Kumu Kahua remounts TEA

Kumu Kahua Theatre reprises its season opener, Tea by Velina Hasu Houston at its downtown Honolulu theatre on 46 Merchant Street. The show opens July 6 and runs through July 30, 2006.

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, with a 2pm Sunday matinee. 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 now. For more information about this and other productions, visit www.kumukahua.org.

Originally produced by Kumu in 1990, remounted as the 1991 summer tour and brought to the its downtown theatre at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season, Tea tells the story of five Japanese women, all World War II brides who immigrated to the United States with American servicemen husbands. Teruko, Chizue, Setsuko and Atsuko meet at the home of Himiko, who has committed suicide. They have volunteered to clean up Himiko’s house. In the course of the play they drink tea together and come to know each other and Himiko, whose restless spirit haunts the play. The women share traumatic experiences of living in a country devastated by war, their courtships and marriages and their struggles to create lives in a new country. Many of the incidents dramatized in the play are true, based on interviews with Japanese women living in Kansas. In a playwright’s note, Houston described these women: “Without being tough, they are strong. Without being weak, they are gentle. Without being aggressive, they are survivors.”

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre Senior Artists Ensemble member Kati Kuroda will again direct the play, and also step into the role Setsuko Banks. Ms. Kuroda previously directed Chen's Eating Chicken Feet and Baroga’s Talk Story for Kumu Kahua. The production includes set design by Dan Gelbmann and costumes by Alvin Chan. The cast features Karen Kuioka Hironaga, Denise-Aiko Chinen, Tess Yong and Christine Yano.

Kumu Kahua productions are being supported by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts celebrating more than thirty years of culture and the arts in Hawai‘i (with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts); the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, Mufi Hannemann, Mayor; The Hawai‘i Community Foundation; and Foundations, Businesses and Patrons.

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	Kumu Kahua Remounts Tea Kumu Kahua Theatre reprises its season opener, Tea by Velina Hasu Houston at its downtown Honolulu theatre on 46 Merchant Street. The show opens July 6 and runs through July 30, 2006. 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, with a 2pm Sunday matinee. 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 now. For more information about this and other productions, visit www.kumukahua.org. Originally produced by Kumu in 1990, remounted as the 1991 summer tour and brought to the its downtown theatre at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season, Tea tells the story of five Japanese women, all World War II brides who immigrated to the United States with American servicemen husbands. Teruko, Chizue, Setsuko and Atsuko meet at the home of Himiko, who has committed suicide. They have volunteered to clean up Himiko’s house. In the course of the play they drink tea together and come to know each other and Himiko, whose restless spirit haunts the play. The women share traumatic experiences of living in a country devastated by war, their courtships and marriages and their struggles to create lives in a new country. Many of the incidents dramatized in the play are true, based on interviews with Japanese women living in Kansas. In a playwright’s note, Houston described these women: “Without being tough, they are strong. Without being weak, they are gentle. Without being aggressive, they are survivors.” Pan Asian Repertory Theatre Senior Artists Ensemble member Kati Kuroda will again direct the play, and also step into the role Setsuko Banks. Ms. Kuroda previously directed Chen's Eating Chicken Feet and Baroga’s Talk Story for Kumu Kahua. The production includes set design by Dan Gelbmann and costumes by Alvin Chan. The cast features Karen Kuioka Hironaga, Denise-Aiko Chinen, Tess Yong and Christine Yano. Kumu Kahua productions are being supported by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts celebrating more than thirty years of culture and the arts in Hawai‘i (with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts); the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, Mufi Hannemann, Mayor; The Hawai‘i Community Foundation; and Foundations, Businesses and Patrons. Home \| News \| Calendar \| Directory \| Library \| Plays Copyright 2006, Roger W. Tang Questions? Email

Kumu Kahua Remounts Tea