Hawaii Theatre Center

 

8

59

Jo Ann V.

Honolulu, HI

Recently saw "Menopause, The Musical" here.  The Hawaii Theater puts many Broadway, NY theaters to shame.  I hope to see more live productions here--it is breathtaking.

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12

52

Mary M.

Honolulu, HI

The Hawaii Theatre is simply beautiful and elegant. I love going to events here. In hindsight, however, I wish they had made the seats a little roomier. Sometimes it is a tight squeeze and a bit uncomfortable when the theatre is full - and it is almost always completely filled up.
Another wonderful addition to the theatre would be valet parking! Woo hooo!

I love, love, love the fact that the theatre has a website and you can buy tickets online - it's very easy and convenient and you can have the theatre mail the tickets directly to your home or leave them at will call.

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61

528

Norman Y.

San Francisco, CA

Simply a phenomenal venue!  You people who live in HNL are lucky to have such a beautiful theatre...

On tuesday night,  me and my mother viewed a screening of  ONLY THE BRAVE  written, directed, and produced by Lane Nishikawa.  Hawaii Theatre seats a thousand or so and there was @ least eight hundred @ the showing...

Great, great place to view a movie, a play, a musical, a concert, whatever...

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Elite '08

20

185

John O.

Honolulu, HI

All you who have never been here for an event will be pleased.  I never thought that Honolulu had such a beautiful theater!

I came here a while ago for a free concert for the military.  I was expecting just your everyday theater.  WOW!  Was I surprised at how beautiful this place was.  It made me so proud that such a nice place was still in Honolulu.

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279

110

Candice D.

San Francisco, CA

By far one of the most beautiful theatres that I have ever been in.

I've been here for two very memorable shows:  Stomp back in 1996, and Jason Mraz in 2005.  

I can still vividly remember walking up as a teenager for Stomp, and looking up like the kid I was in amazement at the beautiful architecture of the place.  The cold air conditioning hitting my face as the curtain whooshed open.  Ground floor seating rules.

Then I distinctly remember trying to find my seats on the balcony for Jason Mraz, forgetting that people were standing behind me for second as I stopped because it was just breathtaking.  Balcony seating rules.
So here's what I remember from that:

Jason Mraz: "I love how you guys say 'mahalo' out here...'thank you' has this inflection of 'f*ck you', but not 'mahalo', it's very lovey and pretty.

(5 minutes later in a quiet moment)
Candice: (screaming) I LOVE YOU!
Jason Mraz: (bowing his head) Mahalo.

So awesome.

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Elite '08

964

1972

Kristina R.

San Francisco, CA

January 5, 2005: My husband and I were in Hawai'i on our honeymoon and we were cruising around in our cool Mustang convertible when we decided to park and watch the sunset.  The radio was on, crooning old Hawai'ian favorites while we sat and watched the colors fade.  

When the station broke for commercials, an ad for the Hawai'i Theater came on.  Garrison Keillor was performing there.  We thought, hey, it's the Prairie Home Companion dude!  Let's check it out!  

We drove to the theater and begged the guy at the ticket booth to let us in.  Unfortunately it was sold out, and tickets were only offered to members of PBS.  But the guy was sweet and told us to wait and see if there were any  no-shows.  There were two seats on opposite ends of the theater, but we took them anyway.  

The theater was restored from it's original, battered state, and it was really beautiful.  They did an excellent job with the renovation, which took quite a while.  But it was well worth the wait.  The building itself is a part of Hawai'i's sad history, and standing inside I felt very nostalgic and even a tad bittersweet.  If you know anything about Hawai'i's history, you'll understand why.

The show was very entertaining, if your a Garrison Keillor fan.  There was music from some of the best local Hawai'ian music performers, like George Kahumoku (who is an amazing storyteller), Noelani Mahoe & the Leo Nahenahe Singers and Ledward Ka'apana.  There is something about Hawai'ian music that makes me melt...it can be uplifting and spiritual, or sweet and sad.

After the show, we actually got backstage and met Garrison Keillor, who was 6 feet tall and stocky.  He talked our ears off for about half an hour about SF and his visits there over the years.  I don't know if this seems like anything to be excited about to anyone else, but to us it was one super cool night for us newlyweds.

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Elite '08

1674

738

Keane L.

San Francisco, CA

I think I had some graduation related event here... for some reason I can't recall...

I better finish this review before my ADHD kicks in again. This place is beautiful. The renovation did wonders for this place. It's totally classy, and nicer than any other "hall" or "center" or "hallcenter" that I've ever been to. For SF people, think Orpheum, but more Renaissance or Baroque or whatever my high school art history teacher would call it.

I saw Stomp here back when Stomp was in its prime. It was a pretty cool experience. I also saw the military bands play here. Very nice and patriotic event.

I remember a nude woman sprawled in the decor (or was it wishful thinking?). Just tell your kids not to look up...

2005 Winner of the League of Historic American Theatres, "Outstanding Historic Theatre" designation.

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119

2112

Gourmet G.

San Francisco, CA

The Carnegie Hall of the Pacific, it opened in 1922 as a showcase for organ concerts, vaudeville acts, and silent movies. Following a slow but steady decline, it shuttered its doors in 1989, but concerned residents, anxious to preserve a bit of local history, raised enough funds to spare it from demolition and restore it to its original glory in a project that took four years and $22 million. The rich interior of the neo-classical beaux-arts landmark features gilded columns and grillwork, ruby-toned tapestries, and restored murals. There is ample spacing between rows, providing generous legroom, and the parterre section to the rear of the orchestra is on a slight incline, resulting in elevated views of the stage. The theatre hosts a wide variety of events, including touring Broadway productions, cultural dance performances, films, classical and pop concerts, and the Hawaii International Jazz Festival.

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