When HA: Breath of Life debuted in August 2009, I kept hearing how much people enjoyed it – both local residents and visitors. It’s not easy to create a show that strikes a chord with locals and visitors, but HA does.
We had been big fans of the Polynesian Cultural Center’s previous evening show Horizons, so we knew that HA had big shoes to fill. When we had the opportunity to visit Oahu in 2010, one of the first things that popped in my mind was, “We’ve got to see HA!” So, we made our plans for this short, five-day visit, making sure we got to the Polynesian Cultural Center.
We thought HA was outstanding. This spectacular Polynesian show has all the bells and whistles of a top notch Broadway or London West End show, but with the warmth and pageantry of the Polynesian cultures. HA features more than 100 performers, live music, colorful Polynesian-inspired costumes, a stage that’s approximately 60ft tall, and fire – lots of dramatic scenes using fire. I believe I counted about 10 Samoan fireknife dances at one point — an illuminating display!
All the cast, music, choreography, and technical features of the show help to make HA excellent entertainment, but HA’s story is what makes it so memorable. The show centers on the main character, Mana, by following his life and his family. With each stage of Mana’s life, we journey to a different Polynesian island chain, with aspects of each culture beautifully woven into the story. If I remember correctly, the Polynesian journey goes through Tonga, Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and Fiji.
I don’t want to give too much of the storyline away. I will say this, don’t be surprised if a tear wells up in your eye.
Andy prepared a video with scenes from the show shot from our seats.
HA: Breath of Life shows every Monday through Saturday evening with the exceptions of Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The open-air venue is covered, so you don’t have to worry about getting wet if it rains.
The Polynesian Cultural Center offers a variety of packages including admission to the show. You can review the package options here. Selecting a package can be a challenge. If you’ve never been to the Polynesian Cultural Center, we recommend the Ali’i Luau Package, which includes touring all the island villages, enjoying a luau, and then seeing the evening show. (See our review of the Ali’i Luau Package.) If you don’t have as much time, the Luau & HA: Breath of Life package is a good option. Note that you can save 10% or more when you book online at least 10 days in advance directly with Polynesian Cultural Center’s website.
I’ve seen many Polynesian shows and HA: Breath of Life is truly outstanding. I don’t believe there’s another Polynesian show anywhere that’s on par with the magnitude of HA’s production. I highly recommend it.
For more reviews of HA: Breath of Life, see this TripAdvisor link. Have you seen HA: Breath of Life? What was your impression of the show?
Sheila Beal
7 comments
Cool! Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to see it some time myself.
Hi Sheila,
Thank you for the wonderful review of Ha. My daughter once performed in the show before she moved to Tahiti. She enjoyed the experience very much and often told me that the story has many emotional moments. Even though the storyline is simple, it makes you reflect about your own life.
Aloha,
Christian
It really is amazing that they were able to top Horizons with an even better show!
We went in Oct. and took the grandkids 8,7, 4 the all loved it t what a wonderful experience.
We say skip the PCC. It is basically very touristy and is a work venue for students of the adjacent school. The evening show was lots of fun but the daylong bus tour to there – too much. Enjoy the real Hawaiian culture – find a guy with a slack key guitar and just listen. The visit to the Arizona was priceless and moving. Would go back in a heartbeat. Would not revisit the PCC.
Sheila, Andy doesn’t have to worry. His video was excellent! The view from your seats is great, letting you get a full view of the whole stage. Sometimes thefront row seats are a bit too close to enjoy the show properly. The promo video is nice but noone can get that close without getting burned. Again, good work, Andy.
thanks for the kind words about Andy’s video, Joanne. He was happy to hear you thought it was excellent.