Four years after the seed was planted, actor and playwright Ryan Okinaka’s first play, “iHula,” is on stage at Kumu Kahua Theatre.

The title is a play on Apple’s iPhone and iPad mobile devices. The show, which runs through Dec. 4, explores how a hula family navigates generational changes, and the struggle to keep traditions alive in today’s digital age.

“It’s the millennial point of view of what hula means to our generation,” said Okinaka, 28.

In “iHula,” kumu ‘Iwalani finds the task of passing on her love for hula more challenging with each new generation. As the play unfolds, it’s also a coming-of-age story for four young women, each with issues of her own that Okinaka said were inspired by people in his life. It touches on ethnicity, identity and body image.

The action, directed by Harry Wong III, is interwoven with 14 hula numbers featuring original choreography by the playwright’s older brother, Nathan Okinaka, kumu hula for Hula Halau ‘o Kawailehua in Aiea.

The characters include Pono, ‘Iwalani’s granddaughter, who feels the responsibility for carrying on the teachings of the halau but resents having to teach the keiki class at night when she’d rather be doing other things. She eventually comes to realize the responsibility is a gift.

Ryan Okinaka, who danced hula as a youngster but became more interested in theater as he grew up, says there’s a little bit of himself in Pono.

Jen, the only Caucasian in the group, has Miss Aloha Hula dreams despite questions of whether she belongs in the halau. Kanani, the youngest, wants to be perceived as more than just the “baby” of the group. The talented and passionate Pumehana is always placed in the back of the line because she is a “big girl.”

“I hope hula people come to see the show,” Okinaka said. “I think it’ll open their eyes to a different way that hula can be presented. … It’s almost like a musical. It’s a very different way of experiencing hula.”

In 2012, Nathan Okinaka asked Ryan to create theatrical sketches to serve as interludes between hula numbers for the halau’s hoike (exhibition). The show was dedicated to their father, Norman Okinaka, who had died a few months earlier.

On hoike night, the stage was set and an audience of 300 was present at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel in Waikiki, but everyone had to evacuate shortly after the show began due to a tsunami warning. The sketches were never performed, nor the story ever told.

Okinaka said he kept some of the dialogue and parts that were closest to his heart and it evolved into “iHula.”

His Kumu Kahua Theatre credits include an appearance in last season’s “Shoyu on Rice” production by Scot Izuka and serving as assistant director of Lee Cataluna’s “Flowers of Hawai‘i” two seasons ago.

Some well-known Kumu Kahua actors in “iHula” are Anette Aga, Geph Albo Jr., Jaime Bradner, Kahana Ho and Lelea‘e “Buffy” Kahalepuna Wong.

“I kind of wrote this like a love letter to hula,” Okinaka said. “It’s almost like my way of saying I love hula and I’m sorry it was never a big part of my life. I want people to walk away with an appreciation of hula. … As millennials, we have a responsibility to pass on the legacy of those who came before us.”