ALOHA LAS VEGAS

OUR PRODUCTIONS ARE SPONSORED IN PART BY THE FOLLOWING:

Kumu Kahua productions are supported in part by the NME Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation; the Island Insurance Foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021; McInerny Foundation (Bank of Hawaii, Trustee); The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawaiʻi; The Honolulu Star-Advertiser; Hawaiian Electric Company; Alexander & Baldwin; The John R Halligan Charitable Fund; Spectrum/Charter Communications; ABC Stores; the Gloria Kosasa Gainsley Fund; Hawaiʻi Public Radio; The Kim Coco Fund for Justice of the Iwamoto Family Foundation; Edric Sakamoto; John Mazur and other foundations, businesses, and loyal patrons.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Edward Sakamoto has written seventeen plays, twelve of which have Hawai‘i themes, and fifteen of which have been produced by Kumu Kahua Theatre. His plays have also been produced in Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, and San Francisco. University of Hawai‘i Press published Hawai‘i No Ka Oi: The Kamiya Family Trilogy in 1995, and Aloha Las Vegas and Other Plays in 2000—the “other Plays” being A‘ala Park and Stew Rice. He received Hollywood Dramalogue Awards for Stew Rice and Chikamatsu’s Forest, and local HSTC Best Original Play Po‘okela Awards for Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire and for Aloha Las Vegas. Chikamatsu’s Forest was staged Off Off Broadway by the Blue Heron Theatre in 1995. Sakamoto received the Hawai‘i Award for Literature in 1997. KKT staged his historical ‘ghost’ play Obake in 2003, Fishing for Wives was produced in 2012, and It’s All Relative in 2011.The sequel to Aloha Las Vegas, Mahalo Las Vegas, was produced by KKT in 2006. Sakamoto has also been the recipient of a Rockefeller American Playwrights in Residence Fellowship, and an NEA grant. Mr. Sakamoto passed away on October 7, 2015. We are honored to have known him and to produce his work. Ed continues to support the work of Kumu Kahua Theatre through a generous gift from the Edward K. Sakamoto Trust.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

Rather than tell you about Aloha Las Vegas, I’d like to talk to you about this season of favorites.

We chose these plays as a thank you to you for your more than 50 seasons of support, and to introduce a new generation of theatre goers to these plays. I know they gave and will give you joy, move you, and make you think.

These plays would also be part of Kumu Kahua’s repertoire. The late Dennis Carroll, one of our founders, hoped that Kumu Kahua would develop a repertoire of plays that we could return to; plays that would continue to speak to Hawai‘i's community. The five plays in this season represent some of those plays.

Now what qualities do theses play possess? I turn to the three qualities listed in Wallace Stevens’ poem Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction:

“It Must Be Abstract”

Not that these plays are like Modern Art paintings with squares and rectangles, splashes of paint, and distorted faces. (That would be a play I’d love to direct.) The plays in this season are abstracted or taken from life. Wally in Aloha Las Vegas considers leaving Hawai‘i just like many of us consider every day here.

“It Must Change”

Times have changed from the mid-90s, and yet without changing a word in the script, it remains relevant to now. Also, the crew, the actors, myself, and you will find something new in Aloha Las Vegas every time we come back to the play. Without changing a word, the play changes each time we return to it.

“It Must Give Pleasure”

Though this seems self-explanatory, it isn’t that simple. To paraphrase Tom Wolfe, most people want to slip into a play like you would a warm bath. While all people need this escape, we should get it by taking a warm bath, not at the theatre. This would be merely trying to please you. These plays celebrate and also confront who we are, and yet you experience pleasure.

Ly Atsumi had her KKT debut as Lovey Nariyoshi in Keth Kashiwada and John H.Y. Watʻs adaptation of Lois-Ann Yamanakaʻs novel Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers. Ly, also, performed in a few of Lee Cataluna’s plays, Da Mayah and Aloha Friday (KKT). The last production she performed in, 38 Minutes (KKT), was written by various voices in Hawai’i and, also, incorporated improvisational segments. Ly earned a BA in Political Science at the University of Hawaii and recently completed her MBA with a specialization in Data Analytics from Colorado Tech University. Her newfound interest is in playwriting. Ly submitted a piece, Da Truth of Da Fruit which was recognized as Audience Favorite Pick in The Play Builders Festival.

