The Story
The Kaluaikoolau family. Hawaii State Archives
Out of the rugged West emerged a Hawaiian cowboy who became a hero.
In 1893, the cowboy Ko'olau fought a rebel militia that had overthrown the Hawaiian monarchy and now wanted to enforce leprosy laws that would have forced his son and him to the leper settlement at Kalaupapa called “the Living Grave.” With more than 50 soldiers and deputies and a Krupp cannon, the militia was confident it could capture Ko'olau who had killed a deputy sheriff. But they hadn’t taken into account Ko'olau’s expertise as a marksman, nor the resolve of his wife Pi'ilani to keep the family together, nor the vast wilderness of Kalalau Valley on Kauai. The play “Legend of Ko'olau” is about love and survival – love and devotion to family and the fight for their survival, despite the decimation of their Polynesian race.
Advisory Board
John D. Waihee
Governor Waihe‘e was the first Native Hawaiian governor since statehood in 1959, and served in that position from 1986 to 1994. He was a lieutenant governor under Hawaii Gov. George Ariyoshi. He’s a 1976 graduate of the William S. Richardson School of Law.
Kanoemaileokalani Cazimero
is an entertainer, actress and entrepreneur in Honolulu.
Joanne F. Tachibana
is the president of the United Nations Association-USA Hawaii Division and secretary of the Sun Yat-sen Hawaii Foundation based in Honolulu.
Jon Shirota (emeritus),
Many thanks to the late author Jon Shirota, who in the early stages of the production of Legend Of Ko’olau, helped to support its tour. Shirota, a Maui-born resident who lived in Los Angeles, received several literary awards, including the Kennedy Center Award for his play, “Lucky Come Hawaii.”
Mariah K. Young
, a former Maui resident, is a winner of the James D. Houston Award for Western Literature. She holds a Master’s In Creative Writing from the University of California-Riverside and is the Learning Center Advanced Program Coordinator at Pima Community College in Arizona. She is the author of a collection of short stories entitled “Masha’alla and Other Stories.”
From the Audience
“Fantastic”
- Anthony Sepulveda, Warner Bros. Vice-President, Casting
“Remarkable”
- Jack Foley, Berkeley poet and radio host
“A must-see!”
- Kumu Hula Hōkūlani Holt-Padilla
Honolulu Magazine picked Legend Of Ko’olau among the “8 Best Things To Do” in November, 2016 in Honolulu.
More than 600 attended a sold-out performance at Sacramento City College’s Performing Arts Theatre on April 10, 2016.
Here’s what the audience said:
“Fabulous show.” — Iwalani Whitmarsh, Sacramento resident.
“Loved it. A must-see if it comes to your area!” — Veronica Pettibone, Sacramento resident.
“Absolutely wonderful performance. So glad I went.” — Marilyn Clausse Huddy, Sacramento resident.
“It was amazing!” — Janet Weisshaar Horowitz, Sacramento resident.
“Great performance!” — Joanna Viray Lagman- Snyder, Sacramento resident.
The Company
Moronai Kanekoa
Mr. Kanekoa, who has acted in the Kauai premiere of the Legend of Ko'olau, has had numerous roles on stage and in the award- winning film The Haumana. He’s a Masters Of Fine Arts graduate in drama from the University of Southern California. He’s a former Maui resident who now lives in Los Angeles.
DIRECTOR EMERITUS Monte Scott Perez
Monte Scott Perez has been the director at full performances at the Waimea Historic Theatre on Kauai, the Hawaii Theatre in Honolulu and the East West Players David Henry Hwang Theatre in Los Angeles — all to standing ovation audiences. Mr. Perez is an actor who has toured nationally with the late Jack Krugman (Odd Couple, Quincy).
Ed Kaahea
Mahalo to Ed Kaahea for his early support of the play and doing excellent readings of it.
Original Director Keo Woolford
The late Mr. Woolford was the director of the original production of Legend of Ko'olau at the McCoy Theatre at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Nov. 9, 2013. He has directed “Three Year Swim Club,” David Henry Hwang Theatre in Los Angeles Spring 2012, reprised East-West Players Theatre Fall 2012. Actor/writer in one-man play “I- Land” at the Hawaii Theatre. Actor in “The King And I” at the London Palladium, replacing actor Jason Scott Lee. He is the director of the award-winning feature film, “The Haumana” that has premiered in Los Angeles in 2013.
Writer Gary T. Kubota
Mr. Kubota was a crew member aboard the double-hulled sailing canoe Hokule'a through Micronesia in 2007 and is the author of “To Honor Mau: Voyage of the Hokule'a through Micronesia,” written in English, Hawaiian and Satawalese and selected to be in the Hawaiian language library Ulukau.org. He has produced two “Hawaii Specials” on prime time on Hawaii Public Television and has received several recognitions nationally from groups, including the National Press Club and NNA. He has worked at several daily newspapers as a writer and continues to work as a journalist in Honolulu, while keeping his residence on Maui. For five years, he worked as the editor and business manager of the weekly Lahaina News on Maui. Besides being a playwright, he’s a poet and songwriter.
Here’s the song Ballad of Ko’olau written by Gary Kubota, describing Ko’olau’s battle with a militia