By Marion Lyman-Mersereau | Adapted from her book Eddie Wen’ Go: The Story of the Upside-Down Canoe
Co-Directed by Mark Branner & Annie K. L. Lipscomb
Co-Choreographed by Ka‘ohinani Yojo Daniels & Amy Lynn Schiffner
Music Arrangement and Direction by Ian O’Sullivan
Mainstage Season
Presented Live
2021/2022 Season
FRI JAN 28 & FRI FEB 4 at 7:30pm
Matinées SAT JAN 29 & FEB 5 at 2:00 pm
and SUN FEB 6 at 2:00 pm
Department of Theatre + Dance
College of Arts, Languages & Literature
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Co-Directors: Mark Branner & Annie K. L. Lipscomb
Co-Choreographers: Ka‘ohinani Yojo Daniels & Amy Lynn Schiffner
Assistant Director: Taylor Bogan
Music Arrangement and Direction: Ian O’Sullivan
Set and Puppet Design: Laura Nigon-Holmgren
Scenic Coordinator and Scenic Charge Artist: Michelle A. Bisbee
Costume Design: Maile Speetjens
Lighting Design: Claire Paul
Sound Design: Rick Greaver
stage Manager: Brittney Marcelli
Assistant Stage Manager: Traci Oya
Master Electrician: Rebecca Mahar
Light Board Operator: Micah Steigerwald
Sound Board Operator: Emma Torgrimson-Lee
Sound Effects/Projections Operator: Kekela Oku-Fernandez
Props Crew: Gia Nguyen
Set and Puppet Construction: Michelle A. Bisbee, Jonah Bobilin, Ethan Castillo, Olivia Coughlin, Kekela Oku-Fernandez,
Justin Fragiao, Kara Nabarrete, Laura Nigon-Holmgren, Emily Taylor, Danielle Tuscher
Costume Construction: Hannah Archer, Kaneikoliakawahineika’iukapuomua Baker, Kayla Crawford, Tuesday Doyle, Jesse Höyhtyä, Saloni Mahajan, Lisa Nilsen, Devin Walter, Jade Young
Dressers: Chrisslene Jimerson & Lacey Tuell
Faculty Consultants: Michelle Bisbee, Mark Branner,
Amy Lynn Schiffner, Brian Shevelenko, Maile Speetjens
SEA CREATURES
FATHER ‘ĪLIO – Isaiah Avilla
‘IWA – Alison L. B. Maldonado
KALEO KOHOLĀ – Lily Hi‘ilani Kim-Dela Cruz Okimura
KALEO PUPPETEERS – Olivia Coughlin*, Jessica Israel*, Karese Kaw-uh*, M. Kutty
LELE – Elizabeth Gannaway*
MR. HONU – Nathan Drackett*
MR. MANŌ – Ka’onohi’okalā’ealohilohinei Müller*
TŪTŪKĀNE KOHOLĀ – Robert Torigoe*
TŪTŪKĀNE PUPPETEERS – Jill Jackson*, Matthew Sun, Chloe Tower*, Rebecca Mahar
HUMAN CHARACTERS
IKAIKA – Michael “Donut” Donato
NANAKA – Joshua “Baba” Tavares*
MANU – Leilani Contreras Del Toro
DANCERS
Nani Marcos
Candyce Nagata
Iana Weingrad*
*In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree
This show will be performed without an intermission
Recording of any kind of this production is strictly prohibited
Advisory: flashing storm lights & simulated mist
The premiere production of Eddie Wen’ Go took place at the Hawai‘i Theatre Center in September 2014. Plans were made to bring the production to Kennedy Theatre in September 2020 with auditions held in May 2020 soon after the “Covid shutdowns” in mid-March. That didn’t happen.
In other words, we have been waiting, planning, and working towards this remount for well over two years. Why? Because it is worth it. It is worth it to wait…in order to tell this story anew; in order to tell this story well. It is worth it to tell children about Eddie Aikau. It is worth it to tell each other about Eddie Aikau. It is worth it to tell this story in person – with one another, for one another, with music, dance, color, and beauty.
Because – as the inscription aboard Hōkūle‘a reminds us – Eddie’s legacy lives on in this:
No greater love has a man than this,
that he lay down his life for his friends.
