts different parables, using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques, dance and a hefty dose of physical comedy. The musical features an eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from rock, pop and folk to blues and vaudeville, as the story of Jesus’ life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, it is a triumphant and uplifting musical celebration for all ages.
The local production uses the 2012 revised version of the script that is a retelling of the original sensation, injected with contemporary references and dazzling new arrangements, Dunnington said. The revised version was written by Steven Schwartz, composer of “Pippin” and “Wicked.”
“It was more intense, more complicated and more contemporary, and we decided to go for it,” Dunnington said of the group’s choice over the original 1973 version of “Godspell.”
The Kahilu Theatre Youth Troupe comprises theater-minded young adults ranging in age from 17 to 23, Dunnington said, adding that many go on to pursue a career in the art. It was founded in 2009, when the oldest of these students met during a Waimea Community Theatre production of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
Since, the group has gone on to perform a variety of shows, including most recently “Back to Broadway” in January and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” in 2014. Those two shows were the first Kahilu-produced musicals since the days of Richard Smart, Kahilu Theatre’s founder, two decades earlier.
“They’re a fantastic group of kids and the thing that is most impressive to me is the hours they are working — we are literally rehearsing 10 hours a day,” Dunnington said, noting the group also formed the Keiki Performing Arts Workshop, which is now an in-house project of Kahilu Theatre that brings theater to public and home-schooled students. “It’s a tremendous amount of work. They go until they drop.”
The Kahilu production of “Godspell,” directed by Dunnington, features musical direction by Aurelien Eulert, choreography by Angela Alforque and vocal coaching by Hawaii Performing Arts Festival Artistic Director Val Underwood. It is made possible by sponsorship from Jon Staub, Kate Bell and Tom Blackburn, two anonymous donors, Nancy and Bob Male, and Regan and Shoshana Matsumura.
Tickets are $30/$25/$20/$15 and are available online at www.kahilutheatre.org or by calling 885-6868. Tickets will also be available at the Kahilu Theatre Box Office until 1 p.m. Friday. More information about the Kahilu Theatre Youth Troupe, including upcoming shows and auditions, is also available on the theater’s website.