Hawaii Tribune-Herald Island Beat Thursday, September 29, 2016 11 Explains Johnson, “The play centers around her relationship with her three hanai children — a girl and two boys.” Based on the writings of Lili‘uokalani, information from the queen’s family and other historical sources, Johnson spent six months researching and writing the script. “I went to Iolani Palace and Washington Place to get an idea of how they lived,” Johnson says. “Most of the information was taken from the queen’s own writings. Lili‘uokalani took pen in hand often so that was marvelous.” Johnson also was given the opportunity to meet with a direct descendent of the queen, Gussie Schubert, at her home and actually look through and touch some of the items that once belonged to the queen. “Gussie Schubert lives with these items — furniture and pictures, an old trowel the queen used to dedicate Lili‘uokalani School,” Johnson says. “I got to see the queen’s personal scrapbook. It was breathtaking. This gave me details — the things that take history and root them. The objects helped me to reinforce some of the connections I knew were in her life and put all the facts in line.” Johnson has become adept at bringing ordinarily mundane facts to life through drama. “When we come to appreciate the humanity of the queen, I think it makes that overthrow and what she went through politically, even heavier,” Johnson says. “We know it all affected her in many ways. Besides losing her throne, she lost all her children of Hawaii. She even says in the play that ‘All the children of Hawaii are her children.’ She was indeed the matriarch of all of Hawaii’s keiki and her trust follows through with that even today.” She adds that the public often sees only one dimension of a political leader, and we forget they also functioned as family members or as parents. “There’s a whole other dimension in appreciating our history when we see another side to (a queen), when we see the personal struggles,” Johnson says. “She was more than just the strong, immutable leader. Through this play we get to see the other part of her and also recognize the humanity in other people.” She explains that people might be surprised at the sense of loss in the play. “We’re used to the idea that she lost her monarchy,” Johnson says. “But she also lost her brother, King Kalakaua, then her husband, then one of her sons and finally her other son, right before she passed. This was a time in Hawaiian history where the monarchy experienced extraordinary amounts of loss. Having gone through that and to still try to sustain her dignity and her presence in light of all that loss, really does amaze.” Johnson says it’s almost like a Greek drama where there is just so much happening to one family. “The whole range of loss for the monarchy is pretty astonishing,” she says. Johnson notes that theater aims to educate, glorify and entertain. “Good theater can take you to another place and time,” she says. “There’s a sense of leaving everything behind and breathing in another time and person.” Furthermore, she’s hoping there will be interest enough to pursue writing more scripts. “We need to continue the heritage we have of cherishing our monarchy,” Johnson says. “Hilo has a great history when it comes to the monarchy, but with each generation, we move further and further away so we need to do things like this to continue to cherish our memories. We have a responsibility to make sure the words and thoughts of our (kings and queens) are captured and brought to life again.” Johnson’s first such endeavor similar to this was sparked by a simple request from the Rev. Moki Hino of Hilo’s Holy Apostles Episcopal Church, who, in 2012, wanted to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the church in Hawaii through a series of living history performances. Her first project, a show about Queen Emma, was brought to life by UH-Hilo performing arts graduate Denyse Woo-Ockerman in performances across the state. “I’m hoping these two productions inspired by Reverend Moki will lead to others that bring historical figures to life,” Johnson says. “I never learned about these leaders as a child — who they were as people, how they passed their leisure time, the things that were important to them. Through these plays you get a wonderful picture of what life was like for them.” Admission to the HVNP After Dark in the Park event is free. Admission to the Lyman Museum performances is free for museum members, $3 for nonmembers. Seating is limited — first come, first served. On Monday evening only, additional parking is available at Hilo Union School, Kapiolani Street entrance. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Monday. SHOW From page 2 Courtesy photo Jackie Pualani Johnson portrays Queen Lili‘uokalani in her one-woman show “Lili‘uokalani at Washington Place.”
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