Karen Kuioka Hironaga was last seen in Ryan Okinaka's Who You Again? directed by her husband, Denny Hironaga. She has also been seen on stage at KKT in Uncleʻs Regularly Scheduled Garage Party is Cancelled!, Da Mayah, Half Dozen Long Stem, Tea, Mahalo Las Vegas, and the remount of Shoyu on Rice. She was also in Sounds of Aloha Men’s Chorus Christmas Show (PTW), Happily Eva Afta, Once Upon One Noddah Time (OP), and The Joy Luck Club (DHT). She also acted in the film The Descendants in a scene opposite George Clooney, directed by Alexander Payne.

Salli Krekel made her debut for KKT in the triple-bill Territorial Plays, and then played the role of Deedee in Harry Wong’s smash hit revival of Sakamoto’s Aloha Las Vegas in its two seasons, and tour and in itʻs sequel play, Mahalo Las Vegas. She also played in a Dark Night production, Silent Night, Dark Night. Her most recent play at KKT was Teacher, Teacher by Anthony Michael Oliver.

Eric Mita is from Kailua and holds a BA in Secondary Education from UHM. His most recent role was as Butch in KKTʻs 2016 production of Aloha Las Vegas. This production will be his fifth time portraying Butch in Aloha Las Vegas. Other theatre credits include Mahalo Las Vegas (KKT), King Lear (HSF), Massie/Kahahawai (KKT) and A Ricepaper Airplane. His television and Indie film credits include Parts of the Same Circle, Obake Neko, Pele o ka Foodland, Hunt for Samurai Subs, Tiger Tuesday, Yoko Takes Wing in Hawai'i, Massie / Kahahwai Story, Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-O.

Allan Y. Okubo is extremely happy to be in one of his favorite Edward Sakamoto plays and it’s great to be doing it again with essentially the same cast and at KKT, Ed’s favorite theatre. He has been acting since the early ’70’s in TV starting with the original Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum PI, then started doing theatre in 1991 in Ed Sakamoto’s Pilgrimage for KKT, performed at Tenney Theatre. Since then he has appeared in most theatres in Hawaiʻi with the latest being Lee Tonouchi’s Oriental Faddah and Son at PTW in 2022. He has also appeared in feature films You May Not Kiss the Bride, Parts of the Same Circle and Popolo. He received Po’okela Awards for Leading Male in a Play (Miso) in 2010, Ensemble (The Tempest) in 2016 and (Twelf Nite O’ Wateva) in 2018, and for Featured Male in a Play (Cinderella Waltz) in 2020.

Dann Seki has been performing as a stage and screen actor since 1989. His most recent stage appearance was in MVTʻs The Joy Luck Club. .He was last seen on the KKT stage in 2016 in Aloha Las Vegas. He has appeared on the stages of most of the theatres in Honolulu and received a Po’okela award for his performance in MVT’s Allegiance. He was in Aldyth Morris’ Damien, UH Manoa’s The Giver, DHT’s Golden Boy, TAG’s Boy, and in the title role in King Lear for HSF. His TV and film credits include many productions filmed in Hawaiʻi including Inheritance, Doogie Kamealoha, M.D., I Know What You Did Last Summer, Magnum, P.I., The Landline Detective, Under the Blood Red Sun, Hawaii Five-0, Special Delivery and Savage Beach. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA and is on the Board of KKT. A graduate of Aiea High School, Dann has degrees in Audiology and Health Services Administration from the University of Hawaii. He was also on the air at KUMU-FM for 15 years.

