Kukunu left Hawaii after his mother, a practitioner of traditional Native Hawaiian culture, disappeared in a volcanic eruption in 2018 while she was taking a gift to the gods that was intended to appease their anger. So much for traditional culture, he thought, as he turned his back on the life he’d been raised in.
Now he’s back. He’s trying to make a go of things with his new wife, Risa, whom he met in Japan. He is also trying to reconnect with his estranged 16-year-old daughter, Ililani, who with her mother is a leader of the anti-TMT protests on Mauna Kea. Kukunu’s younger brother, Laki, is also spending time on “the Mauna,” but Laki and his friends secretly support TMT — they’re construction workers, and TMT would bring a lot of good jobs to the Big Island.
Kukunu is teaching Hawaiian culture at a “Hawaiian school.” He has no interest in the protests. Then Risa hears about the legendary Hawaiian moonbow — rarely seen, and rich in spiritual meaning — and persuades Kukunu to take her to where it may appear. That involves going up the Mauna. Police and protesters alike soon see opportunities to use Kukunu to advance their own ends.
Welcome to “Mendokusai,” Big Island playwright Eric Stack’s compelling contemporary drama about culture and conflict. The production, which opened Aug. 17, is now playing at the Kumu Kahua Theatre in Honolulu.
Thomas Chock makes his Hawaii stage debut with a superb performance as Kukunu, the beleaguered husband and father. Chock said that the story “resonated” with him the first time he read the script.
“I felt like that when the mauna stuff was happening,” said Chock, referring to the protests over the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea. “I really love when Laki talks about the metal workers. They want the telescope, and I totally get that. My foster sister’s husband was a metal worker, he built the telescope before the TMT was coming in. So I totally get that aspect of it. But I’m also Native Hawaiian, so there’s that back and forth from that, that I’ve had to kind of deal with in my own family.”
Chock found other parallels between Kukunu’s concerns and his own, including the character’s problems when the administrators of the school where he teaches decide that he is, in their words, “too Hawaiian.”
“My mother’s a kumu hula, and for a long time, I carried this idea that I was supposed to carry on her halau. I was older, already married with children, and she finally told me ‘I never wanted you to dance,’ and so I feel like I kind of drew some of that into the character,” he said. “And there’s guilt about how good of a dad I am. I have five children and you know there’s always guilt about whether I’ve been a good dad to them or not, and I was able to draw on some of that.”
Local stage veteran Denise-Aiko Chinen (Risa), well known for her skill as an actor, delivers an impressive performance. What’s new for her in “Mendokusai” is that she also dances, sings a cappella and does a quick bit of martial arts.
“When I read the script, I saw that there was ‘roundhouse kick’ — I said, ‘Oooo, I get to kick somebody in the head!’ ” Chinen said. “(Kumu Kahua board member) John Wat always talks about (director) Justina Mattos, and she was going to direct it, so that was another draw.”
Playwright Stack’s use of language was a third attraction.
“There’s Hawaiian language, there was Japanese, and then there was culture, Hawaiian culture and then Japanese culture and, of course, stage combat.”
Mattos, who lives on the Big Island, discovered the script when Stack sent it to her online play reading group.
“What I found intriguing was the interplay between Hawaiian culture and Japanese culture and the parallels that he found,” she said. “Also the incorporation of hula and oli and rap and all these different layers of things. It just seemed really intriguing. … Then I ended up getting called over to direct it. It has been a challenge and a delight.”
Strong cast performances, and lighting design by Brian Lee Sackett, make “Mendokusai” imaginative and emotionally engaging island theater.
The significance of the title (its translation is provided in the playbill) becomes apparent in the final scenes.
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“Mendokusai”
>> Where: Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant St.
>> When: 7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 17.
>> Cost: $25, discounts available
>> Info: kumukahua.org or 808-536-4441
