The most fantastic adventure ever told.
Inside Tutu’s garage.
Only five actors.
The Hobbit
Set inside “Tutu’s garage,” this production celebrates the make-believers –those who understand that imagination can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving hobbit, is unexpectedly swept into an epic adventure alongside a company of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf. Along the way, he encounters trolls, goblins, a dragon, and the mysterious Gollum, discovering a resilience he never knew he possessed. Told through the inventive lens of five actors and a world built entirely through theatrical imagination, The Hobbit reminds audiences that extraordinary adventures can begin in the most ordinary places.
Tickets
All tickets are $15, general admission seating, and available now for purchase online.
Actors
Alvin Chan
Bilbo BagginsAlvin is an educator, actor, playwright, director, and designer who has worked in New York, Washington DC, and Japan. A former artistic associate at HTY from 2011 – 2018, he can still be seen on the local TV show “The HI Way.” Alvin is a recipient of Theatre Communications Group’s Fox Acting Fellowship which allowed him to study traditional theatre forms in China and Japan. He holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University. He is currently the Instructor of Theatre at Leeward Community College.
Jason Kanda
Dwalin / Thorin / Goblin 1/ Wolf 1 / Eagle 1Jason Kanda is a 20-year veteran of theatre and Theatre for Young Audiences in Honolulu. Past credits include roles in Y York’s Nothing is the Same, Bryan Wake’s Eddie Would Go, and Christmas Talk Story for HTY; as well as Hester Kamin’s Rumpelstiltskin, Sleeping Beauty, and The Snow Queen for Hawai‘i Theatre Center. More recently, Jason has performed with Peiling Kao Dances, appearing in Things I Don’t Tell You and naive.
Alicia Millerson
Balin /Troll 2 / Elf 3 / Goblin 3 / Wolf 3 / Eagle 3Alicia Millerson is thrilled to join her first production here on Oʻahu. A member of the inaugural BFA Musical Theatre class at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alicia has proudly directed productions across the United States and Canada, using theatre to introduce young people to the performing arts in educational settings. They have worked with Theatre Aspen, the Arvada Center, SeriesFest, Youth on Record, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Alicia believes in storytelling’s transformative power and creating inclusive spaces where students build confidence, creativity, and a lifelong love of the arts.
Eden Lee Murray
Gandalf / Bombur / Troll 3 / Eagle 4 / Elven QueenEden Lee is a professional actor, director, producer, artist-educator, and published author. Since coming to O`ahu 1992, she has directed or performed in every major venue on Oahu, earning sixteen Po‘okela Awards for her work. From 2009 – 2016, she served as Education Director at the Hawaiʻi Theatre Center, producing, directing, performing, and teaching at that beautiful historical venue. In addition to her work with local theatres, Eden Lee has been featured in thirteen Hawaii Shakespeare Festival productions, including playing Falstaff twice.
Donovan Oakleaf
Kili / Troll 1 / Goblin 2 / Wolf 2 /Eagle 2 / SmaugDonovan Oakleaf is an actor currently based in rural Northern California. He is especially grateful to return to Hawai'i for this production and to note 30 years of friendship and theatrical collaboration with Mark Branner. Some favorite past productions include: Freud’s Last Session, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Twelfth Night; Pi Jin Rolls The Lamp, ‘Au‘a ‘Ia: Holding On at Kennedy Theatre and Images From the Dark Land with Peiling Kao Dances.
The Hobbit
Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien
Licensed by Middle-Earth Enterprises
Adapted for the stage by Greg Banks
With Music by Tom Johnson
Originally commissioned and produced by Children’s Theatre Company
Produced by special arrangement with Plays for New Audiences
Michelle Bisbee
Price Johnston
Maile Speetjens
Traci Oya
Marcus Moore
Emi Obana
Pianist
Stage Management
Musical Director
Costume Design
Set & Props Design
Lighting Design
TYA
@ 55
TYA @ 55 is a celebration of the “Theatre for Young Audiences” program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
In 1971 Tamara Hunt Montgomery inaugurated a new program within the university’s Department of Theatre and Dance – the “Children’s Theatre Program.” Later renamed “Youth Theatre,” Tammy served as the Program Director for forty years – launching graduates into positions of influence around the globe – in classrooms, nonprofits, theatre stages, television programming, and more.
The program continues to cultivate wonder and highlight the power of the imagination – on the stage, in the classroom, and to our world.
If you are a graduate, a supporter, or an admirer of the TYA program, please join us on Saturday, August 29 at 5pm on the Upper Lanai at Kennedy Theatre to celebrate this legacy and inaugurate the next 55 years.
Email branner@hawaii.edu to RSVP.
Cultivating wonder,
Capturing the imagination