Harry Wong III is normally seen behind the scenes as a director, having directed over 100 plays in his career. 52 of those plays were directed at KKT in his capacity as Artistic Director. Harry was the co-founder of HSF and a founding Board Member of the Lizard Loft. Awards he has received include the 1991 & 1993 Masako Sakamoto Scholarship for Acting; given to Hawai‘i High School graduates studying acting or playwriting, the 1995-1996 Allan Lee Hughes Fellow at Arena Stage Washington DC, the 2010 recipient Outstanding Alumni of Honolulu Community College, and the 2015 Ho‘okele Award recipient given to sustain quality service in the non-profit sector. Acting highlights include A Language of their Own (Studio Theatre, Washington DC), Mosquito Tales (HTY), The Chairmanʻs Wife (KKT) and Zoo Story (UHM).

Jason Kanda (Assistant Director) is a 20-year veteran of Honolulu's theatre scene with directing credits at KKT, HSF and AMG. Directing credits include David Hlavsa’s Pack of Lies for AMG and Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing for HSF at HMH with Movement Director, Tsuyuno Amos. Most recently he directed KKTʻs 51st season opener #haoleboyfriend by Tony Pisculli and Stephanie Keiko Kong.

Wayne Paʻakaula (Stage Manager) has worked as a Stage Manager on many productions at Kumu Kahua Theatre over the past 20 years. He’s also been involved as an actor playing the role of Uncle in Lee Cataluna’s Uncle’s Regularly Scheduled Garage Party Is Cancelled Tonight! He’s very happy to be a part of live theatre once again.

Brian Lee Sackett (Set & Light Design) has been involved in Hawai‘i theatre for 20-plus years. He has worked in every facet of theatre, other than playwriting, which he is quick to admit is beyond his skill set.

Keith Kashiwada (Sound Design) has done many designs for KKT productions. He directed two plays by Lee Cataluna, Super Secret Squad, and Folks You Meet in Longs. He also co adapted and directed Heads by Harry and Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers, from the novels by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. He is the veteran of many KKT productions as actor, director and adaptor.

Sara Ward (Properties Design) has designed props for almost every theatre on Oʻahu. Her favorite shows she’s worked on include Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Jamarama), Fiddler on the Roof (HPU), Suessical (DHT), The King and I (ACT), The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time (MVT) and The Rocky Horror Show (MVT). Sara has received four Po‘okela awards for her prop work in Hawaiʻi, and in 2019 she received the Hawaiʻi State Theatre Council Pierre Bowman Award. Sara is a member of the full-time professional staff at Kumu Kahua Theatre as the Office Manager.

THEATRE ABBREVIATIONS

Army Community Theatre: ACT
Kaimukī High School: KHS
The ARTS at Marks Garage: AMG
Kumu Kahua Theatre: KKT
All the World's a Stage: ATWAS
Performing Arts Center of Kapolei: PACK
Central Theatre Arts Academy: CTAA
Kīpuka Theatre: KT
Leeward Theatre: LCC
Diamond Head Theatre: DHT
Mid-Pacific Institute: MPI
EVOLVE Theatre Company: ETC
Mānoa Valley Theatre: MVT
Hawaiian Mission Houses: HMH
‘Ōhi‘a Productions: OP
Hawai‘i Opera Theatre: HOT
On the Spot: OTS
Hawai‘i Shakespeare Festival: HSF
Open Home Performance Network: OHPN
Hawai‘i Pacific University: HPU
PlayBuilders of Hawai‘i: PBH
Honolulu Theatre for Youth: HTY
Palikū Theatre: PTW
Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre: IONA
The Actors’ Group: TAG
KOA Theater: KOA
University of Hawai‘i Mānoa: UHM

KUMU KAHUA THEATRE
2022-2023

Managing Director: Donna Blanchard
Artistic Director: Harry Wong III
Office Manager: Sara Ward
Box Office Associates: Carlynn Wolfe, Kathy Dombrigues & Victoria Amara

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Tony Pisculli
Vice President: Dann Seki
Treasurer: Adam Huttler
Recording Secretary: Denise-Aiko Chinen
Mark Kalahele
Jason Kanda
Karen Kaulana
Brook Lee
Annie Macapagal
Marcus Oshiro
John H. Y. Wat
Victoria Wei