Ulalena
ULALENA is billed as “the most unique theatrical experience in Hawaii.” The production at the Maui Theatre in Lahaina on the island of Maui more than lives up to it’s billing.
ULALENA is a truly remarkable show for Hawaii or anywhere else for that matter. The people that helped create the original Cirque Du Soleil, the AARA ¯Montreal, assisted in the creation and execution of this colorful, moving, and visually spectacular production
Performances take place in the state of the art Maui Theatre; a theatre that features the newest in computerized technology, two different sound systems, five musicians, and gorgeous backdrops depicting the different mythic and real worlds of Maui and Hawaii through history.
This is no history lesson. It is a hard hitting emotional journey through time starting with the creation myth, then moving on to the migration of the various cultures to the Islands. Next is the arrival of the Europeans bringing disease and slavery to the island and the betrayal by the Hawaiian royalty as they adopted foreign dress and abandon the people. Finally we see the ravages of a volcano and the tsunami that followed. A team of Maui history experts was consulted to insure accuracy.
ULALENA concludes as Hawaiians find hope for the future, rediscovering themselves through their native stories. The recreation of these different episodes is masterfully done through imaginative choreography by Julie Lachance and lighting by Roger Parent. . I particularly was impressed by the way they demonstrated the tsunami bringing the audience directly into the event.
Many in the audience the night I saw it were moved to tears both at the beauty and the horror of what happened to these proud people. The journey is funny, exciting informative, musically exhilarating, and deeply moving and you leave with a better understanding of what Hawaiians mean by the ALOHA SPIRIT. If you go to Maui Ulalena is a” must see”.
Nightly at the MAUI THEATRE ¯ Old Lahaina Center Maui 808-661-9913 • (877) 688-4800