2008 Season
Archive and Press Coverage

Veteran Actor Mead Superb in Difficult Role
The Hawaii Shakespeare Festival's long-anticipated production of "The Merchant of Venice" is excellent theatre. Director Linda Johnson ...

A Difficult Play
Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice is not often performed. There is simply no way to get away from the strident anti-Semitism expressed by the ...

Merchant of Mirth
The Summer Shakespeare Festival closes its seventh season with a beautifully costumed and surprisingly funny production of "The Merchant ..."

"Merchant" Opens Big
"Merchant of Venice" cast members ... took time to change out of their Elizabethan-era costumes before coming out to meet the audience ...

Riveting Sleepwalker
Watching the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival's well-executed production of "Henry V," it's easy to see why some of Shakespeare's "history plays" ...

A 'Henry V' With a Gender Difference
Director and producer Tony Pisculli says the reason for using an all-female cast for Henry V was "to give local female actors a shot at a broader range ...

La Femme Henry V
Director Tony Pisculli continues his practice of casting all women in his productions for the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival with his upcoming ...

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Meets Shakespeare
It was an auspicious beginning to my night at the Summer Shakespeare production of "Henry V." Sitting right in front of me was a young boy ...

Once More Unto the Breach
This quotable quote from the middle of Henry V is an apt motto for the play itself. Kenneth Branagh's epic film brought Shakespeare back onto the ...

Othello Excellent at Marks
Todd Coolidge (Iago), Jessica Ciufo (Desdemona) and Derrick Brown (Othello) came out to meet the crowd after opening the 2008 Hawaii Shakespeare ... 

Othello Could Use More Power, Passion
With the classic tragedy "Othello," the opening play in the seventh annual Hawaii Shakespeare Festival, Scott Rogers directs in a blend of styles ...

Notes on Othello
Shakespeare did not oversee the publication of any of his plays. He wrote for the stage not the page. Thus, the first recorded performance of ...

2007 Season
Archive and Press Coverage

Gripping Encounter Fuels "John"
... Savada Gilmore (Hubert) and Michelle Raboteau (Arthur) play out that heart-rending confrontation with a well-measured intensity that makes it the most horrifying scene I've seen in 16 years of reviewing local theater ...

Cast Rules in this Play by the Bard
Since the stated goal of the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival is to ultimately stage all of Shakespeare's plays, one understands why "King John" has a slot among this summer's three selections. However, if you're looking for ...

Leading Actors Shine in 'Shrew'
... director Linda Johnson stages their battling characters as victims of love at first sight. Not only are they obviously attracted to each other in their first scene — despite the bickering — they positively smolder ...

Delving into the Dark Side
In addressing the common theme of "civil wars," Tony Pisculli, in his sixth year as producer of the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival, challenges his actors and directors to look into the darker side of the Bard ...

Much Ado About Shakespeare
To paraphrase The Bard, the place is the thing. For its sixth season, the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival will make its debut Wednesday at The ARTS at Marks Garage, employing a thrust stage for the first time ...

Racy Romeo in a Strip Club
"Romeo and Juliet" in a strip club. Yes, it's been done -- twice, in fact. But with "Femme Capulet: Romeo and Juliet Remixed," indefatigable adapter/director Troy M. Apostol succeeds once again in approaching ...

2006 Season
Archive and Press Coverage

'70s Disco Hits Add to Shakespearean Laugh Fest
The Hawaii Shakespeare Festival has long since passed "Will it survive?" status to become an annual event the local theater community can look forward to ...

Capulet Charged Visually, Loses Vocally
In "Femme Capulet," the gratuitous sex and violence are the best parts. The play is Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," deconstructed and remixed by Troy Apostol and Shen Nissan Sugai and presented as an off-season ... 

2005 Season
Archive and Press Coverage

Star-crossed Lovers' Story Shines Bright
Tony Pisculli has been consistently successful in approaching Shakespeare with imaginative insights while still staying true to the material ...

Tragic Love Tale Set in Modern Climate
Watching the restaging of a familiar classic, especially when the director puts a new spin on things, can be interesting and fun.  So it is with "Romeo and Juliet," directed by Tony Pisculli and the second play in this summer's ...

'Midsummer' Ignites Bard's Hip, Bawdy Side
There is a very thin, very gray line separating crisp physical comedy from sophomoric smut. Director Harry Wong III and a talented cast walk the line perfectly in the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival's production of ...

Fine Cast Helps Put A Fresh Spin on Shakespearean Tragicomedy
A smaller venue doesn't hurt a bit as the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival returns for 2005 with a well-crafted production of "The Winter's Tale" ...

Staging of Bard Play, Venue Don't Jibe
The Hawaii Shakespeare Festival begins its fourth season with a move from Windward Community College to the University of Hawai'i-Manoa ...

Shakespeare Festival Takes New Tack
Downsizing is not necessarily a bad thing. That's how R. Kevin Doyle sees the decision to move the Hawaii Shakespeare Festival ...

2004 Season
Archive and Press Coverage

Classic Tragedy Soars with Talented Cast of Local Actors
Dann Seki has distinguished himself in recent years playing an assortment of interesting Asian-American characters at Kumu Kahua and ...

All-female Cast Jump-starts Bard Fest
A comical nobleman and a doltish knave with a knack for mime are two key elements in Tony Pisculli's successful staging of "Love's Labors Lost" ...

Shakespeare Festival Opens
Why is Tony Pisculli directing an all-female cast in "Love's Labors Lost" at this year's Hawaii Shakespeare Festival ...?

2003 Season
Archive and Press Coverage

'Night Offers Twisted Tale of Love
Love causes headaches.  That's what Shakespeare probably meant when he wrote "Twelfth Night," opening tonight at the Windward Community College ...

Shakespearean Drama Packs Adventure Into its Prose
The stakes are higher, but for the most part, Shakespeare's Prince Hal, the focal character in "Henry IV, Part 1," is going through something almost everyone can relate to.  Coming of Age.  At 21, Prince Hal ...

The Bard Meets '50s Shirts and a Ninja
"Henry IV, Part 1" has not been performed on O'ahu in decades.  The marathon production directed by R. Kevin Doyle ...

Play's the Thing for Tweaking Shakespeare at Isle Festival
"To adapt or not to adapt?"  That is the question directors wrestle with in staging Shakespeare for contemporary Americans ...

2002 Season
Archive and Press Coverage