When we went to Oahu back in June, we had talked about doing a luau, as I’ve been to Hawaii twice before this trip and have never actually done a luau. Trust me, I’m very surprised as well.

We had looked up different options, but since we weren’t renting a car we did feel a bit more limited. And the more I researched, the more I realized luaus are expensive. I’m sure the food is great and all, but I wasn’t ready to drop more than $350 for dinner and a show for us on our trip.

I continued researching and came across a luau in Waikiki that we could see a show without doing the buffet dinner portion. I was intrigued. Then I read there was an Elvis impersonator as a headliner. I was more intrigued.

And then they ran a sale and we booked ourselves two tickets for the Rock-A-Hula Show. It was essentially a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal they ran for July. We now had a night of music and dancing booked for our Hawaiian getaway.

Booking information

Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know for the Rock-A-Hula Show:

• Duration: 90 minutes
• Days offered: Daily except Fridays
• Times: 7:30 p.m. (5:15 p.m. if you do the buffet dinner first)
• Price: $83 per adult ($179 if you do the luau and show)
• Location: Royal Hawaiian Center
• Inclusions: No additional inclusions 
• Tickets: Book online

Performance & theater

The show was a ton of fun, I can’t lie. It was eclectic with having traditional Hawaiian music and hula dancers, Elvis, Michael Jackson, and a fire dancer all in one show, but I kind of loved it.

The show is well choreographed, tells a story, and each performer is phenomenal. For real, I couldn’t stop watching one of the drummers on stage as he just looked so happy to be there. I strive to smile that much when I’m at work.

The show kicks off talking about the power of music and how Hawaii was pretty isolated from other musical influences for a long time. But once they were introduced to other music, they embraced it. And then we travel through time as we see how Hawaiian music has evolved over time with different cultural influences.

It starts with traditional Hawaiian music and hula with two main singers leading us through the songs, and then transitions to Elvis before bringing Michael Jackson on stage. They do play Somewhere Over the Rainbow in honor of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole as well. A fire dancer takes the stage and then all the headliners come back out together to close out the show. It really was a fun mix of genres and performances but still felt very Hawaiian-themed.

While you aren’t allowed to take videos during the show, I did take plenty of pictures as I do enjoy Elvis music and we’d be terrible children of the ‘80s if we didn’t scream and shout when MJ took the stage with his horde of zombies. 

Is this show kind of wild? Yes. Is it well done? Also yes. If you want something different from a stereotypical luau and performance in Honolulu, I’d highly recommend this. It still had the traditional music and dancing you’d expect from a luau, but it had a bit more too. I’d especially recommend this if you love the impression Hawaii had on Elvis and his music. 

The theater is air conditioned and quite spacious. The seats were comfortable for how long we’d sitting there. Fair warning, Elvis does walk out into the crowd so you might get up close and personal with him.

Location

The theater (and dining area if you do the full luau experience) is at the Royal Hawaiian Center. The address is:

Royal Hawaiian Center
2201 Kalakaua Avenue, Bldg. B, 4th Floor
Honolulu, HI 96815

Tips for the show

• Bring a sweater: They’ll share this in your confirmation email as well but the theater is air conditioned and it got quick chilly in there. 
• Grab a cocktail: I got myself a lovely mai tai to sip on during the show as there is a bar in the theater.  
• Get there on time: If you’re not doing the luau first, you are a bit limited in your seat choices so you may want to get there early. We could either sit in the center but at the back or sit anywhere on the left-hand side. We opted for the left-hand side so we could be closer to the stage.
• Take photos: You can take pictures during the show, just not videos. Also, after the show, the headliners are out in the box office and you’re welcome to take pictures with them.

When we do find ourselves traveling back to Hawaii, what luau experience should we look at booking? Share your recommendations in the comments!