This Nightingale doesn't just sing, it zings.

When two dynamic, creative people collaborate, sometimes there is a clash. However, the first collaboration between artistic directors Eric Johnson of the Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Cheryl Flaharty of the Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre is a perfect harmony.

HTY's season opener, "Nightingale," is a fable written by Hans Christian Andersen. "It's a simple fable with music, movement and message, told in a unique way," Johnson said.

It takes place in China. However, Johnson and Flaharty agreed right away that this would not be a literal China. "We're referencing China but it's a China of the imagination, so anything goes," Flaharty explained.

While youth theater and the abstract, sensual, provocative aura of Iona may seem worlds apart, the two directors found a common bond immediately. Both are innovative storytellers skilled in the use of symbols to communicate subtle messages. Their work styles are similar, each believing in the evolution of the creative process.

In service to the dual vision, the costumes for "Nightingale" are imaginative, communicative and a little crazy.

Each costume has musical instruments incorporated into it. "What the costumes say," Flaharty explained, "is that our voice, our music, our creativity are a part of us and not separate from us. We are the music."

Said Johnson: "The theme of the show is that in order to hear the song in your heart you have to learn to listen, so for Cheryl the natural way to listen is through the choreography."

One of the challenges in creating costumes for HTY, Flaharty said, is that they have to be extremely durable. There are 140 shows so laundering must be considered.

There are also budget constraints, of course, but she is used to that.

"Theater in Hawai'i is not lucrative," she said, so, over the years, she has mastered the art of making do. Much of what she used is recycled from the HTY costume shop. The Nightingale's costume, for example, was formerly a turquoise prom dress.

Johnson's philosophy is, "there's great freedom in not knowing what you can't do." Flaharty concurs. Together they make this Nightingale zing.