Press Release from Kumu Kahua Theatre - Flowers of Hawaii

Kumu audience favorite Lee Cataluna returns to Kumu Kahua's stage with a series of ten vignettes capture the essence of family relationships.

These playlets depict the strained and often confrontational relationships among members of several Hawaii families: An elderly woman's children and grandchildren claim her possessions while she's still alive, sticking name tags under her belongings; a young mother tries to foist off the responsibilities of raising her child onto her mother; a married woman grows tired of her affair with a possessive policeman; and a neighbor discovers that his friend is being physically abused by his wife.

Cataluna, well known for her hilarious local-style comedies, gets serious without absenting her sense of humor in this world-premiere drama.

Lee Cataluna is an award-winning playwright and author of the books Folks You Meet in Longs and Three Years on Doreen's Sofa. Eleven of her plays have been performed in theatres around the state. She worked as an anchor and reporter in local television and wrote a metro column for the Honolulu Advertiser for 12 years. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside and has been a member of the 'Iolani School English Department since 2012.

The show is directed by Kumu Kahua Theatre Artistic Director, Harry Wong. This play is Lee's Rubber Soul, you know, like The Beatles album. Says Mr. Wong. It still sounds like Lee's work, but this play shows a growing maturity and confidence as an artist, and has the promise of greater things to come.

The cast of fifteen includes Jacob Song, Charlotte Dias, Danielle Zalopany, Jaime Bradner, Jason Quine, Julia LoPresti, Karen Hironaga, Kati Kuroda, Lisa Katagiri-Bright, Nick Nakama, Reb Allen, Tiffany Brown, Tyler Tanabe, Wil Kahele, and Wil Hao.

SHOW DATES:

Thursday, Friday & Saturday 8pm: November 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30 (No show Thursday, November 28 - Thanksgiving); December 5, 6, 7, 2013

Sundays 2pm: November 10, 17, 24; December 1, *8, 2013

*American Sign Language Interpretation upon request

Tickets can be purchased with a credit card by calling 536-4441, at KumuKahua.org, or by visiting our box office at 46 Merchant Street (corner of Bethel and Merchant streets, downtown) between 11am and 3pm Monday through Friday. Ticket prices range from $5 to $20.

WHAT: The world premiere of Flowers of Hawaii

WHERE: Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant Street

WHEN: November 7 - December 8, 2013 (see full schedule below)

COST: $5 - $20

INFO: 536-4441, kumukahua.org