[ RELIGION ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Danny Enevoldson plays Jesus in "The Witness," a musical portraying the life of Christ staged at the KEY Project in Kahaluu.
‘Witness’:
A tale of Jesus’ life and death
Kalani Poomaihealani has been directing "The Witness" every year since he played the role of Judas 24 years ago in the play about the life and death of Jesus Christ.
Being in the play inspired the hula teacher to walk more closely with God, and he uses the musical/drama as his way of spreading the gospel.
"God has given me an ability to visualize the Bible, make it a reality with people and share the gospel," Poomaihealani said.
He founded Pacific Island Praise, a Christian theater-arts ministry, and has presented the play all over the world.
"The Witness" opened Thursday at the KEY Project in Kahaluu, 47-000 Waihee Road, and will run until tomorrow, then again from Thursday to next Saturday. It is free to the public. Call 263-5371 for information.
The play features live animals and a cast of about 100 singers, musicians and actors from Ke Kumu Ola O Kahaluu, a coalition of six Windward Oahu churches.
Once performed at the beach, in people's back yards and at parties in Hawaii, the production has since been performed on the mainland, Japan, Spain, Australia and France, he said. Poomaihealani plans to go to Sweden in August 2005.
He started with only a cast of singers, no actors or dancers. The performers wore only "T-shirts and jeans. Then we had costumes, then props, then sets, then other characters," he said.
Dean Ikene, his sound technician, has been with him from the beginning, and several people, including entire families, have participated for several years.
"We're not big guns; we do everything by donation or out of our own pockets ... but we do pretty good," he said.
Poomaihealani said it was hard to watch the recently released Mel Gibson film, "The Passion of the Christ," which tells the same story as "The Witness" but is distinguished by the graphic torture of Jesus.
"It was so atrocious to watch, but I'm so glad I did," he said. "Sometimes I couldn't look at the screen. But it (the film) was very good, and I'm a richer person because of it. ... I think oftentimes the church kinda smooths over what Christ really endured for us."
This year, as always, it was "very difficult to find someone to portray Jesus; they feel uncomfortable doing it," Poomaihealani said. "They feel undeserving to portray such a righteous character, so it's a spiritual struggle."
One of the first men who played Jesus in "The Witness" refused the role at first because he said he had led a "really ugly life." Poomaihealani told him, "Jesus didn't say, 'Come to me when you're perfect'; he said, 'Come to me as you are.'"
The man was "just awesome" in the role, he added.
Larry Goeas, who plays the Roman centurion who nails Jesus to the cross in "The Witness," has been in the play with his wife and two children since 1991. He also knows Poomaihealani from "way back" because he took part in the play the first two years it was put on by Calvary Episcopal Church in Kaneohe.
Goeas has seen "The Passion of the Christ" four times, twice as the coordinator of group showings for his church, Hope Chapel West Oahu. Seeing on the big screen what Jesus suffered on the cross "stunned" him, he said, and deepened his appreciation of all the events leading to the crucifixion.
In his role in "The Witness," he sings a melodramatic song called "The Hammer," once he realizes the horror of what he and others have done to the son of God.
Jack Waters joined the production in a cameo role this year, playing Joseph of Arimethea, after watching wife Cynthia and teenage children Bethany and Isaac participate for several years.
The faces of people in the audience reveal how "really moved" they are as they are caught up in the crucifixion and resurrection scenes, Waters said.
And even while operating on a shoestring budget and working with amateurs, Poomaihealani manages to make "The Witness" a powerful, moving story, Waters said.
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