A new play celebrating 1930s Hawaiian music and its influence on contemporary Hawaiian music premieres at the University of Hawaiʻi's Kennedy Theatre on Friday, Sept. 27.
"Puana" was co-written by professor Tammy Hailiʻōpua Baker with contributions from a creative team that included celebrated Kumu Hula Keawe Lopes and award-winning musician Zachary Alaka’i Lum.
HPR had the chance to attend a rehearsal earlier this week and sat down with Baker to talk about the production.
"This story is really about the unpacking and the understanding of how our ancestors' journeys might inform our journeys today, and how they sometimes communicate to us through song, and the accepting and the understanding that they do visit us," she said.
Baker said a majority of the dialogue is in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi because she wanted to create a world in which the language is alive and well.
"We don't just talk with our hands. We talk with our facial expressions, we talk with our body language. I do believe that audience members, no matter if they have a little exposure, no exposure, deep exposure, that they will be able to follow the story along," she said.
"Puana" premieres Sept. 27 at Kennedy Theatre and will run through Oct. 6. Click here to learn more.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Sept. 27, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
