Need a little cheer? EHCC offers an outdoor mood-booster
The East Hawaii Cultural Center unveils its new mobile stage with free outdoor shows designed to leave audiences smiling. Way West of Broadway: An Afternoon of Broadway tunes… and Other Uplifting Songs will be performed Saturday, Nov. 6 at 1:00 and 3:30 p.m. The one-hour concerts will feature many of the cast members of Hilo’s recent production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, as well as the Palace’s upcoming production of THE PRODUCERS.
The inaugural concert will showcase some of Broadway’s most beloved songs along with a mix of 
other popular songs old and new. The cast includes Charles Bankhead Haines, Alexander Knapp, Marlise Ahuna, Sam Deitch, Kaiulu Tioganco, Aleah Kay, and Bridge Hartmann. Seating is limited, so audiences are encouraged to arrive early. Masks are required.
The concert is made possible through an AARP Community Challenge grant, which supports “EHCC Out of Doors,” a project to build an outdoor mobile, modular stage suitable for dramatic, musical, and spoken arts performances. The stage has been constructed in a previously unused spot on EHCC grounds that is being transformed into an open-air theatre.
The new stage is designed to travel – with a trailer as its base; it is a “theatre on wheels.” With the help of this new stage, EHCC and its Resident Theatre Director Larry Reitzer will bring programming to schools, parks, senior centers, and care facilities so that audiences unable to come to EHCC can still enjoy performances.
The stage design is modular, so it can be set up in multiple configurations depending on its use. The planned programming includes classical music and jazz concerts, theatre for young audiences, play readings, spoken-word, lectures, and dance concerts. All the programming will occur outdoors – an important safeguard while pandemic concerns linger, but a welcome change of pace any time.
The AARP Community Challenge is a grant program to make tangible improvements to communities that jump-start long-term change. It is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods, and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages. View the full list of grantees and their project descriptions at http://www.aarp.org/communitychallenge and learn more about AARP’s livable communities work at http://www.aarp.org/livable.
For more information about EHCC activities, visit EHCC online at ehcc.org, call 961-5711, or visit the gallery at 141 Kalakaua Street. Current hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.