As Cemetery Pupu Theatre celebrates its 10th anniversary with “A Decade of Living History,” director William Ha‘o looks back over the years with justifiable pride and many fond memories.
The program is unique in local theater in presenting thoroughly researched portrayals of figures from island history on the grounds of Oahu Cemetery where many of them are buried. The performances are monologues, each performed in a different part of the cemetery. Since the actors are performing outside almost anything can happen — rain, wind, swarming termites and noisy birds included.
“There was a year it just poured, but nobody left,” Ha‘o said, reminiscing earlier this week. “Another year it was humid and the termites came out, but the actors just kept going. One year Karen Kaulana was under this beautiful tree and there were parrots in the tree that wouldn’t stop (making noise). So Karen got louder and then the birds got louder. The louder she got, the louder they got. Finally one flew (away) and they all flew. All that stuff we went through, we chuckle at it.”
Ha‘o has been part of Cemetery Pupu Theatre, contributing as an actor, director and occasional stagehand, since it was created in 2011 as an outreach program by the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives. He is directing the anniversary production, which opened Friday, as live theater for audiences of 50 people per performance, and also as a prerecorded virtual show available on demand through June 26.
The anniversary show brings back five popular figures from previous productions:
>> Moses Goods portrays David Malo (1793-1853), whose documentation of Hawaiian history and ancient Hawaii culture are still major primary sources for researchers and scholars.
>> Karen Kaulana represents Hali‘a (the name translates as “memory, a fond recollection, to recall, to recollect”), a composite character representing the thousands of Hawaiians who died in the smallpox epidemic of 1853.
>> Karen Valasek plays Cherilla Lowrey (1861-1917), founder and first president of The Outdoor Circle. The Outdoor Circle’s first project was planting monkeypod trees in Aala Park. The group celebrated its centennial in 2012 and continues its commitment to keeping Hawaii green and beautiful.
>> Albert Ueligitone appears as Curtis Piehu Iaukea (1855-1940), who served the Hawaiian people as governor of Oahu and chamberlain to the royal household, and subsequently held offices in the Provisional Government, the Republic of Hawaii and the Territorial government.
>> Stephanie Conching takes the role of Mary Bishop Dowsett (1808-1860), who arrived in Hawaii with her husband, Samuel Dowsett, and infant daughter in 1828. Samuel Dowsett was lost at sea in 1834.
“We’ve been lucky with the people we have as performers,” Ha‘o said. “They’re veterans, and they all wanted to do it. The only one that’s new is Stephanie Conching, and she’s going to be great.”
The live performances include a post-show Q&A session where audience members can ask about the historical figures and their place in island history. Among Ha‘o’s most vivid memories are the times when the audience included descendants of people being portrayed.
“I remember one year we did Emma Nakuina, and one of her relatives heard about it and came opening night and said, ‘I want to make sure you guys don’t put her in a bad light.’ So she saw the performance, and the next week she came back with 10 relatives, and they came with lei and whatnot to give to the performer. And when we did John Papa I‘i, all the Browns (descendants) came. It was incredible.”
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“Cemetery Pupu Theatre: A Decade of Living History”
>> Where: Oahu Cemetery, 2162 Nuuanu Ave.
>> When: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, through June 26
>> Cost: $55 in person (includes bento dinner, two drink tickets and post-show Q&A with the cast); watch online for $25 (individual) and $40 (family) anytime through June 26
>> Info: mission houses.org
