6 Best Performing Arts Venues in Downtown Honolulu, Honolulu and Pearl Harbor

This group stages delightful productions, with creative props and engaging stories, August through May. Founded in 1955, it's one of the oldest children's theaters in the country (it's the only professional troupe in Hawaii), offering drama-education programs as well as school and family performances.

The sleekly high-tech Majestic, designed to sail smoothly in rough waters, powers farther along Waikiki's coastline than its competitors. Enjoy seasonal whale-watching trips between January and March during the day or year-round sunset cocktail and dinner cruises aboard the 400-passenger boat. (Atlantis is also known for its submarine tours off Waikiki.) The boat's dining room is elegantly laid out, and the standard Hawaiian buffet fare perfectly accompanies the tropical cocktails, Champagne, beer, or guava juice. Most passengers are honeymooners and those celebrating anniversaries and birthdays—or even the occasional proposal—and this, plus the Hawaiian music, makes the atmosphere festive. For the best view of Waikiki and the sunset, head to the top deck.

This group, consisting of four ensembles, has been around for decades and performs at the Honolulu Museum of Art's Doris Duke Theatre ( 901 S. Beretania St., Honolulu), the Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College ( 45-720 Keaahala Rd., Kaneohe), the University of Hawaii's West Oahu Library ( 1001 Farrington Hwy., Kapolei), and other locations around the island. The season runs from fall through spring.

Locals refer to it as "HOT," probably because the Hawaii Opera Theatre has been turning the opera-challenged into opera lovers since 1961. All operas are sung in their original language, with a projected English translation.

Focusing on plays written by local playwrights about Island life and Hawaiian experiences, this troupe stages five or six productions a year in an intimate, 100-seat auditorium.

The celebrated 1,500-passenger Star of Honolulu offers four sunset dinner-cruise packages, from a roast beef buffet and Polynesian show to a romantic, seven-course, fine-dining excursion with live jazz. The company also runs whale-watching and special holiday cruises.