Kumu Kahua Theatre Founder Dennis Carroll Has Passed Away

Kumu Kahua Theatre has announced that the theatre's founder, Dennis Carroll, has passed away. See their full statement here:

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Kumu Kahua Theatre founder Dennis Carroll. We are so grateful for all Dennis has done for our community via Kumu Kahua Theatre and we hope to honor his vision for many, many years to come. Harry wrote a beautiful note about Dennis, please find it here.

It is fitting that our next show is The Conversion of Kaʻahumanu by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl. as Dennis was Victoria's teacher, collaborator, fan, and long-time friend. It is also fitting that this show is the one bringing us back into our theatre, as it was originally scheduled to open on March 19, 2020.

Playwright Daniel Akiyama interviewed Ms Kneubuhl about her script. You can read that conversation here.

Our plans continue to welcome you back to Kumu Kahua Theatre for live, in-person performances of The Conversion of Kaʻahumanu, opening January 20, 2022. We are staying on top of the news and government mandates, following all recommended safety protocols and asking for your patience and cooperation to make this happen. Thereʻs a lot of information on our protocol here; we'll also email this information to all ticket-holders and keep it on our website for your reference. Thank you for arriving early and bringing your kind patience and kokua as we all work together to bring you back to our home!

Many thanks to those who answered our survey about your level of comfort with in-person theatre. Based on the information we received, we are currently selling only 35 tickets for each of the 4-performances during our opening weekend (January 20-23). If you would like to make sure thereʻs the greatest amount of space between your party and others, click HERE and reserve those tickets ASAP. For the remainder of the run, we will sell only 70 of 100 seats per performance. This will allow us to assure there will be at least one seat between your party and others. You can use the link above to purchase tickets for all performances. Of course, we will reduce those numbers further if we must, and weʻll keep you informed along the way.

Weʻve got an extra special treat for our opening night audience: Cheryl Ho, a Kumu Hula, under the umbrella of Ka 'Imi Na'auao o Hawai'i Nei Hula Institute will be here with her halau to open our evening with a performance of hula kahiko. These two hulas, performed to the ho'opa'a of an ipu, are both "he inoa no Ka'ahumanu" (done in the name of Ka'ahumanu):

1. "Ha'aheo o Hana", which refers to Kauiki, Ka'ahumanuʻs birthplace on Maui.

2. "Auhea Wale ana Ho'i 'Oe", which refers to Ka'ahumanuʻs visit to Kaua'i as part of her husbandʻs unification of the islands.

Many thanks to Kumu Cheryl for sharing her halau with us on what Iʻm sure is going to be a memorable experience for us all.

From all of us, to all of you, please have a safe, happy, and warm holiday season. We look forward to seeing you next year!"

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