SHOYU ON RICE, THE UNDERNEATH & More Set for Kumu Kahua Theatre's 44th Season

By: Jul. 11, 2014
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Kumu Kahua Theatre announced their season at Kaka'ako Agora, for a full-house crowd. Kumu Kahua Theatre Artistic Director, Harry Wong, announced the season and gave descriptions and dates for each of the shows, and then a team of actors performed a reading of the first play of the season.

Kumu Kahua's 44th Season of Plays For and About Hawai`i 2014-2015

Shoyu on Rice
A world premiere by Scot Izuka
August 21 - September 21, 2014

Peer pressure and identity issues create comedy and drama in a private Hawaii high school.

In the mid-1980s, boys attending a Catholic all-boys high school deal with their use of pidgin English when a substitute teacher from Kansas takes over their classroom. Meanwhile, the substitute struggles to learn local ways in both the classroom and the home of her Japanese-American fiancé's parents. And a student from a private girl's school faces the scorn of the boys due to rumors about her reputation.

the underneath
A world premiere by Susan Soon He Stanton
November 6 - December 7, 2014

When a young man disappears under mysterious circumstances, his estranged brother tries to find him.

In this noir mystery drama, a man returns to Hawaii after ten years, responding to an urgent summons from his brother. On arrival he learns that his brother is missing, and that many things have changed since their childhood. To uncover the mysteries, the brother encounters a girlfriend, a homeless man who may have witnessed something relevant, a crime boss and an enigmatic young private investigator. Identities shift and the past re-emerges, as the search seems to reveal more questions than answers.

My Name is Gary Cooper
A Hawai`i premiere by Victor Rodger
January 22 - February 22, 2015

A young Samoan man visits a Los Angeles family to deal with some unsettled issues.

Rodger, a playwright of Samoan ancestry, deals with themes of race, racism and identity. In My Name is Gary Cooper, he combines knowledge of classic Hollywood films about the South Pacific with a determination to bring Pacific Island characters to the foreground. He says, ? Hollywood?s?South Pacific films?white characters entered the brown world and stirred things up. What if, I wondered, a brown character entered the white world instead, and stirred things up? What would it look like?? This play answers the question.

Ka'iulani
A Kumu Kahua revival by Dennis Carroll, Victoria Kneubuhl, Robert Nelson and Ryan Page
March 26 - April 26, 2015

A poetic rendering of the short life of Hawai'i's half-Hawaiian, half-Scottish princess.

Within the short life of Princess Ka'iulani is contained the sad, shameful story of the downfall of the Hawaiian Kingdom. She was sent to Europe to receive an education befitting her royalty, but during her absence the monarchy was abrogated and she returned to Hawai?i a figurehead rather than a queen. Ka'iulani is a historical-musical-psychological drama complete with a Greek/Hawaiian chorus and a Hawaiian chanter. The play, which portrays the princess during three different phases of her life, originally premiered at Kumu Kahua Theatre in 1987.

Echoes of Dat Red Guitar
A world premiere by Lee A. Tonouchi
May 28 - June 28, 2015

A comedy about mass murder - or is it?

Hawaii's 'Pidgin Guerilla' returns to Kumu?s stage with a darkly humorous play about a bright but unmotivated man still living at home with his parents who berate him for his lack of ambition. He gets a job in a state office populated with memorable characters, including a bully, nerdy techies, a born-again Christian sex bomb, and a haole boss who stresses 'community' and 'teamwork.' When impending state furloughs threaten his employment, will he be able to summon his personal `aumakua, the Japanese superhero Kikaida? Or will the pressure drive him to go postal?

Subscriptions and tickets are on sale and can be purchased at KumuKahua.org, or by calling or visiting the Kumu Kahua Theatre box office at 46 Merchant street (the corner of Merchant and Bethel streets in downtown Honolulu); 808-536-4441. The box office is open Monday - Thursday from 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM.

 

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