Paliku Theatre, on the Windward Community College campus in Kane'ohe, will present the Broadway Tony Award winner "Miss Saigon" and has tapped theater veteran Ronald E. Bright to direct.

"Miss Saigon," inspired by the "Madame Butterfly" opera but set in war-torn Vietnam, will be Paliku's season-opening production, with an early October playdate.

Bright, who has mentored and directed more than 10 Island singers-actor who have performed in "Saigon" here and in companies on Broadway and abroad, will conduct auditions July 29, 30 and 31, with timetables to be set.

Clarke Bright, son of the director, will be musical director.

Both have been active in local theater work, notably at Castle High School's Ron Bright Theatre, where the elder Bright taught and the younger Bright attended.

"It's going to be a big show for us," said Tom Holowach, Paliku Theatre manager. "There will be two shows by the same composer here this fall."

He was referring to "Les Miserables," which will kick off Diamond Head Theatre's new season Sept. 26; both "Les Miz" and "Saigon" feature songs by French composer Claude-Michel Schonberg with a libretto by Alain Boublil.

"Miss Saigon" will be Paliku's fall musical; a children show, "The Wind in the Willows," will be the second show of the new season, set for early February.

Information: 235-7330.