WHO/WHAT: The Leeward Theatre will present three newly commissioned plays as part of its children’s theatre season. “Plantation Plays” will feature works by local playwrights Kiki, Courtney Takabayashi and Kirstyn Trombetta. Ashley DeMoville, a Leeward Community College faculty member and award-winning local director, will direct the productions.
“Lost Boy” by Kiki — When Boy wanders off alone while playing the newest mobile game, he finds himself transported to an early 1900s Hawai‘i plantation. Boy ends up on a wild adventure with 8-year-old Ito, who teaches him that the best games are played with real friends.
“Jan Shoda and the Case of the Missing Chicken” by Courtney Takabayashi is the story of Jan Shoda, a precocious 10-year-old Japanese girl living on the plantation with her family. One day, her beloved pet chicken, Koke-san goes missing. Jan spends the day looking for clues, interrogating her neighbors and learning about different cultures in order to find her missing chicken.
“Saudade” by Kirstyn Trombetta is set in the Portuguese camp. Lizzie and her little brother Reese find a dusty and seemingly worthless old box. News of the discovery travels throughout the camp, leading people to believe it contains some extra fortune and they become very interested in the object. The siblings realize they have a responsibility to return the box to its rightful owner and learn that some things are irreplaceable.
WHEN/WHERE: Saturdays and Sundays from Feb. 11-26, showtimes at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. both days, at Hawaii’s Plantation Village, 94-695 Waipahu St.
COST: Tickets are $5 and available from Hawaii’s Plantation Village. Call (808) 677-0110 or email hpv.waipahu@hawaiiantel.net. Admission price does not include the Hawaii’s Plantation Village guided tour, which can be booked separately.