That is a message worth waiting for.
Face masks must cover the nose and mouth at all times inside the Kennedy Theatre Facility, and on the lanai when social distancing is not possible.
For large print programs or any other accessibility requests please contact the House Manager or call the Kennedy Theatre Box Office at 956-7655.
After dark: to arrange a Campus Security Escort between two points on campus please see a House Manager.
As a courtesy to your fellow audience members and to our performers, please remember that eating, drinking, video recording, photography and use of cell phones and other electronic devices is not allowed inside the theatre. Please take a moment to turn off any sound or light emitting devices now.
Publicity/Social Media Graphic Assistant: Landon McCann
Graphic Designers: Emily Wright, Suzanne Seymour, Jessica Jacob
Photography & Social Media Design: Christine Lamborn
Promotional Video: Christine Lamborn
Kennedy Theatre House Manager: Danielle Tuscher
Assistant House Managers: Yajna Casiano, Manuel Moreno
Theatre Manager: Jessica L. Jacob
Production Manager: Rick Greaver
Operations Coordinator: Christine Lamborn
Technical Director: Gerald Kawaoka
Costume Shop Manager: Hannah Schauer Galli
Department Chair: Markus Wessendorf
Director of Theatre: Julie Iezzi
Director of Dance: Betsy Fisher
Support Staff: Lori Chun, Jenna Wheeler-Gonsalves
Support provided by the
Edward A. “Skeep” Langhans Guest Artist/Scholar Fund
Roger A. Long Theatre Endowment Fund
The UHM ticket program is supported in part by a grant from the Student Activities and Program Fee Board.
Kennedy Theatre is a member of the Hawaiʻi State Theatre Council.
Your donation will help provide support for program expenses related to any Theatre for Young Audiences production or program need.
To donate online, go to https://giving.uhfoundation.org/ and enter “Theatre for Young Audiences Fund” or visit:
https://giving.uhfoundation.org/funds/12907604
By mail, send a check to:
1314 S. King St., Suite B, Honolulu, HI 96814
Payable to: UHF/Theatre for Young Audiences Fund
Memo: TYA Fund #129-0760-4
House Rules
Late Night Series – FEB 4-6, 2022
FRI at 9:30pm & SAT/SUN at 7:30pm
Written by UHM Student Candice Sarangay
Same house, same friends, same rules, but a new roommate!? Will they cause the others to rethink or even break the rules? They are all just roommates, no romantic entanglements. Who, if anyone, will break the sacred house rules?
Tickets for Late Night shows are sold at the Kennedy Theatre Box Office starting 1 hour before curtain.
Hawai‘i Nō Ka ‘Oi: A Sakamoto Celebration
February 24-27, 2022
Performed live for in-person audiences
(subject to public health advisory changes)
Program Director Tammy Haili‘ōpua Baker
Showcasing selected scenes spanning the breadth of Edward Sakamoto’s career and guided by a variety of directors, this performance will stand as a testament to Sakamoto’s contribution to the local and world-wide theatre community. His plays uniquely feature stories from and about Hawai’i from a specifically Japanese-American point of view, depicting the highs and lows, the struggles and celebrations, and highlighting how culturally diverse the Hawaiian archipelago has become.
Eddie Wen’ Go: The Story of the Upside-Down Canoe is entered as a Participating Production in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by David M. Rubenstein.
Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
Additional support is provided by The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein; and the Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation.
Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.
This production is entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The aims of this national theater education program are to identify and promote quality in college-level theater production. To this end, each production entered is eligible for a response by a regional KCACTF representative, and selected students and faculty are invited to participate in KCACTF programs involving scholarships, internships, grants and awards for actors, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, designers, stage managers and critics at both the regional and national levels.
Productions entered on the Participating level are eligible for invitation to the KCACTF regional festival and may also be considered for national awards recognizing outstanding achievement in production, design, direction and performance.
Last year more than 1,500 productions were entered in the KCACTF involving more than 200,000 students nationwide. By entering this production, our theater department is sharing in the KCACTF goals to recognize, reward, and celebrate the exemplary work produced in college and university theaters across the nation.