Cousins are torn Daryl Bonilla could hardly believe his ears when his father played the old tape. There he was as a child, speaking Spanish and singing Puerto Rican songs with his brother. Bonilla, who was raised in Waipahu and is of Puerto Rican ancestry, isn't fluent in Spanish any more.
between old
and new Hawaii
Daryl Bonilla shows a serious
side in "Oka Ka Lau," which
reflects his own cultural alienationBy John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com"We were singing and talking in Spanish like it was our first language, and it was something that over time just kind of diminished. That's where I can relate to this kind of story -- man, I knew all this stuff but I wasn't able to retain it."
The story Bonilla is talking about is Kumu Kahua's world premiere production of "Ola Ka Lau," which opened last night at the Kumu Kahua Theatre on Merchant Street. The play, a first-time effort by novice playwright Kimo Armitage, is the story of two cousins who are torn between traditional Hawaiian culture and today's high-tech world. For generations, their kupuna were healers, and the last of the living line is their grandmother. Tutu is ready and willing to pass the knowledge on to them, but will either of the cousins be able to learn it? Of what value are "primitive superstitions" and folk remedies in a society that places hospitals and over-the-counter pills at the pinnacle of healing techniques?
One cousin is willing but ailing. The other has different priorities. Will Tutu's precious knowledge be preserved or lost forever?
When it comes to one's cultural heritage it's "use it or lose it." Just ask Bonilla.
Where: Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant St. "Ola Ka Lau"
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 9
Tickets: $15 general, $10 for students, and $10 for unemployed on Thursdays
Call: 536-4441
"I know other people who say they wish they'd paid attention more to their grandparents or their parents. I can dance (Puerto Rican dances) but there's stuff I wish I'd retained -- language and culture."
"Ola Ka Lau" is going to be a surprise for the Kumu Kahua supporters who know Bonilla only for the comic roles he's played so well in recent years -- bumbling gangster Stanton da Manton in "Da Mayah" and Clayton the cable installer in "Aloha Friday." This show isn't a comedy and Bonilla is starring in a demanding dramatic role.
"I think people who have just recently got into me on stage probably aren't familiar with my more dramatic roles," said Bonilla, who's also played a gang member at Leeward Community College and appeared in Kumu Kahua's ambitious though problematic reworking of "Othello" with Al Harrington and Richard Macpherson.
Even with prior dramatic roles to draw on, "Oka Ka Lau" is a stretch for him because of the Hawaiian-language dialogue. He's worked with the language and hula through the Leeward Community College Hawaiian-Style Theatre program, but knows that some of the people he'll be performing for speak fluent Hawaiian and will be quick to catch errors.
"Learning the chants and the (Hawaiian) language has been very challenging 'cause that's something you want to get as accurate as possible. It's something I enjoy learning but it's another dimension to my performance that I have to work on."
Bonilla and the others have an excellent mentor in their director, Tammy Haili'opua Baker, the co-founder and director of Ka Halau Hanekeake, the first Hawaiian-language theater company. She is also a Hawaian-language playwright and Hawaiian language lecturer at the University of Hawai'i.
Baker credits the cast with doing "an outstanding job" in pulling the story together and developing the characters. Bonilla's character, Keola, is interested in learning as much as possible but it's his cousin, who has pulled away from the culture, who is actually the more gifted. Keola neglects his health and well-being trying to help those around him, and protect his cousin from the consequences of choices she's made.
"I don't think we've ever seen Daryl do something like this," Baker said. "It's a nice stretch for him, and those are all the little tools an actor wants to put into their tool belt, all the different types of things that they can do, which broadens their horizons and makes them grow. There's still a little of the comic flavor there.
"There's definitely an element here (about) passing down ancestral knowledge from one generation to the next and how important it is," she said of the theme. "Ola Ka Lau" was the winning entry in the 1997 Kumu Kahua Theatre/UH Theatre Department Play writing Contest.
And as for Bonilla, he's looking forward to more challenging dramatic roles.
"I want to see what else is out there and maybe try something else I haven't done yet or haven't done for a while. I want to let people see that there is more to me than this or that."
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