With Maui County easing COVID rules, venues wait for green light to host larger crowds

WAILUKU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Restrictions will soon be eased on Maui as Gov. David Ige signed the county’s plan to revise COVID guidelines on Wednesday.

Mayor Mike Victorino said as part of the plan, which will take effect Saturday, raises the cap on social gatherings to 10 indoors and 25 outdoors.

Bars and restaurants would also be allowed to serve alcohol until midnight.

Ten people can sit at a table together, and those who are not vaccinated can show proof of a negative test to dine indoors.

“I’m beginning to feel more optimistic, I’d like to say it in this way,” Victorino said. “I’m feeling a lot like Christmas is around the corner, if you know what I’m saying.”

However, as restrictions rollback and social gathering sizes increase, the rules for performance venues on the Valley Isle have not changed.

“Honestly, at this point, I’m just grateful to be open,” said ProArts Playhouse Executive Director Lin McEwan.

ProArts Playhouse in Kihei just reopened this month and is operating at 50% capacity.

“We submit individual event proposals for every event that we do. And we have a copious number of guidelines that we send in and submit,” McEwan said.

McEwan is gearing up for a busy month of performances.

She said she can’t wait to add more seating in the future.

In the meantime, she’s excited to have an audience again and for her artists back on stage.

“A lot of people ask me, ‘Do you think theater is going to survive all this?’ I said, ‘Well, Shakespeare wrote during the plague, and he did alright,’” she said.

“You find interesting cool ways of doing things that you’ve never done before, you innovate.”

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