Hilo’s iconic Palace Theater celebrates 100 years, showcasing every era of performances

The Palace Theater is celebrating 100 years as a Hilo landmark with events, iconic music guests, a beloved musical, and a black and white movie featuring the rarely-played organ.

But after years of withstanding physical threats of tsunamis, hurricanes and volcano eruptions — as well as economic hardships from ownership changes and a pandemic — the Palace Theater in Hilo needed a makeover.

For the past 25 years, the nonprofit Friends of the Palace Theater has been working toward a clear mission: revitalizing, restoring and sustaining the Palace Theater as the landmark that it is. The theater continues to serve as a gathering place for the Big Island’s artists, often educating and inspiring those who step inside.

After more than 10 years of capital improvements — from the installation of air conditioning to the expansion of a solar array — Friends of the Palace Theater is now turning its efforts to the auditorium’s interior, which desperately is in need of care.

“I have had my eyes on the centennial since I started at the Palace in 2018,” Executive Director Phillips Payson said. “It is an honor to be shepherding her through this momentous occasion.”

Along with Payson overseeing the interior restoration, Jennie Kaneshiro, vice president of the Board of Directors, is leading the charge overseeing the centennial weekend of events from Thursday to Sunday. 

“Iʻm so excited and honored to be a part of this and that the Palace is still going strong after 100 years,” Kaneshiro said. “We are making sure we celebrate and represent every aspect of the Palace – the movies, the dances, the musicals and even the organ.”

After an intimate red carpet gala kicks off the 100th anniversary weekend on Thursday, a variety show will follow to celebrate the eclectic performance art the Palace has brought to East Hawaiʻi.

The live theatrical revue will feature performances from Mark Yamanaka, Island Dance Academy, Aerial Arts Hawaiʻi, Center Stage Dance Alliance, the Hilo Honeys, Walter Greenwood on the mighty Palace Pipe Organ, and singers from Hilo Education Arts Repertory Theatre, representing the lineage of the Palace.

“This will just be the beginning of a fun weekend of programming,” Kaneshiro said. “Thursday evening will just be a great way to see so many aspects of the Palace and what kind of talent graces the stage every year. I mean some of these performers have been on the Palace stage dozens of time.”

On Friday, the Masquerade Bash will be a free dance party and concert for the community with Leche de Tigre, a Latin funk band that started in Kona in 2009. The music will be unique with a rock backline fused with Spanish, Cuban and South American instruments and a trumpet to complement both male and female multilingual lyricists.

On Saturday, Paula Fuga, one of Hawaiʻi’s top female musicians, will be performing to celebrate the iconic Hilo venue. The show also will feature Drew Daniels and the East Side All-Stars as an opening act. 

“The show promises an atmosphere thick with emotion and aloha, where every note tells a story of island life, resilience and joy, which is just natural for Paula Fuga,” Kaneshiro said. “I think this will be a time when the audience really feels connected to culture and community.”

The last centennial weekend event will honor the roots of the Palace that was founded on Oct. 26, 1925, with the Phantom of the Opera silent movie featuring the live organ. 

“On the anniversary date, we want to honor the legacy of the Palace with a program that showcases the Palace as it was 100 years ago,” Payson said. “The entire weekend will honor every facet of how we exist out here and engage with every pocket of Hilo that comes through.”

According to Kaneshiro, every bit of money from the centennial events will be used to assist in the interior restoration of the Palace Theater, so the building can live as long as the energy inside of it.

“One important part about shaping this weekend was just making sure the community knows how important their support has been and how much it has meant over the last 100 years,” Kaneshiro said. “We would not be here without the community coming in, especially when the theater was defunct in the 1980s. There is new life within the walls and I love to see how the Palace continues to thrive as a direct reflection of the community showing up over and over.”

Kaneshiro is a recent addition to the Board of Directors, along with former Mayor Mitch Roth, Katherine Kean and Kyden de Sa, who is only 23-years old. They plan to continue making sure the interior restoration is completed after the centennial weekend.

“As the board kind of realizes its new identity, then we will have more present focus, but for now it’s all about looking at the future,” Kaneshiro said. “Similar to the building, the board is refreshed and we all have different perspectives, which is very exciting.”

Before the centennial weekend begins, the centennial musical, Wizard of Oz, will be showing at the Palace Theater.

Directed by Hilo theater icon, Jackie Pualani Johnson, is dedicating this show to her mom, who worked as an usher at the Hilo Palace Theater during the last years of high school.

“The Palace celebrates the heart of Hilo in so many ways,” Johnson said. “It took a long time for western performance to get a foothold here, but now there is such a wonderful cadre of performers that follow their heart over ego.

“There is camaraderie in all of theater and there is something about Hilo where it is a small enough town where you work with the same people and continue learning from each other.”

Johnson is working with 75 performers that include actors, dancers and 26 keiki playing the munchkins. However, there were 175 who auditioned for the beloved musical because there are many generations the story has affected since the book was released in the early 1900s.

“I think The Wizard of Oz is so beloved, because it is a journey we see in our lives,” Johnson said. “It’s the task of losing yourself, facing harsh realities, trusting friends and coming out the other side to find yourself.

“Because we are in the Palace, the story is made more special with the inclusion of a live orchestra that transports you to another realm. The fantasy elements remind us that real life can be like our dreams if we want it to be.”

Tarani Best is playing the lead role of Dorothy Gale and has connected with the character that she remembers watching it on the Palace stage as a young girl.

“I was so excited to get this role and when I did, it reminded me that the Wizard of Oz was the first show I saw on stage when I was 9-years old or so,” Best said. “I remember thinking about how much I wanted to play Dorothy one day, so it is very special to be in this role.

“I think itʻs why my favorite line from the musical is, ʻand the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true,ʻ” she continued.

The Wizard of Oz will showing be at the Palace Theater until Sunday, with showtimes at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2:30 on Sunday.

For tickets to any of the centennial events and the Wizard of Oz, visit the Hilo Palace Theater website. There is also more information on the interior restoration and donations online.