Kumu Kahua presents Linging Pidgin
Living Pidgin is a collection short plays and theatrical vignettes that display Lee Tonouchi's facility with Pidgin, his sense of humor, and his love of life in the islands. The show will play at Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant Street in downtown Honolulu, running from January 11 through February 11. This play contains strong use of Hawaiian Creole English and Pidgin English situations.
Author of Da Kine Dictionary and the short-story collection Da Word, and dubbed "Da Pidgin Guerilla” by an English teacher at U.H. M?noa, Lee Tonouchi's talents as a comic writer for the stage are showcased in these four short plays. How Fo' Be Local in Five Easy Steps features a flirtatious, egotistical documentary filmmaker whose actors have a "reality" script – and a clever plot – of their own. Significant Moments in the Life of Oriental Faddah and Son is a comic monologue with serious moments, featuring a 30-year old man reminiscing about birth, puberty, college, marriage, and death. Another group monologues relates the 7 Deadly Local Sins with humorous examples drawn from life in Hawai‘i. Pijin Wawrz takes place in Future Hawai‘i where Pidgin is outlawed and only the Pidgin Rebels can take on the impossible mission of rescuing the rumored lost Pidgin archives.
Kumu Kahua Artistic Director, Harry Wong, will direct the production, with set design by Dean Bellen, costume design by Alvin Chan, and sound design by Stu Hirayama. The cast features Kumu veterans Pukaua Ah-Nee, Daniel Kalahele, Kristen Nonaka, D. Tafa‘i Silipa and Darryl Tsutsui. Jaeves Iha, Julia Nakamoto, and Jeremy Wagner will make their Kumu debuts with Living Pidgin.
Kumu Kahua Theatre is an air-conditioned, intimate 100-seat performance space; to avoid disappointment, patrons should purchase tickets in advance. Performances are at 8pm Thursday through Saturday, and at 2pm on Sunday afternoons. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card by calling 536-4441, or by visiting our Box Office between 11am and 3pm Monday through Friday. Ticket prices range from $16 to $5. Tickets go on sale Monday, December 26. For more information about this and other productions, visit www.kumukahua.org.
