KDEN presents ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’

Kilauea Drama and Entertainment Network presents the modern holiday classic, “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at the Kilauea Military Camp Theater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 26-27 and Jan. 2-3, with 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinees Dec. 28 and Jan. 4.

The one-act children’s opera by Italian-American composer and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti was first performed by the NBC Opera Theatre on Christmas Eve, 1951, at NBC studio 8H in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, and broadcast live as the debut episode of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. It was also the first opera composed for American television.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Amahl, a disabled boy who needs a crutch to walk, tells so many tall tales his mother doesn’t believe him when he says there’s an amazing star “as big as a window” outside over their roof. She becomes even angrier when Amahl says a knock at the door is three kings visiting them, although it’s all true.

Director Suzi Bond describes “Amahl” as “a show I love.”

“Mom had the (soundtrack) album and I was raised on it,” she said. “It was a part of every Christmas that I can remember. And I was very young, I can’t even tell you how old I was, when I saw a production on Maui that they brought in from Honolulu. Shigeru Hotoke was part of it. I saw it again when I was about 11 and Shigeru Hotoke was in it again.”

The late Hotoke’s run in “Amahl” began before he became a legend as the Kailua High School Madrigals director. He played Kaspar, one of the kings, as a senior at the University of Hawaii in 1956. The UH production also starred Ron Bright, a Hilo native who became one of Hawaii theater’s premier directors and Castle High’s drama teacher for five decades, as the page. Entertainer Danny Kaleikini and Clarence Shigeta — the latter the brother of the late “Flower Drum Song” leading man James Shigeta — were shepherds.

Bond cast Emerson Aynessazian, a 13-year-old girl who played the Nightingale in KDEN’s “Once Upon a Mattress,” as Amahl and Sherri Thal as the mother.

“This is Emerson’s last chance to play the little kid,” Bond said. “Her voice is incredible, and her mom is being played by her voice teacher, so that’s helpful. Sherri was actually trained in classical music and the two of them, their voices blend together beautifully.

“Emerson came in and auditioned with ‘Don’t Cry, Mother Dear,’ and she was nervous and I could tell, but she nailed it. It’s a hard song to sing. … And she’s so animated. That’s why she’s the perfect choice for this role.”

Andy Colberg, who played King Sextimus in “Once Upon a Mattress” and Herod in the Palace Theater’s “Jesus Christ Superstar,” dons a crown once again, playing Kaspar.

“Andy is fabulous as Kaspar,” Bond said. “Tim Oldfather is Melchior. He’s been in numerous KDEN choruses, and it’s really nice to give him a lead role. And Dick Hershberger is Balthazar. He’s our Thomas Jaggar (in KDEN’s Living History program in the national park) and he’s directing (Aloha Peforming Arts Company’s) ‘Bell, Book and Candle.’”

Playing the page is Joy Sever. Members of the Volcano Festival Chorus and Hilo Community Chorus are the shepherds. They are: Arlene Araki, Bonnie Burke, Thais da Rosa, Roni Koscik, Maud Lawrence, Tanya Lee, Joanna Spangler and Violette Thomas. They’ll be joined by music director Chris Tomich. The shepherd dancers are: Stephen Bond, Jessie Coney, Nathan Ducasse, Elizabeth Mulliken and Briana Tucker-Archie. They’re choreographed by Carmen Richardson.

The cast will be joined by an orchestra of 19 talented musicians under the baton of Armando Mendoza.

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for seniors 60 and older and students, and $10 for children 12 and younger. Advance tickets are available at Kilauea General Store, Keaau Natural Foods and the Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo.

For more information or reservations, call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.com.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com