A new hula production featuring some of Hawaii’s most well-known mahu artists will present the second of its two Oahu performances today at Leeward Theatre.
“Mahu” is directed by kumu hula Patrick Makuakane, who is known for combining tradition and innovation in his choreography. Among those performing are Makuakane’s San Francisco-based dance troupe Na Lei Hulu i ka Wekiu and mahu artists including Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Kaumaka‘iwa Kanaka‘ole and the group Kuini.
The show centers around the experiences of mahu individuals, Makuakane said. For many of the featured artists, this is the first time they will have had the opportunity to share their unique and authentic stories with an audience, he said.
“What’s very important is how each of us expresses our mahu-ness through our native culture to being Hawaiian, … how our mahu- ness plays itself out in our life, through our art or through the way we interact with people,” Makuakane said. “In a way, it’s my story as well, as a gay man who considers himself mahu, and how that is funneled into my work as an artist.”
Makuakane said the increasing attention surrounding transgender issues gave him the idea of creating “Mahu.” Its title is meant to provoke an exploration of the word’s expansive definition.
“The word’s meanings have kind of morphed depending upon who you ask,” Makuakane explained. “But it’s a powerful word. … I want to use that word and try to take some of that power back.”
The performance includes chanting, drumming, thoughtfully crafted costumes and hula choreography reflecting the unique personas of the various performing artists.
Iwalani Apo, a falsetto singer in Kuini, hopes audiences will leave with an understanding that “mahu” encompasses more than just drag queens with heavy makeup and rhinestones.
“When you do things through your culture, through our music or our hula, somehow people see past the whole mahu exterior and they see the humanity in you,” she said.
As someone who grew up in a setting where “mahu” was used as a derogatory word, Apo said she struggled to come to terms with who she was when she was young. She hopes the production might inspire those experiencing similar struggles to embrace their own identity and aspirations.
A few tickets are left for today’s “Mahu” matinee at 2 p.m. at Leeward Theatre at Leeward Community College in Pearl City. Tickets are $40 to $60 at bit.ly/3FxTIlW.
Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under covered issues and communities.
